Bike shop upland: Common crashes #1: The Right Cross

Our bike shop Upland is running a series of blog posts exposing the top ten situations that cause bike accidents, from Bicyclesafe.com. We begin with the number one most common bike wreck: The Right CrossA vehicle is pulling out of a side street, parking lot, or driveway on the right. Note that this collision can happen one of two ways:  1.) you are in front of the car and the car hits you, or 2.) the car pulls out in front of you and you crash into it.
How to avoid this collision:
1. Get a headlight. A good headlight is something you can't ride without at night, but it can increase your visibility in the daytime too.
2. Get the driver's attention. Catch their eye if you can, ring your bell, honk, wave, whatever it takes.
3. Slow down. Stop if necessary. Yes, its a hassle, but worth it!
4. Ride further to the left. Many riders feel safer riding hugging the right curb of the road, but moving further to the left can actually prevent many of the most common bike wrecks. The "B" line in the diagram above is the best place to ride.