{"id":201033878,"date":"2011-05-16T18:44:38","date_gmt":"2011-05-16T18:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=201033878"},"modified":"2011-05-16T18:44:38","modified_gmt":"2011-05-16T18:44:38","slug":"the-league-partners-with-aaa-on-road-safety-for-national-bike-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=201033878","title":{"rendered":"The League partners with AAA on road safety for National Bike Month"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>[B&#8217; Spokes: It looks like someone got the hint from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thewashcycle.com\/2011\/05\/next-lab-teams-up-with-dot-to-ask-motorists-to-wear-fireproof-jumpsuits.html\">Washcycle<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baltimorespokes.org\/article.php?story=20110502112326410\">Baltimore Spokes<\/a>.]<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>from Bikeleague.org Blog by Darren<\/p>\n<p>Whether bicycling to work, to improve their health, save money, or to reduce their overall carbon footprint, bicycling is on the rise and the League of American Bicyclists and AAA want motorists and bicyclists to make safety on our shared roadways a priority.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs more cyclists hit the road and trail, we welcome the opportunity to work with AAA to reinforce the safety messages that both cyclists and motorists really need to take to heart,\u201d said Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists. \u201cWe have a shared responsibility to share the road \u2013 and the reality is that most cyclists are also motorists at some point.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEducation\u2013on both sides\u2014is key for all road users, of all ages,\u201d said AAA\u2019s Traffic Safety Specialist Rhonda Markos. \u201cDespite conventional wisdom, children are not the primary victims of bicycle crashes.\u201d Of the 630 bicyclist deaths in 2009, eight out of ten were adults over 21, so the League of American Bicyclists and AAA have partnered on a campaign to encourage adult bicyclists to take five easy steps to safer riding:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Follow the Rules of the Road:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Always ride with       traffic, using the rightmost lane, obeying the same laws as motorists.<\/li>\n<li>Use hand and arm       signals to indicate your intention to stop, merge or turn.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be Visible:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Ride where drivers can       see you. Do not ride on the sidewalk.<\/li>\n<li>Wear brightly colored       clothing at all times. At night, use a white front light and red rear       light or reflector, and wear reflective clothing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be Predicable:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Ride in a straight line       and don\u2019t swerve between parked cars.<\/li>\n<li>Make eye contact with       motorists to let them know you are there.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Anticipate Conflicts:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Always be aware of traffic       around you and be prepared to take evasive action, exercising additional       caution at intersections.<\/li>\n<li>Learn braking and       turning techniques to avoid crashes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Wear a Helmet: <\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Helmets, when worn       properly, are up to 85 percent effective in protecting the head and brain       in the event of a crash. Should you crash, or have an impact that affects       your helmet, replace it immediately.<strong> <\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Fit matters: Wear your       helmet level on your head, low on your forehead, with no more than two       finger widths above your eyebrow.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cAAA is pleased to work with the League of American Bicyclists to remind adults about safe bicycling practices and to encourage motorists and bicyclists alike to share the road,\u201d Markos said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Motorists should also make an effort to reduce bicyclist injuries and fatalities.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>AAA is encourages it\u2019s members to take the following precautions when sharing the road with bicyclists:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Stay alert, avoiding all distractions while driving.<\/li>\n<li>Yield to bicyclists when turning.<\/li>\n<li>In bad weather, give bicyclists extra passing room.<\/li>\n<li>Check mirrors and blind spots for bicyclists before      entering or leaving a lane of traffic.<\/li>\n<li>Slow down and give at least 3 feet of clearance when      passing.<\/li>\n<li>Reduce your speed when passing bicyclists, especially      when the road is narrow.<\/li>\n<li>NEVER honk your horn at a bicyclist just to let them      know you are there; it could cause them to swerve into traffic or off the      roadway and crash. Save your horn for emergencies.<\/li>\n<li>Always check for bicyclists before opening your car      door.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For information on bicycle safety, please visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bikeleague.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BikeLeague.org<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/sharetheroad.aaa.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">SharetheRoad.AAA.com<\/a><\/p>\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bikeleague.org\/images\/darren_blog.jpg\" alt=\"My Signature\" style=\"margin-right:10px; float: left;\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Darren Flusche<br \/>League Policy Analyst<\/h3>\n<p>Flusche joined the League in April 2009 and has a B.A. in history from Syracuse University and a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy analysis from New York University.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--more--><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bikeleague.org\/blog\/2011\/05\/the-league-partners-with-aaa-on-road-safety-for-national-bike-month\/\">https:\/\/www.bikeleague.org\/blog\/2011\/05\/the-league-partners-with-aaa-on-road-safety-for-national-bike-month\/<\/a>oldId.20110516184438583<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[B&#8217; Spokes: It looks like someone got the hint from Washcycle and Baltimore Spokes.] from Bikeleague.org Blog by Darren Whether bicycling to work, to improve their health, save money, or to reduce their overall carbon footprint, bicycling is on the rise and the League of American Bicyclists and AAA want motorists and bicyclists to make &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/?p=201033878\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;The League partners with AAA on road safety for National Bike Month&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-201033878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biking-elsewhere"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201033878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=201033878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201033878\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=201033878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=201033878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.baltimorespokes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=201033878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}