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Safety gear for your commute

What precautions do you take while commuting...ie lights, clothing etc.

Mike Adams

I wear a helmet and use a blinkie. But the most important safety precaution is to anticipate.

over 80% of my bike commuting is in broad daylight (only my evening commutes for the 4 months of standard time are in darkness), so i try to make myself visible with color: bright red bike, stark white helmet, and a bright colorful shirt.

in the darkness of winter i wear a hi-viz jacket with lots of reflective striping + reflective striping on my helmet. and of course front and rear lights.

and of course the most important safety measure: caution

that's about it.

As others mentioned: heightened vigilance and expect every possible person and thing to do "the stupid"....

Yesterday, I rounded the MUP curve to find the walk-work! Fortunately enough time to apply strong braking skills. Had a polite conversation with the work crew about signage and received a considerate apology. :)

Clothing, lighting, reflectors, horn, and maintenance... all important.

Helmet, lights, a well maintained bike, and traffic avoidance.

Safety gear for your commute

Quote:

Originally Posted by mdadams1 (Post 21046315)

What precautions do you take while commuting...ie lights, clothing etc.

Mike Adams

Quote:

Originally Posted by caloso (Post 21046329)

I wear a helmet and use a blinkie. But the most important safety precaution is to anticipate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steely Dan (Post 21046375)

…i try to make myself visible with color: bright red bike, stark white helmet, and a bright colorful shirt.

in the darkness of winter i wear a hi-viz jacket with lots of reflective striping + reflective striping on my helmet. and of course front and rear lights.

and of course the most important safety measure: caution

that's about it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Digger Goreman (Post 21046449)

As others mentioned: heightened vigilance and expect every possible person and thing to do "the stupid"....Clothing, lighting, reflectors, horn, and maintenance... all important.

On these perennial threads about cycle-commuting safety, as well as cycling safety in general I have frequently posted as a decades-long lifestyle cyclist, including year round cycle commuting. This my approach to inculcate anticipation in my cycling:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 20937705)

So often on these threads about calamities or near misses, I post about my mindset that I believe gives me that extra edge.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FBinNY (Post 19244166)

In all fairness, I don't think there's anyone who's been riding for a long time, who hasn't at some time (or many times) ridden in that zone where the only thing separating us from disaster is favorable alignment of the stars. (Note the "us" rather than "him")

We all take chances and make mistakes, but fortunately life is"organized" with plenty of forgiveness. In my experience the difference between disaster and "whew, that was close" is millimeters and microseconds, and not anything we can take credit for.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 19246193)

I try to keep safe with certain aphorisms in my head that come to mind to alert me when I encounter a situation where unseen dangers may lurk, such as “Like a weapon, assume every stopped car is loaded, with an occupant ready to exit from either side.” or“Don’t ride over an area (such as puddles or leaves) when you can’t see the road surface"

…I was hit from behind by a “distracted” (? inebriated) hit and run driver on an otherwise seemingly safe and peaceful route. By good fortune, I’m alive and relatively unimpaired.

Over the past few months I have come to realize that my safety aphorisms (link), collected over the years by personal or vicarious experience, are my way of actively aligning the stars in my favor, to anticipate those unseen and otherwise unanticipated dangers.

FWIW, for my own information at least, my other aphorisms beside those above [see the link: Total of nine (9)]

ɅɅɅɅ

Safety gear for your commute

Other than a safety mindset, and the usual gear as described above, one other rather unique item of gear I have explored, but don’t use myself, though I would try, is a pool noodle. That has been controversial (link) though.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9c53566ddc.jpg

(Not mine, stock photo.)

White helmet with integrated rear blinky light.
High viz shirts/jackets.
High quality headlight (not a cheapo blinky).
High quality tail light (not a cheapo blinky).
Pedal reflectors (nothing says "human" like rhythmic reflector movement).
Reflective stripe on tires.
Reflective striping on panniers.
Ride as if nobody sees me -- stay out of drivers way.
Assume those who do see me want to kill me.

-Kedosto

In addition to lights and plenty of reflective material, they hand out safety vests like candy at work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kedosto (Post 21047230)

As above, but with a yellow neon helmet with rear blinky light and reflective strip along the length of my mudguards

Well I follow these precautions

Wear a Bike Helmet Properly

Improve your Road Visibility

Learn how to Give Proper Biking Hand Signals

Follow The Rules of the Road

When you bike, you are not a pedestrian. You treat yourself as a car, and should follow the rules of the road. This means:
you stop at stop signs, and wait your turn
you stop at stop lights
you stay in the road
be patient and maintain your composure

Wear Clothing to Make your Ride Comfortable

Map Out your Bike Route

The Bike to Work Hygiene Thing

I wear my cycling kit with bright colours and assume no one can see me. I don’t skimp and have bright, expensive lights for the winter.

Safety gear for your commute

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregf83 (Post 21049366)

I wear my cycling kit with bright colours and assume no one can see me. I don’t skimp and have bright, expensive lights for the winter.

I posted earlier about my Safety Aphorisms as my "Safety Gear":

Quote:

Originally Posted by caloso (Post 21046329)

I wear a helmet and use a blinkie. But the most important safety precaution is to anticipate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steely Dan (Post 21046375)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 21046916)

...This my approach to inculcate anticipation in my cycling:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 19246193)

I try to keep safe with certain aphorisms in my head that come to mind to alert me when I encounter a situation where unseen dangers may lurk, such as:

“Like a weapon, assume every stopped car is loaded, with an occupant ready to exit from either side.” or“Don’t ride over an area (such as puddles or leaves) when you can’t see the road surface"..

Over the past few months I have come to realize that my safety aphorisms (link), collected over the years by personal or vicarious experience, are my way of actively aligning the stars in my favor, to anticipate those unseen and otherwise unanticipated dangers.

FWIW, for my own information at least, my other aphorisms beside those above [see the link: Total of nine (9)]

My Number One Aphorism is:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 19251357)

Make yourself as visible as possible,and assume nobody sees you....

Aside from everything else everyone says about high viz stuff..

I plan my route around the roads and traffic. I spend as much time as possible in places that are less likely to get me run over. These include roads that are super wide, have minimal traffic, going behind stores and using parking lots of stores that aren't open yet during the morning commute time.

I have the option of using main roads, but there is no reason to put myself in a more dangerous situation that I need to be when safer alternatives are available.

Now, my commute is short. So I have a lot more flexibility to add 30% - 50% in distance to ride on safer roads. If you are riding 20 miles, adding 6 - 10 more miles can make the trip take longer than you have. For me, 50% more distance is adding 10 more minutes. But if you have a short commute and can take the meandering route on lower used, wider roads, and use parking lots and access roads with limited or no traffic....you reduce the chance for a collision dramatically.

In rough order of importance:

Open eyes (with glasses)
Alert mind
Working ears
Bike in (reasonably) good mechanical condition, including:
- Good fit to rider
- Good brakes
- Good lights in low visibility conditions, including darkness
- Tires (usually) aren't bald and are inflated correctly
- Chain and gears working effectively
Good clothing:
- No flapping pants legs
- Snug fit around saddle
- Visible top, including reflective band(s) at night
- Appropriate gloves

Last and least, I usually wear an attorney repellant (aka helmet).

In descending order of importance for bike safety:

- Alert mental state
- Judicious route choice
- Excellent brakes
- Lights front and rear, on both bike and helmet as seasons dictate
- Helmet
- Protective eye wear
- Gloves (not for riding, but for falling)
- Unobstructed hearing

Surprisingly, after 17 posts, no one has mentioned a rearview mirror.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 15468661)

I use both left and right rearview mirrors, in my case Take-a-Look eyeglass mounted ones. I got the idea from a cycling companion who used only a right hand mirror.

The additional right hand mirror affords a pretty good rearward view, but is particularly useful:

1) Riding on the left-hand side of a one-way street
2) ... 6)
7) When wearing a backpack, usually one mirror has a less-obstructed view over my shoulder.

My main argument for a mirror, particularly in the urban environment is summarized by Jim’s Law of the Road: “No matter how well paved or lightly-traveled the Road, a vehicle is likely to pass you on the left as you encounter an obstacle on the right.”….

cover your eyes. the worst stuff gets flung up from motorized wheels

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 21046920)

People should be putting a flail-like ball on the end to deter drivers from "tagging" it for fun...

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThermionicScott (Post 21050463)

People should be putting a flail-like ball on the end to deter drivers from "tagging" it for fun...

Or seagull poo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston (Post 21050065)

Surprisingly, after 17 posts, no one has mentioned a rearview mirror.

Jim, I considered a mirror for my list, but thought about my own experience with mirrors. I have them on half of my bikes (commuter and utility/touring bikes), and even on one fast road bike. In practice, I rarely refer to it. And in those cases, I could easily swivel my head to take a look, which is what I usually do. This is where hearing must be unimpeded, no podcasts, no music, no distractions. You need to combine alert hearing with taking a look to make sure that your left side is safe for taking the lane, making a left turn across traffic, or passing wide of an obstacle. But the mirror is probably a good call. Phil

I thought i already replied with this, but i guess not.

Daytime running lights! Especially the rear blinkie, keep it on day and night.

The Trek ABCs sum it up nicely:
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/abcs_of_awareness/

Rear blinkie, helmet, and kittier with passive-aggressively amusing message in reflective tape

https://www.bikeforums.net/attachmen...7&d=1401917683

I have a HotShot Pro 150 in back, a Light & Motion Taz 1200 in front, and a Brightside Side light, amber side blinker. Helmet, gloves, and the essentials for roadside flat repair and other minor repairs.

When I wear out this set of tires I'll go for reflective sidewall tires, if available in GP4Season 32mm tires.