It is spring time and finally time to start riding again. This article draws deeply on that first hand experience and is meant to be for both riders and those who we share the road with a reminder of the laws that govern all.

My background with bicycling safety goes back to my childhood; I had a friend as a teenager, who had an accident on his bike (no car involved) and spent 6 weeks in a coma, and 6 months with his jaw wired shut. That drove home the importance of awareness and safety like nothing else. I have been riding bikes and driving for 35 and 40 years respectively. I have served an appointment on a Regional Transportation Council, an advisory committee for traffic and safety improvements, in Washington State. I cycle a familiar stretch of road on average three to four times a week, and see lots of riders and drivers doing things wrong. I also volunteer at a center for the head injured and see what can happens to lives when things do go wrong.

I want to feel safe on my bike around traffic, just like I don’t want to get someone killed when I’m behind the wheel. This means improving the behaviors of both drivers and riders. I continually see the same poor behaviors so many times by cyclists and drivers alike that show how we both need to know the rules of the road, the laws.