How to bike ride safely in traffic

1. Wear a helmet.
2. If there’s a bike lane use it.
3. Make sure drivers can see you. Bright colored clothes, lights or reflective clothing strips.
4. Respect the laws.
5. Watch out for car doors, look ahead. If you ride on the right side of the road you’ll see more.
6. Anticipate what drivers and other riders will be doing. This takes time. Look down the road.
7. Ride with confidence and in a straight line.
8. Concede if you have to. Your vehicle weights 20 pounds, the car weights 2000 pounds. The car always wins.

Hi, I'm Steve Madden with Howdini.com, and I want to talk to you a little bit today about how to ride safely in traffic. You know, a lot of people say to me that they don't want to ride their bikes because they're afraid of riding with cars.

And I understand that, because there are a lot of cars out there, and they're much bigger than you are on your bike. But with a little bit of practice, you can become comfortable riding in traffic. I am. There are eight points I want to go over to tell you about today.

First of all, wear a helmet. It's a no-brainer. Always wear your helmet, no matter where you're riding. Second of all, if there's a bike lane available, be sure to ride in the bike lane. It's marked right on the pavement. It'll have an icon of a guy riding a bicycle. That's your lane. Cars aren't supposed to be in it. You'll feel a lot safer with a buffer of space around you.

Thirdly, make sure that drivers can see you. Wear bright-colored clothing. If you're riding toward dawn or dusk, have lights on both the front and the rear the bike. Or have reflective clothing on-- strips on a backpack that you might be wearing or on your ankle cuffs. Make sure that people can see you.

Fourth of all, respect the laws. You're on the road. You're a vehicle. You're subject to the same laws that cars are. Don't run lights, don't roll through stop signs, stop and put your foot down. If you ride as if you respect the laws, drivers will respect you.

Watch out for car doors. Look ahead. If you're riding on the right side of the road, you're much more likely to see car doors open in front of you than you are if you're riding on the left side of the road, where only passenger doors would open into your path.

Anticipate what drivers and other riders will be doing. This comes with experience. It takes some time to be able to anticipate what they're going to be able to do, but you need to be looking forward. Look down the road, not at your wheels.

Ride with confidence and ride in a straight line. If you're zigzagging, cars are likely to be as afraid of you as you are of them. And finally, concede if you have to. Remember, your vehicle weighs 20 pounds. The car weighs 2,000 pounds. The car always wins.

I'm Steve Madden for Howdini.com, and that's how to ride safely.