Monday, 22 April 2013

Riding Travel Bicycles & the Requirement of Constant Awareness

By Rob Sutter


It seems like the rules and regulations upon travel bicycles should be quite obvious, unless you're Alec Baldwin. An article that was posted on NY Daily News talked about how the "30 Rock" was seen riding bout on his cycle while talking on a cellphone. This is bad enough; consider, though, the fact that he wasn't wearing anything more on his head than merely a beanie. These seem like the warning signs of an accident waiting to happen but you don't have to put up with them.

1. In order to keep up with your surroundings, maintain a good sense of awareness. Being alert is one of the key points to consider when you're traveling down just about any road in particular. Let's say that you're stationed on one side of the street, as you should be; before moving to the other side, check over your shoulder to see if you're clear and then proceed forward. It's common courtesy to others who are on the same road and it allows you to avoid an accident as well.

2. This is a step that's especially important for long distances on travel bicycles but keep safety gear in mind. The problem with Baldwin is that he made a mistake when riding around New York City and you shouldn't tackle big environments like these without said gear. You never know about what kinds of obstacles could be present and it's better to be safe than sorry. Companies along the lines of Linus Bike are ones that I would like to think could support such precautions.

3. Avoid cell phone contact, no matter what vehicle you are operating. It seems like this a problem more associated with cars but as you can see in the case of Baldwin, cyclists can succumb to this problem as well. I have a number of problems with this one, the biggest one being that it's incredibly rude. However, to a greater extent, it takes the focus off of the road and even the slightest lack of concentration could potentially end in an accident waiting to occur.

Baldwin was reportedly not spoken to by an officer, which simply baffles me. I would like to think that New York City, one of the busiest places in the world, would have at least someone on duty that caught sight of Baldwin's daredevil-like actions. Regardless, I would not recommend that you go about the same actions and that you take better care when operating travel bicycles. Understanding precautions and rules while on the road will only help you ride along in a safer fashion.




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