City Cycling: Risky Accident-Prone Bicycle Maneuvers to Avoid

Riding on city streets often isn’t a simple relaxing roll down an empty country road. In fact, city cycling requires a lot of thought and multiple judgment calls per ride to assure that you and your bicycle arrive safely. This has opened up a lot of maneuvers that, while not strictly illegal, are not exactly safe either. If you want to get somewhere safely, here’s what to avoid.

Riding Through the Rain

No one wants to get wet, none more so than cyclists who don’t have the same waterproof shell of a car to protect them. If it starts letting loose, you may be in a hurry to ride home. Riding in the rain is risky enough business, but increasing speed can make it deadly. You are more prone to skidding, can’t stop as quickly, and visibility is lowered. If you have to ride through the rain because there is nowhere to stop, the safest thing to do is to actually reduce your speed, just like vehicles should.

Not Indicating Turns

If you have ever ridden behind a car, you know how utterly irritating it is when they change lanes or turn without their turn signal on. It is just as irritating for a cyclist to do the same, but it is also infinitely more dangerous to you. Turn signals and hand signals were put in place to make traffic more predictable. Unpredictability causes accidents, after all. Even those who don’t know how to share the road with a cyclist are likely to still give you at least a bit of caution if they know what you intend to do.

Sliding By Traffic

The nice thing about riding a bicycle is it is compact and maneuverable. This means you probably don’t think you can get stuck in a traffic jam since you can just slide on by the block of cars. This is dangerous, but not strictly illegal. You can be ticketed for passing on the right, but the real danger is getting doored. This is particularly prevalent in big taxi cities where customers caught in traffic often decide to just hoof it instead. The key here is to either wait with the rest or go very, very slowly to avoid any suddenly opening doors.

It is often these maneuvers that contribute to a lot of cycling accidents, but in some cases, legal action for your damages can still be sought. If you have been in a cycling accident and need representation, contact us today.