By: Indhira Benitez
Bike rentals are becoming increasingly popular in big cities. Cities such as New York, Boston, and Pittsburgh are all participating in bike sharing, in efforts to create an efficient and more environmentally friendly method of transportation. Apart from where to rent one of these bikes, there are several things NYC bicyclist should know in order to avoid accidents or serious injuries:
1) Yield to pedestrians – while it may be tempting to swerve around the people touring the city, bikers should remember that although they are not in a car, they can still seriously hurt a pedestrian in the case of an accident
2) Stay off the sidewalk- although this rule is common sense for owners of cars and trucks, a non-experienced bicyclist may believe that it is ok to ride on the sidewalk since a bike is easily maneuvered in small spaces.
3) Obey traffic lights- bicyclist should never disobey traffic lights, especially in NYC traffic! Running a red light could cause a car from another direction to strike the bicyclist, resulting in serious or fatal injury.
4) Ride with traffic- riding in the opposite direction of traffic could confuse other drivers and also cause distractions, which can lead to accidents and injuries.
