Bicycle Safety Awareness
Read our quick tips below to refresh your knowledge of bicycle safety.
Whether you hop on a bike for recreation or to get from A to B, cycling is a healthy, environmentally friendly and enjoyable way to get around. Unfortunately, on average, nine bicycle riders are killed and more than 1900 seriously injured in NSW each year.* We want to play our part in reducing this worrying statistic by shining a light on bicycle safety both from a rider and driver perspective, so we can all share the road safely.
*Transport for NSW – Centre for Road Safety
Bicycle safety tips for riders:
Like drivers, bicycle riders should have safety in mind at all times. There are a number of things that bicycle riders can do to help stay safe on the road. These include:
- wearing an approved and properly fitting bicycle helmet
- wearing bright, reflective clothing and enclosed footwear
- ensuring your bike is fitted with a bell and reflectors
- using front (white) and rear (red) lights if riding at night
- ensuring tyres are properly inflated
Riding on Footpaths:
Since 2018 children under 16 years of age are allowed to ride on a footpath. This helps keep them safe until they have the skills, decision making and knowledge of the rules to ride safely on the road. For more information visit the Centre for Road Safety.
Did you know?
Wearing a properly fitted and fastened helmet reduces your risk of serious head injury by approximately 70%*
*Research conducted by the University of NSW in 2016.
For more information on bicycle safety visit the Center for Road Safety – Bicycle Safety
It's Competition Time!!!
Test your bicycle safety knowledge for a chance to WIN one of three bicycle safety packs.
Refresh your knowledge of bicycle safety by reading some of our bicycle safety tips and answering a few questions for your chance to win.
(Hey kids, a grown up can help you read and answer the questions!)
Each pack includes a $200 voucher to a local bicycle store along with puncture repair kit, bike light kit, water bottle and attachment, bicycle pump, bell, chain lube, spoke decorations, and reflective tape.
See full Terms and Conditions here.
Congratulations to our competition winners- Debbie, Grahame, and Lisa B.
Thank you to everyone who entered.
Bicycle safety tips for drivers:
Bicycle riders are more difficult to see than cars or trucks, especially at night. Take care to check for bicycle riders in blind spots and especially when turning at intersections and at roundabouts.
Remember that it takes bicycle riders longer to stop than cars. Check in your rear-view and side mirrors to avoid opening your car door into the path of bicycle riders.
The Minimum Passing Distance rule helps ensure that bicycle riders and motorists remain safe when sharing our roads. Drivers who pass a bicycle rider must allow a distance of at least:
- 1 metre when the speed limit is 60km/h or less
- 1.5 metres when the speed limit is more than 60km/h
If drivers cannot pass a bicycle rider safely, they should slow down and wait until it is safe to pass the rider, leaving the minimum distance.
Did you know?
To help drivers provide the minimum distance, some exemptions to the road rules apply. For example, you can cross single and double white lines to pass bicycles, but only if you have a clear view of approaching traffic and it’s safe to do so.
For more information on bicycle safety for drivers visit the Centre for Road Safety – Sharing the road with bicycle riders
Pop Up Bicycle Safety Stalls
As a part of our Bicycle Safety Project we’re hosting three bicycle safety stalls throughout the LGA.
The stalls will have bicycle safety giveaways, important information for both cyclists and drivers, a qualified bicycle mechanic from Bike Fix to answer your bicycle maintenance questions and our Road Safety Officer to talk about bicycle safety.
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