Bike Safely: 5 easy principles

Cyclists fare best when they act, and are treated as, drivers of vehicles.
Cyclists fare best when act, and are treated as, drivers of vehicles. - John Forester

The 5 Principles according to the League of American Bicyclists are:

1. Ride on the right
   • Always ride with the flow of traffic
   • Do not ride on the sidewalk
   • Allow yourself room to maneuver around roadway hazards
2. Yield to traffic in busier lanes
   • Roads with higher traffic volumes should be given right-of-way
   • Always use signals to indicate your intentions to switch lanes
   • Look behind you to indicate your desire to move and to make sure that you can
3. Yield to traffic in your destination lane
   • Traffic in your destination lane has the right-of-way
   • Making eye contact with drivers lets them know that you see them
   • Signal and make your lane change early, before you need to
4. Directional Positioning
   • Position yourself in the right-most lane that goes in the direction of your destination
   • Ride in the right third of the lane
   • Avoid being overtaken in narrow-lane situations by riding in the right third of the lane
5. Speed Positioning
   • Position yourself relative to the speed of other traffic
   • Left-most lane is for fastest moving traffic, right-most for slower traffic
   • Yield to faster moving vehicles by staying to the right in the lane