Bicycle safety is one of the most hotly
debated subjects today. This is because there are many controversial issues
concerning bicycle safety. Some of these issues include whether a cyclist
should wear a helmet or follow specific bike paths that are created for
cyclists. A less controversial issue with bicycle safety is obeying the rules
of the road which includes the use of bicycle lighting at night.
Some ways that people and companies are
trying to protect cyclists and prevent them from having collisions with other
vehicles include: Cycle Safe Signs and Traffic Engineering.
Cycle Safe Signs are usually put on the
back of a vehicle to show cyclists that they usually can’t keep watch of
cyclists because of their size. Traffic Engineering was the solutions that
people sought to find for the rate of cyclists accidents. Many countries such
as Ireland and Denmark have found that separate cycle tracks have been successful
in reducing cyclists’ accidents by 50%.
According to Wikipedia “Direct rear impacts with cyclists are a more prominent
collision type in arterial/rural road type situations. When they occur in such
circumstances they are also associated with significantly increased risk of
fatality. Data collected by the OECD indicates that rural locations account for
35% or more of cycling fatalities in Denmark, Finland, France, Great Britain,
Japan, the Netherlands, and Spain.”
Some equipment that a cyclist is usually
required to carry (at least in the U.S.) include: wearing a helmet, having
reflective lights, and audible signaling such as bells or horns.
Additional information is available by following the links below:
