Lake Tahoe Road Cycling Safety
- Obey all Rules of the Road and all local traffic laws.
- Ride in designated bike lanes, bike paths or as close to the edge of the road as is safe, in the direction of traffic flow or as directed by local governing laws.
- Stop at stop signs and traffic lights; slow down and look both ways at street intersections before crossing.
- Use approved hand signals for turning and stopping.
- You are sharing the road or path with others – motorists, pedestrians, and other cyclists. Respect their rights.
- Ride defensively. Always assume others don’t see you.
- Look ahead and be ready to avoid:
- Vehicles slowing or turning, entering the road or lane ahead of you, or coming up behind you.
- Parked car doors.
- Pedestrians stepping onto road.
- Children or pets playing near the road
- Pot holes, storm water grates, railroad tracks, road or sidewalk construction, debris and other obstructions that could cause you to swerve into the traffic.
- Never ride with headphones. They mask traffic sounds and emergency vehicle sirens, distract you from concentrating on what’s going on around you, and their wires can tangle in the moving parts of the bicycle, causing you to lose control.
- Never carry a passenger, unless it is a small child wearing an approved helmet and secured in a correctly mounted child carrier or child-carrying trailer.
- Never carry anything which obstructs your vision or you complete control of the bicycle, or which could become entangled in the moving parts of the bicycle.
- Never hitch a ride by holding on to another vehicle.
- Don’t weave through traffic or make any moves that may surprise people with who you are sharing the road.
- Never ride your bicycle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. You can get a DUI from law enforcement.
- If possible, avoid riding in bad weather, when visibility is obscured, at dawn, dusk or in the dark, or when extremely tired. Each of these conditions increases the risk of accident.Parked car doors opening.Pedestrians stepping out.