Slow down. Watch out.

We asked the community of bicycle commuters to share safety knowledge that is more practical for everyone who wants to start riding to work.

Slow down. Watch out. Slower is usually safer. Even if your ebike can go fast.

Hope these tips help!

For me, it is familiarity with my route. Knowing what to expect and how to navigate every feature of every street I take. Understanding driver behavior at every part of my commute.

The route you take on your bike, most likely, won’t be the route you would drive. Try and utilize low-traffic streets as much as possible. Try different routes. There will be some trial and error

Study your route through repetition. Learn the traffic light cycles, figure out the best place to be at any intersection to avoid a distracted driver. There are intersections that I will cross on the opposing side of the crosswalk, simply because the traffic pattern offers a safer route from turning vehicles.

Pick a route that is physically easy but keeps you off major roads as much as possible. Two-lane roads, unstriped residential streets, and roads without blind corners are highly preferred.

I look for side streets that motorists avoid. Streets with many stop signs or dead-end streets with a trail to the other side are much safer. Also, driving the route virtually in advance with Google Street View allows me to identify trouble spots.

Know the route you want to take as well as alternatives to said route. Know the places that are safe to rest as well as places to avoid. Know the landmarks of your route so you can mentally count them down when your out

I stay on dedicated bike trails as much as possible.

I won't go on any road with a speed limit over 30 mph.

I try not to commute during rush hours. People in cars seem to be even more in a hurry and distracted than usual.

You may come to a point in your journey where you're getting more comfortable with riding, in better shape, know your way very well, so you start taking more chances. Just be aware that crashing is one of the primary ways you learn were your limits are.

Try to always give yourself an exit, whether it's keeping your speed down so you can stop in time to knowing the various trajectories available to you should you need to deviate.

Most likely it’s illegal ride on sidewalk. but here we not talk about illegal issue, for more pricaal protect yourself and other when ride safety. from real people’s experience.

I pretty much have the same rules as a year-around commuter in the Seattle area. Sidewalks are a last resort for me. I slow way down and expect cars to pop out of driveways. I get completely off the sidewalk for pedestrians.

In general I agree but there are places where riding the sidewalk is the safest option. I ride about a mile of sidewalk each morning because it's along a 4 lane 50 mph country road with only a handful of "driveways" that lead to farm gates.

It's usually just me and an occasional jogger. I also take the sidewalk up a steep hill on a major high speed road because I'm going slow and there's a long light that creates a huge backup of impatient drivers.

Yes, it's not optimal. When I'm on the sidewalk, I'm going about 5-10 mph and will get off the bike if around pedestrians.

Flashing head and tail lights are for daylight use only. At night, aim your lights down to the road and not into people's eyes.

Put a white light on the front of your bike and a red one on the back. Keep them solid - not flashing. 

Why not flashing?

I personally have it flashing during daylight-hours, and on steady-mode when it's dark out.

The reasoning is it can be harder for other road users to accurately track your position with blinking lights. I think probably the safest would be one steady light and a second one on a slow blinking pattern, but I'm too cheap for two lights.

Flashing lights can also be somewhat distracting in some conditions.

The blinking can get confusing combined with reflective surfaces.

Pretty much the only time I ever have used my light blinking is in the morning fog or if I’m in riding conditions that feel especially unsafe and I want others to be alert that I’m anxious (getting caught in snow or hail I wasn’t prepared for).

Also heavy slow moving traffic can be useful to distinguish your lights from other surrounding car lights (so mostly applicable to dense inner city riding). Those are pretty much the only use cases though for me at east.

I always have a rear and front light on. At night, I have a third l flashing light on my helmet.

Have a good taillight year round (even summer rain and fog are important taillight weather), and incorporate a headlight for the shorter days of winter.

Come to a stop at a red light and yield to traffic before running it. You don’t necessarily need to put your foot to pavement at a stop sign unless there is traffic, but certainly get REALLY slow before you run it. I’ve nearly been hit by several cyclists who thought the intersection was clear; they were dead wrong (pun intended: it could have killed them or me).

Busy urban riding? Try not to be the first vehicle to enter an intersection when the light turns green. Let the cars get hit by the red light runner.

Drivers in the US will signal "right turn" when in fact they want to make a U-turn to the left.

If you can only lock one wheel up, the rear wheel is usually a lot more expensive to replace.

"I just assume I'm not invisible. I assume I'm wearing fluorescent clothes, and there's a million-dollar bounty going to the first driver who manages to hit me. And I ride on that assumption." -Neal Stephenson - Zodiac

I always ride with the mindset that nobody can see me. Never assume that the car/person/scooter/cyclists sees you coming, even if it is obvious.

Ride aggressively defensive. Be predictable in your pace and direction, but ALWAYS assume a driver does not see you unless you make direct prolonged eye contact. This is especially true for drivers pulling out from an intersection or ones approaching a turn that will be made in front of you.

Err on the side of caution and go around the back of vehicles waiting to pull out from an intersection— you have no idea if they are so fixated on oncoming cars that they don’t even see you approaching at all.

One more time— ALWAYS assume a driver at an intersection or approaching you does not see you, and make sure to position yourself so you don’t end up on their hood!

Get a stupid colored helmet. I have a really nice POC that is not only lightweight and has excellent R&D for crash protection, but is also straight-up fluorescent orange. Make yourself obvious!

For rainy weather, use a bright-ass rain jacket. I opted for a bright orange Helly Hansen— again, well made, functional and durable but also an extra layer of visible.

Also wear bright clothing. Safety yellow/green is wonderful. Your moving legs are more visible than anything else, so bright stripes on the calves work well, if you can find leggings with that. Also always use the full complement of reflectors at night, especially the ones on your ankles/pedals and wheels.

Understand that a lot of drivers will go into panic mode when encountering a cyclist— instead of passing you, they will pace you. Instead of just turning across your lane well ahead of you, they will stop in the middle of the road to try to be kind and let you pass. Just stay predictable in your path, but be ready to stop if a driver looks like they are getting jerky or panicky.

Being intentional and clear when I do have to interact on roads. I don't use hand signals super often because I don't feel super comfortable riding one handed while looking to make sure no one is coming while I'm turning but of i have to take the lane, i do so and ride in the middle of not closer to the left in the lane so that it should be super obvious that I'm not wanting cars to pass.

Always assuming cars don't see me or are going to pull out or be unpredictable until they have given very clear and obvious indication otherwise

Always observe the driver movement inside the cabin, should give you hints what's going to happen next. Be wary of tinted cars.

Strive to always be hyper aware of what is going on around you. You need to know not just what is in front of you but what is approaching you from the sides and from behind. Take a look in that rear view mirror at least once every 10s. As you note where cars are, think about what drivers are seeing or not seeing: is the sun in their face? are they likely to be distracted by some other vehicle or situation? etc..

A less-often posted tip is to watch cars' wheels. Lots of discussion of "making eye contact with drivers" but you have no clue whether they actually saw you or were giving the horizon a 1,000 yard stare contemplating gas prices or a song on the radio.

The nearest front (or any) wheel you can see is the best indicator of whether a car is going to move, turn, or change velocity.

Wear a helmet and gloves. Neither will help you if you get hit by a car traveling at any kind of speed but in a solo crash or low speed collision with a car the helmet may save the day.

Don't take more risks because you have it on though. The best safety practices are the ones that keep you from getting hit in the first place. All the helmet does is maybe reduce the injury when your best safety practices have already failed.

Gloves are wonderful for saving your palms when you take that inevitable spill and grind your hands into the pavement.

Keep your bike in good working condition, especially brakes and tires.

Check your tire pressure at least weekly.

Enjoy your ride.

I find a bell very helpful on the bike/multi-use path so people know I’m approaching….It’s a friendly old fashioned “briiing briiing” that my co workers call “the ice cream truck” 😄. Take your time and enjoy your ride.

Commuting by bike turns a frustrating aspect of the day into the most enjoyable part. So it is important that everyone feels safe. We will keep this updated regularly. And if you have any suggestion or experience about ebike commuting please share in the comment!