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The Four Fundamentals of Bike Rider Safety From Bicycle Advocate: Richard Fries
Whether commuting through dense city traffic or cycling along quiet country roads, unexpected hazards can quickly turn an everyday ride into a serious accident. In this video, New England Bicycle Advocate Richard Fries from Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers shares four essential safety fundamentals, from improving road visibility to mastering the "ready position", to help cyclists stay alert, handle sudden obstacles, and navigate any route with confidence.
Key TakeawaysKey Takeaway | Explanation |
Master the "Ready Position" | Rising slightly off the saddle with weight shifted back and relaxed joints allows the body to function like a jockey’s natural suspension. This posture helps riders safely absorb shocks from potholes, rough pavement, or sudden emergency braking without losing steering control. |
Ensure Proper Bike Fit and Route Awareness | Safe cycling begins before pedaling. Riders should ensure their bicycle fits properly, understand how their specific brakes and gears respond, and preview their travel route in advance to anticipate complex intersections and changing road conditions. |
Actively "See and Be Seen" | Cyclists must maintain constant forward vision and situational awareness while making themselves impossible for motorists to miss. Utilizing front and rear lights, wearing bright or reflective clothing, and adding tools like mirrors or rear-facing radar sensors significantly lowers collision risk. |
Keep Hands on the Bars and Eliminate Distractions | Handling a smartphone, checking screens, or riding one-handed drastically impairs reaction times and steering stability. Keeping both hands firmly on the handlebars ensures riders are immediately ready to brake or maneuver around sudden hazards. |
Document and Protect Yourself After a Crash | If an accident occurs, cyclists should prioritize medical care, contact police to file an official report, take detailed photographs of the bicycle, road conditions, and injuries, and preserve evidence to protect their rights before speaking with an attorney. |
Read Full Video Transcript
Richard Fries:
With nearly 50 years of cycling experience, I've developed for fundamentals to keep almost all of my bike rides safe and hassle free. And these fundamentals apply whether you're on the metro Boston streets, whether you are on a dirt road in Vermont, or even on a bike path on Cape Cod.
First. Know what. And where you are riding. Your bike has to fit you. You have to understand how the brakes work, the shifting, how it rolls. That's really important. Additionally to that, knowing where you're riding is important. Intersections can be crazy like this. Understand them. Know the route really well. Until you've got that route developed and curated, go easy.
The second fundamental see and be seen. It's important that we keep our eye forward and we have a clean sense of the horizon.
Some people feel more comfortable with mirrors or rear facing sensors if that helps go with it. Being seen is important too, especially in the dark. You've got to have lights, but bright clothing in addition to that really helps.
Third. Keep your hands on the handlebars. Long distance riders and racers might need to feed or take a drink from a bottle. But in a metro environment. No reason for that. Keep those hands on the bars and your smartphone. Keep that tucked away. That has increased risk 100 fold.
Fourth. Learn what we call the ready position. Basically, we turn our body into a suspension system. We come up off the saddle, move our weight back a little bit and loosen up. Think Kentucky derby. Not Mary Poppins. What this will allow us to do is brake heavily. Maybe go up and over an obstacle or manage a pothole that's in our path. It truly can make your bike riding safer.
If you can master those four fundamentals, your bike rides are going to be a whole lot safer. But if you do have an incident or suffer an injury, make sure you file a report with the police. Document everything. Take pictures and contact an attorney at Jeffrey Glassman, injury lawyers. We ride. We get it. We've been there. We're on your side.
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