It's no-brainer that a cyclist is more likely to suffer serious injuries than the driver of a car when the two collide. The risk increases even more at night due to reduced viability. Take these three precautions to improve your safety while cycling at night.
Increase Your Visibility
Even if you may be aware of other road users, you can still get into an accident if they don't notice you. Therefore, improving your visibility is a good way to prevent crashes. Here are some of the measures that will make you more visible on the road:
- Buy reflective tape and add it to different parts of your body, bike, and even backpack.
- Make sure both front and rear lights are operational.
- Wear reflective clothing.
- Make sure you have reflectors that are neither dirty nor cracked.
Wear Clear Glasses
Cycling glasses aren't just fashion accessories; they also form part of your safety gear. The glasses improve your vision by keeping the wind, dust, insect and other debris out of your eyes. Unfortunately, the dark glasses that most people use for daytime cycling aren't suitable for nighttime cycling. Choose a pair of clear glasses if you want to keep the debris and wind out of your eyes at night.
Stick To Routes You Know Well
Even if your lights are working perfectly and the street is well lit, nighttime visibility might not match daytime visibility. Therefore, there is still the odd chance that you will hit a rock or a pothole. As such, it makes sense to stick to roads or paths you already know well if you have to cycle at night. For example, if you are cycling to work for your overnight shift, take the path you usually take during the day. Here are some of the road dangers you will instinctively know if you stick to the familiar route:
- Sections of the road filled with potholes and cracks.
- The places where the road is likely to be filled with debris, for example, autumn foliage.
- The sections of the road where road signs are likely to be missing.
Hopefully, the above precautions will help you to avoid road accidents while cycling at night. If you do get in an accident, don't admit liability even if you think the accident was your fault. Rather, get the contacts of the other party involved in the accident, pictures of the accident scene, witnesses' contact information, and consult a lawyer like Hardee and Hardee LLP that can help you build a personal injury case.
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