May is bicycle safety month

Warmer weather encourages people to be more active outdoors. In the coming weeks, more and more bicycles will be sharing the road with motorists. May is Bicycle Safety Month, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol encourages motorists and bicyclists to stay alert and be courteous. Preliminary statistics for 2020 indicate eight people were killed and 369 injured in 437 traffic crashes involving a bicycle. A bicyclist is required to ride as near the right side of the roadway as is safe, exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction; except when making a left turn, when the lane is too narrow to share with another vehicle, or when on a one-way street. Bicyclists may ride abreast when not impeding other vehicles. Bicyclists must also obey all traffic signals and signs, the same as required of drivers of other vehicles. Use hand signals to let others know you will turn left, right, or stop. A bicycle must be equipped with a brake or brakes that will enable its driver to stop the bicycle within 25 feet from a speed of 10 miles per hour on dry, level, clean pavement. Bicycle riders, when riding upon a street or highway, are granted all the rights and are subject to all the traffic regulations applicable to drivers of motor vehicles, except those that by their very nature do not apply. Although not required by state law, wearing a bicycle helmet while riding is one of the most important things you can do to protect yourself. Be sure your helmet is the proper size, and adjust the straps for a snug fit.