As a biker, I know to watch out for myself. And I see many drivers on the road looking out for bikers. Overall, our roads are relatively safe. But we can all improve to make things safer. I can generally tell when a driver has little/no biking experience (making incorrect assumptions about how fast the bike is going, not knowing what the signals mean, etc) or when a rider has little/no driving experience (assuming cars should always give them the right-of-way, not trying to make eye-contact with drivers, etc).

Here are a few notes for drivers and bikers.

for drivers:

*When you come to a stop sign, don't roll through it without looking for cars, bikes and pedestrians.

*When you come to a stop and a bike comes to the intersection before you, they should have the right-of-way; if they come AFTER you, you should have the right of way. Regardless of who should go first, WATCH.

*Use your signals properly.

*Watch for signals from others.

*Pay attention - Do not talk on your phone or text while moving.

for bikers:

*When you come to a stop sign, don't roll through it without looking for cars, bikes and pedestrians.

*When you come to a stop and a car comes to the intersection before you, they should have the right-of-way; if they come AFTER you, you should have the right of way. Regardless of who should go first, WATCH.

*Use your signals properly.

*Watch for signals from others.

*Pay attention - Do not talk on your phone or text while moving.

*Make eye-contact with drivers when possible. You want to know if they really see you and aren't just making assumptions.

*Always wear your helmet!

As you can see, drivers and bikers should be following an almost identical set of rules. For those drivers who get upset about bikers whizzing through stop signs, you may be correct in assuming this is dangerous. But if you see a bikers slow down at an intersection and then continuing through without completely stopping, this may be LESS dangerous than coming to a complete stop. And there are times a biker SHOULD ride in the center of the lane in the road and other times that they should go onto the sidewalk. Fortunately, we have a lot of roads around here that have dedicated bike lanes. But when there is not a bike lane, both drivers and bikers need to pay extra attention. The important thing is that we are all looking around at all the potential dangers and not putting anyone else in danger, either.

Good luck out there.