{"id":838,"date":"2016-08-31T20:48:48","date_gmt":"2016-08-31T20:48:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/?p=838"},"modified":"2016-08-31T20:48:48","modified_gmt":"2016-08-31T20:48:48","slug":"be-ready-for-the-summer-with-smart-bicycle-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/2016\/08\/31\/be-ready-for-the-summer-with-smart-bicycle-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Be Ready for the Summer with Smart Bicycle Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>from the Office of Leon County Sheriff Mike Wood<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The summer months are quickly approaching. During\u00a0this time, it\u2019s normal to see more and more people, young\u00a0and old, enjoying a bicycle ride. Bicycling can be fun and\u00a0good exercise for any person wanting to enjoy the sunny\u00a0skies and great weather. All too often, however, this fun-inthe-sun event can turn into tragedy when a cyclist gets hit\u00a0by an automobile.<\/p>\n<p>The cyclist is already at a major disadvantage. A motorist\u00a0is surrounded by metal that encases their body, while a bicyclist\u00a0really has no protection from the dangers of being out\u00a0on a street. Even though most accidents involving cyclists\u00a0and automobiles are due to lack of awareness by the motorist,\u00a0cyclists are still responsible for making sure they obey\u00a0the traffic laws of the road just like pedestrians and other\u00a0drivers.<\/p>\n<p>Bicyclists accounted for 2 percent of all traffic fatalities and\u00a02 percent of all crash-related injuries in 2012. Most bicyclist\u00a0fatalities occurred between 4 p.m. and midnight (48 percent)\u00a0and in urban areas (69 percent). Almost 9 out of 10 (88 percent)\u00a0of those killed while riding bicycles were male (US\u00a0Department of Transportation\/National Highway Traffic\u00a0Safety Administration).<\/p>\n<p>Here are some simple tips to help guide bicycle enthusiasts\u00a0during this time of outdoor fun and exercise:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Wear protective gear. A helmet is a must. Wearing gloves\u00a0and the correct clothing can help avoid falls and limit problems\u00a0during your ride.<\/li>\n<li>Use proper hand gestures when making turns to let drivers\u00a0and other types of street traffic know what your intentions\u00a0are.<\/li>\n<li>Go with the \ufb02ow of traffic. Going in the opposite direction\u00a0is against the law and can lead to a citation and can cause a\u00a0traffic hazard.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t try and use electronic devices while riding. If you must,\u00a0stop to use your phone, GPS or other application.<\/li>\n<li>Know your route. Whether on the street or off road, know\u00a0where there could be dangers along your trail, such as storm\u00a0grates, potholes, roots or other obstacles.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure your bicycle is visible. Having good identifiable\u00a0reflectors and proper lights can help vehicles avoid you in\u00a0your lane.<\/li>\n<li>Above all, always ride sober. Drinking can have an effect on\u00a0a bicyclist just as much as a driver of a car. Your judgment\u00a0can be off and balance can also be affected to the point of falls\u00a0and wrecks.<\/li>\n<li>When cycling, make sure your bike is in good working order\u00a0and all your necessary equipment is in good shape.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Make sure to have a safe summer while enjoying the great\u00a0outdoors. By using these simple tips everyone can safely use\u00a0the road together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>from the Office of Leon County Sheriff Mike Wood The summer months are quickly approaching. During\u00a0this time, it\u2019s normal to see more and more people, young\u00a0and old, enjoying a bicycle ride. Bicycling can be fun and\u00a0good exercise for any person wanting to enjoy the sunny\u00a0skies and great weather. All too often, however, this fun-inthe-sun event [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":839,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,202],"tags":[248,99],"class_list":["post-838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-outdoors","tag-bicycle","tag-safety"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=838"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":840,"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838\/revisions\/840"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tallahasseefamilymagazine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}