Bicycle Safety

Bicycling is great fun for play, fitness and sport. The most important thing to remember is safety.

There are many rules to follow and safety-conscious things you can do to prevent injury to yourself, others and your equipment. Many injuries each year can be avoided simply by using safety equipment and safe bicycling guidelines.

Here are some safety tips from the Sylvania Police Division to help you have fun and avoid injury while bicycling.

• The #1 rule is to always wear an approved bicycle helmet. Head injury accounts for 62% of bicycle-related deaths. If you’re in an accident, an approved bicycle helmet protects your head from serious injury.
• Consider using shatter-resistant eye protection. This will protect your eyes from insects, dust and any debris that may otherwise end up in your eyes -- and keep your vision clear while you’re riding in traffic.
• Stop, look and listen for traffic before you enter a street from a driveway, parking lot or sidewalk.
• Obey all traffic signs, signals and pavement markings. This can keep you out of many hazardous driving situations.
• Drive on the right-hand side of the street and move with the flow of traffic. Motor vehicle operators do not expect a cyclist to travel against traffic (which can distract drivers and cause accidents) and are less likely to notice (and be distracted by) a bicyclist who is.
• While riding, know and use your hand signals for turning and stopping.
• Be extra careful when turning left. Drivers approaching or following you don't expect you to go left and often do not see left-turning cyclists. Also, do not forget to yield when turning left to oncoming traffic.
• Slow down when you approach intersections; stop, look and listen at stop signs. If you need to, walk your bicycle across busy intersections and streets.
• When riding, avoid rubble – broken pavement, loose gravel, mud, or litter or leaves that may conceal a road hazard. Any of these can cause you to lose control of your bike.
• On streets where vehicles are parked, watch for car doors opening into the roadway suddenly.
• When riding with a group, form a single line, one bike-length apart, on the right-hand side of the roadway. Also, remember, it is the responsibility of the lead cyclist to point out any hazards in the roadway to the cyclists behind. Every cyclist should pass along any warnings to the person riding behind them.
• Help drivers see you. Wear light or brightly colored clothing. Also, make sure your bicycle is equipped with reflectors on both wheels – the rear and front. Some manufacturers also place reflectors on your foot pedals.
• When riding, your main focus of attention should be riding and the environment surrounding you. If you are carrying packages, schoolbooks or anything else, use a basket, carrier or backpack and keep both hands on the handlebars.
• You should know the limits of your capabilities when riding your bike. Know what you can and cannot do. Do not take chances. Watch what is going on around you.
• If a special lane of travel is marked as a bike lane, take advantage of it. In bike lanes, the right-hand side of the roadway rule still applies: bike lanes are not automatically two-way traffic lanes.
• Avoid riding after dark or if the weather is bad. All cyclists are at a greater risk during the hours of darkness. If you do ride after dark, equip your bicycle with a small headlight and also some kind of light facing behind you.
• Keep your bike in good repair. Check and adjust loose parts and tire pressure weekly. Clean and lightly oil moving parts regularly. If possible, store your bicycle indoors.

Before riding your bicycle in Sylvania, be sure to familiarize yourself with bicycle laws in the City of Sylvania (parking, required equipment, attaching your bike to a vehicle and other stipulations) and surrounding areas. You will find the City of Sylvania’s bicycle laws here.

We hope these tips are helpful, and we wish you a safe and pleasant bicycling experience.

Questions or comments? Contact the Office of Community Affairs at 419-885-8906 or community.affairs@sylvaniapolice.com.