8 security suggestions for bikers and pedestrians : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7500x8000+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff1%2Fef%2Fecd303054513898c77c0ad8b1aa1%2Flk-basic-copy.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7500x8000+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff1%2Fef%2Fecd303054513898c77c0ad8b1aa1%2Flk-basic-copy.jpg" class="img" alt="A grid of four black-and-white photos annotated with hand drawn doodles and selective coloring show safety do's and don'ts for pedestrians and bikers, including: not crossing the street where there isn't a crosswalk, using marked crosswalks and sidewalks, using bike lights and bright, reflective clothing, and paying attention to your surroundings. " fetchpriority="high"/> The fundamentals of highway security may appear apparent, however they will save your life. DON'T cross the road the place drivers may not anticipate you. DO use sidewalks, bike paths and protected pedestrian crossings. DO make your self seen with bike lights. DO search for out of your cellphone when strolling. Picture Illustration by Beck Harlan/NPR disguise caption

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Picture Illustration by Beck Harlan/NPR You have heard of defensive driving — driving practices that will help you keep protected on the highway, like decreasing your pace in dangerous climate or signaling earlier than switching lanes. However what about defensive strolling and biking?

They seem to be a essential a part of pedestrian and bicycle owner security, and extra individuals ought to observe them, says Ryan Sharp, a transportation marketing consultant with Alta, a transportation design agency.

"It means being attentive to your environment and having a relentless consciousness of the setting so you may anticipate potential hazards," he says. As a result of in case you're a biker or a pedestrian and also you get hit by a automotive, you are prone to be the extra injured one.

Based on estimates from the Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration, about 7,100 pedestrians have been killed in visitors crashes within the U.S. in 2024. Lately, greater than 1,000 cyclists have been hit and killed yearly.

However casualties are preventable. Sharp and Julia Kite-Laidlaw, a pedestrian and bicycle owner security advocate with the Nationwide Security Council, share their high do's and don'ts for walkers and bikers.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4524x3016+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F1a%2F10%2F0cf67fcf44458bd07eb736f3ba15%2F1-lk-harlan-bike-pedestrian-safety-10-copy.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4524x3016+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F1a%2F10%2F0cf67fcf44458bd07eb736f3ba15%2F1-lk-harlan-bike-pedestrian-safety-10-copy.jpg" class="img" alt="A black and white photo shows wide shot of a rear view of a man in a yellow shirt crossing a street. He looks over his shoulder as a bike passes to his left. Yellow arrows point to the left, right and behind, and he is highlighted by being circled in a white wavy line. " loading="lazy"/> When crossing the road, do not simply look left and proper, look in all instructions — together with behind you. Picture illustration by Beck Harlan/NPR disguise caption

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Picture illustration by Beck Harlan/NPR 1. DO look left, proper and behind you. "Oftentimes the best hazards in case you're a pedestrian making an attempt to cross at an intersection are literally coming from behind you," Sharp says.

So, look in all instructions and switch round earlier than strolling or biking throughout a highway. A driver making an attempt to show into the intersection could not see you within the crosswalk, for instance, as a result of they're oncoming visitors.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7500x4000+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F5b%2Fd8%2F584f0c3f4903a8b0e9f2c9dc688c%2F1-lk-front-and-back-lights.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7500x4000+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F5b%2Fd8%2F584f0c3f4903a8b0e9f2c9dc688c%2F1-lk-front-and-back-lights.jpg" class="img" alt="A diptych of black-and-white photos shows a close-up of a red bike light on the rear of a bike and a white bike light on the front of the bike. The lights are in color and surrounded by emphasizing doodle lines. " loading="lazy"/> In case you're biking at night time, use white bike lights on the entrance and purple lights behind your bike — identical to on a automobile — so automobiles can see you. Picture illustration by Beck Harlan/NPR disguise caption

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Picture illustration by Beck Harlan/NPR 2. DO be seen and predictable. "By no means assume {that a} driver sees you," Kite-Laidlaw says. Greater than three-quarters of pedestrian deaths occur after darkish, and many individuals get struck and killed in locations with out sidewalks, the place drivers could not anticipate individuals to be strolling, in accordance with a 2025 report from the Governors Freeway Security Affiliation.

All the time stroll on the sidewalk or a strolling path. If there's none, stroll on the shoulder of the road towards visitors so you may see oncoming automobiles and drivers can see you.

In case you're biking at night time, put white lights on the entrance and purple lights behind your bike so automobiles can see you. Even when you've gotten the fitting of means, attempt to make eye contact with an oncoming driver or search for different indications that they see you, equivalent to slowing down.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5635x3757+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F04%2F36%2F7c4880b340a7b8933ddaf361de82%2Fcrosswalk-1.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5635x3757+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F04%2F36%2F7c4880b340a7b8933ddaf361de82%2Fcrosswalk-1.jpg" class="img" alt="A close-up photo shows the lower half of a person wearing shorts and boat shoes walking across a white striped crosswalk on an asphalt road. A strong shadow is cast to the right of the person and white zig zag doodles emphasize the crosswalk stripes. " loading="lazy"/> Each time potential, keep in areas designed to maintain bikers and walkers protected. Picture illustration by Beck Harlan/NPR disguise caption

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Picture illustration by Beck Harlan/NPR 3. DO use sidewalks, bike paths and protected pedestrian crossings every time potential. Most pedestrian and bicycle owner deaths "occur in between intersections," Kite-Laidlaw says, as an example, when dodging visitors throughout the center of a avenue with no crosswalks. So keep in areas designed to maintain bikers and walkers protected.

In some cities, the stroll and bike alerts flip inexperienced earlier than the stoplights do. That offers pedestrians and bikers just a few additional seconds of lead time, boosting their visibility and exhibiting drivers they've the fitting of means. Design components like curb extensions, which shorten the size of a crosswalk, reduce the period of time a pedestrian is uncovered on the highway.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7500x4000+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Fcb%2F81475b3a451c997c0fdedf10b0b7%2Flk-pay-attention.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7500x4000+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbf%2Fcb%2F81475b3a451c997c0fdedf10b0b7%2Flk-pay-attention.jpg" class="img" alt="A diptych of black-and-white photos shows close up images of a person holding a phone in their hand and with wireless earbuds in their ears. The images are colored with selective color highlighting the behaviors to avoid and both are emphasized with red doodles. The phone is in a circle with a strikethrough and the ear is surrounded by wavy red lines. Looking at your phone and wearing headphones are two behaviors to avoid when walking or biking. " loading="lazy"/> To keep away from harm, take note of your environment when biking and strolling. Do not look down at your cellphone. Keep away from carrying headphones. Picture illustration by Beck Harlan/NPR disguise caption

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Picture illustration by Beck Harlan/NPR 4. DON'T be distracted whereas biking or strolling, particularly whereas crossing the highway. No listening to music or podcasts in your headphones or your cellphone. You need to have the ability to hear the sounds of oncoming visitors and see what's taking place round you.

5. DON'T ignore individuals on e-scooters and e-bikes. As a result of they're motorized and sometimes sooner than somebody on a bicycle, they could be a possible hazard for pedestrians and cyclists, Sharp says. Many cities and communities have but to create the highway infrastructure to accommodate these autos, so you could have to share area with them on sidewalks, bike paths and roads.

In case you really feel nervous about crashing into an e-bike rider whereas strolling down the highway, "that is comprehensible," Sharp says. However needless to say "information has proven that there aren't a whole lot of collisions between e-bike riders and pedestrians."

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7500x4000+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F12%2F65%2Ff8717bd14470aef919b5f1a419c1%2Flk-helmet-2.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7500x4000+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F12%2F65%2Ff8717bd14470aef919b5f1a419c1%2Flk-helmet-2.jpg" class="img" alt="A diptych of black-and-white close-up images shows best practices for helmet safety. On the lef,t a close-up photo shows that when wearing your helmet, you should have about two fingers of space between your brow and the top of your helmet. The photo on the right shows that the straps should form a "v" slightly below and in front of your ear. Red doodles emphasize the helmet placement. " loading="lazy"/> Your helmet ought to hit about one-or two finger-widths above your eyebrow. The facet strap ought to kind a V form below and barely in entrance of your ears on each side of your face. Picture illustration by Beck Harlan/NPR disguise caption

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Picture illustration by Beck Harlan/NPR 6. DO put on your helmet accurately when biking. It could possibly shield you from head accidents in case of an accident. Make certain the helmet is protecting your brow, about one or two finger-widths above your eyebrow. The side-strap ought to kind a V form below and barely in entrance of your ears on each side of your face. Buckle and tighten your chin strap till it is comfortable. When your helmet is on, it should not be rocking multiple inch facet to facet or entrance to again in your head.

7. DO use flip alerts when biking to remain in fixed communication with different automobiles, cyclists and pedestrians on the highway. The best guidelines to recollect are: left arm straight out for a left flip and proper arm straight out for a proper flip. You can too increase your left arm up in an L form to indicate that you simply're turning proper.

8. DON'T put your self in peril simply because you've gotten the fitting of means. Whereas drivers are answerable for driving safely, highway security is everybody's duty. "We have now a long time of information to indicate that anticipating individuals to all the time act the fitting means [on the road] doesn't work," Sharp says.

By taking possession of your security, you might be serving to to create a protected system, which protects everybody on the highway.

This story was edited by Meghan Keane. The visible editor is Beck Harlan. We might love to listen to from you. Depart us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or electronic mail us at LifeKit@npr.org.