&bull Always wear a helmet. According to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute, “about 540,000 bicyclists visit emergency rooms with injuries each year. Of those, 67,000 have head injuries and 27,000 have injuries serious enough to be hospitalized.” Two-thirds of cyclist deaths are the result of brain injuries.

&bull Mount a headlight on your bicycle and use a horn. According to bicyclesafe.com, one of the most common ways to get hit is by a car pulling out of a side street, parking lot or driveway on the right of the cyclist. Slow down and ride farther to the left.

&bull Wear bright clothing and attach blinkers to your spokes for riding at night.

&bull Attach a mirror to your bike for a better view behind you.

&bull Learn the standard hand signals for turning and stopping to let other vehicles know your next move.

&bull Never ride against traffic. While it may seem safer because you can see the car coming, a head-on collision is much deadlier than getting rear-ended.

Sources: www.helmets.org, www.bicyclesafe.org