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Kimberly Garrison: Bike riding: Good exercise, if you exercise common sense
By Kimberly Garrison
Philadelphia Daily News
Daily News Personal FItness Columnist
Jul 25, 2008
IS IT MY imagination or are there more bike riders on the road these days? By golly, I think the prohibitive gas prices have driven many people to biking as their final resort. It's a good thing that more people are riding bikes, whether for transportation or recreation. The trend helps the environment, decreases roadway congestion and is good, old-fashioned exercise.
However, along with the increase in cycling, I have either witnessed or heard some pretty alarming stories about accidents and near misses involving bikes and vehicles or pedestrians.
For years, I've heard many cyclists complain that Philadelphia motorists generally disrespect them. I agree, for the most part.
But the fundamental problem seems to be that many cyclists are either unaware of or, worse, thumb their noses at laws governing bicycling in Pennsylvania.
I see this happening almost daily around Center City.
Now more than ever, bike riders must recognize that bikes are vehicles, too. Exercising a little common sense wouldn't hurt, either. Here are my eight suggestions for cyclists:
_ Ride with instead of against traffic.
_ Use hand signals when turning.
_ Obey traffic signs and signals.
_ Stop at stop signs.
_ Check for traffic before entering the street.
_ Ride on the right-hand side of the street.
_ Wear bright-colored clothing.
_ Give the right-of-way to pedestrians and cars.
Now, I'm sure bicycle anarchists think that all rules governing bike riding are just plain silly. However, according to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, every year in the United States 900 bicyclists are killed, 20,000 are hospitalized, and 580,000 visit the emergency room for care.
Clearly, following the rules is in the best interest of everyone, but especially bicyclists. Here are a few of the relevant Pennsylvania bike laws in our state:
_ A bicycle is considered a vehicle under Pennsylvania law, and cyclists must obey all road rules applicable to vehicles.
_ Cyclists should ride in the same direction as vehicular traffic.
_ Cyclists are not allowed to carry packages that prevent the driver from keeping at least one hand on the handlebars.
_ All bikes should be equipped with lights and reflectors, which should be used between sunset and sunrise.
A white light should be placed on the front of the bike that is visible from a distance of at least 500 feet. Red reflectors on the rear of the bike should also be visible at least 500 feet, and amber reflectors should be placed on the sides.
_ Cyclists may not ride on the sidewalk in a business district.
_ Where they are allowed to ride on sidewalks, cyclists must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and alert pedestrians of their presence before passing.
_ All children under 12 are required to wear an approved bicycle helmet. (The Snell Memorial Foundation sets standards for protective headgear at www.smf.org/stds.html .)
_ The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation strongly recommends that all riders wear approved helmets.
Now that we have some of the ground rules in place, let's hope there will be some peace and mutual respect this summer among bicyclists, drivers and pedestrians. *
Kimberly Garrison is a certified personal trainer and owner of One on One Ultimate Fitness in Philadelphia ( www.1on1ultimatefitness.com ).
E-mail her at
kimberly@1on1ultimatefitness.com . Her column appears each Thursday in Yo! Chat with her on her Daily News weblog, the Girlfriends' Locker Room, at www.girlfriendslockerroom.com . Her new podcast, "Philly Fitness and Health," is available for download every Thursday at www.philly.com .
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