Tips For Safe Road Biking

Accidents happen. Statistics show that although the government have strictly enforced laws on biking and traffic, these are not enough to prevent or lessen accidents on the road. You may have the most expensive bike or a discount road bike that you bought online but the make and its price cannot guarantee that you can still live to see the next day when you meet an accident.

So to avoid these untoward instances, follow these tips:

1. Get a headlight. This is especially so if you are riding at night. Reflectors are at times not enough to get you visible on the road. Choose LED lights that blink so that motorists will notice you more. If you are riding bikes that minimizes accessories for speed, discount road bikes or otherwise, opt for LED lights that are lightweight and not too bulky. There are a lot of discount road bikes online that come customized with their own headlights for the rider's safety.

2. Honk or Yell. If you feel embarrassed honking with your bike, yell "Hey!" whenever you see a car approaching (or waiting) on the right. A lot of countries require bikes to have bells but the US does not. Still, it's better to be embarrassed than to get hit.

3. Slow Down. People who ride bikes tend to go really fast especially those who have racing or road bikes. Other people test-drive their road bikes by pulling up too much speed when they go for their first ride. Doing so would eliminate the possibility of you making eye contact with other motorists on the road thus, resulting to accidents. Especially during night biking, you have to keep your speed to a minimum so you can immediately stop when you need to.

4. Ride further left. Most roads have bicycle lanes on the right. Most people bike further right to avoid being hit from behind. If you are near a curb and you are riding on the right, chances are the driver of the car (or other vehicle) on the curb is looking at the middle of the lane for other cars and not on the bike lane. Stay on the left to get visible.

You may want to consider those tips the next time you ride your two wheels. If you haven't bought one, you can always scout online as there are a lot of online retailers that offer discount road bikes.