Due to the negative effects of gasoline and petroleum to the environment, a lot of people are now considering using their bikes to go to work every day. After all, bicycling also presents another great perk: exercise. However, there are a lot of risk involved in ditching your motorcycles and cars in favor of bicycles especially as there are times that work extends into the night and bicycles are not built for night time riding sessions.
Accidents happen, even when a lot of precaution has been taken to avoid it so it will be helpful to have a personal injury attorney in your phone book, preferably someone that you already have experience with. A great example of a firm that specializes in these cases is Abels & Annes in the Chicago area.
Thankfully, there are ways to make sure that you will be able to avoid accidents during your night time biking. Here are some tips to keep in mind:
Use night-specific cycling eyewear
When you go to your favorite cycling store, you may have asked yourself why buyers would even consider purchasing clear, yellow or rose-tinted cycling eyewear. The answer is that these are glasses used by cyclists at night. So to make sure that your eyes are protected during these night trips, you may want to buy a pair with clear lenses.
Paste reflective tape to your gear and bike
Even with lamp posts all over the path you will be taking, taking an extra precaution is not half bad. By putting reflective duct tape all over your bicycle, you are making yourself more visible. Just to make sure you are lighting up like a Christmas tree, put some reflective tape on your shirt as well. If you still get into an accident, whoever bumped with you is either drunk or just plain distracted.
Try biking in a lighted path
Night biking is risky but some bike paths in many cities and towns all over the country are lighted to lessen this risk. Some of them have been especially funded to have the lights run all night while in others, the lights are turned off at 10 or 11 pm.
Use your old bicycles
Let us face it: riding bicycles during the night is not safe at all. So you might want to use your old bicycle instead. This is so just in case you get into an accident while riding at night, your precious new bicycle will not be the one that is going to be damaged.
Ensure your bicycle is in top shape
Yes, using your old bicycle for your nighttime rounds may be ideal but you have to make sure that it is still working well. After all, your safety is still the top priority. So before biking, always check if your tires are full, if the bicycle chain still holds and if there are no other issues with the bike.
Lastly, exercise caution. Ride your bike slowly and you will be safe with your nighttime biking.
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