By Myrriah Gossett
Just to address a few questions I have received on the polo column last week, for a more detailed listing and explanation of hard court polo rules please visit the hard court bike polo Web site.
This week I would like to address all my fellow cyclists. All bikers are not guilty, however, I would like to stress to please follow the rules of the road! Bicycles are considered vehicles in the state of Georgia, which means we must follow the same rules.
The number one rule I see cyclists breaking is riding against traffic instead of going with the flow of traffic. This is the number one cause of bike-to-car accidents. If a person is biking down the wrong way down a street, cars are more likely not to see you when they turn onto the road, along with when making turns. This includes streets with bike lanes.
Streets such as Lincoln, one-way streets, are also one-way bike lanes. When biking down Lincoln even the arrows that point to the bike lane symbol are pointing riders in the direction they need to be going. While Lincoln may not be the best bike lane, it is there, so use it correctly.
Some people may ask where should they be riding in the roads. Cyclists should always ride far enough to the right to allow for cars to pass if you cannot maintain the same speed, but not too far as to run into parked cars or gutters. It is advised to ride in as straight of a path as possible, so that drivers may predict your movements, and the rider has less of a chance of getting hit by the car.
Signaling is also an important element. As a cyclist riding to the far right, if you are going to make a left turn you must signal, move to the center of the lane and then turn when it is safe. See pictures below for the correct hand signals for what you are looking to do on the road.
Stoplights and stop signs also apply to bikes as well. This means that you must stop and look for traffic before continuing. However, certain cyclists and states believe in the rolling stop, which is a cyclist treating the stop sign as a yield. However cyclists are required to stop for red lights. This idea hasn’t had any concrete legislation in Georgia so cyclists are still encouraged to come to a complete stop.
Other safety tips include wearing helmet, which isn’t required but does provide added safety. Lights, however, are required. A white light that is visible up to 300 feet is required on the front of bicycles, and a red reflector is required on the back on the bike as well. Red lights are also encouraged and are more visible then just a reflector.
For more rules check out the Georgia Bikes Web site.
I love cycling and seeing more people picking up the activity, but please follow the rules. I’m tired of yelling at people on the side of the road.
