It’s really very simple. If you know how to drive, your 90% there. You are a vehicle and must obey all the same laws. Ride with traffic. Stop at lights and stop signs (yeah, this is really tough for you guys). You are not a pedestrian when riding your bike. Stay off the side walks.

Just this morning I saw a cyclist running red lights in downtown St. Louis. I spoke to her about it, and she seemed to be under the impression that bicycles don’t have to obey traffic laws.

I’m a cyclist myself, and this sort of thing irritates me, because it gives an excuse to motorists who want to treat cyclists rudely. If you want motorists’ respect, behave like a motorist: Stop at the red lights.

If you’re going straight and there is a car in the left turn oncoming lane make eye contact with the driver, otherwise you cannot be sure that he/she even acknowledges your presence.

I have ridden bicycles for several decades, started with kids bikes ,then race bikes, mountain bike craze where I was injured more than once, and have always loved riding. One thing I know is that when you ride on the street, you are to obey the laws of the road, much like automobile drives must. That includes stopping at stop signs and light. I can not stand the people who bust through stop signs and red light on bikes. I know many of these kind of people, and it seems the most used excuse for this when asking them about why they do it is ” Because its harder for me to get started than it is for them”! Come on you whiners, its not about how hard it is, or how lazy you are going to be about following the rules of the road. Its mostly a safety factor, yours much more than the driver of the car. But one of you morons bust through a stop sign and get hit by a car, and masses of bicyclist will be complaining about how drivers just dont pay attention, and are horrible on the road, and so on. You wont ever admit that someone was dumb and did not obey the laws that would help keep them safe. You are to worried that it will take you 1 minute more to get to your destination, so you wont stop or yield. If your going to be so stupid, why dont you at least get up on the sidewalk and crosswalks. Its not the right thing to do, but its probably safer than being stupid is. And stop winding in and out of traffic like a moron too.
And stop whining about cars , when you dont follow the rules yourself.

Rule number one when riding a bike is try to avoid getting hit. Be aware of everything when riding. Respect the traffic laws but do not expect that cars will stop at stop signs. The law may request that bikes stay on the road but riding in traffic is not the safest place to be when cars are moving at 50 mph in a 35 mph zone. I prefer sidewalks and bike paths, I try to yield to people who are walking.

Remember, drivers who are talking on cell phones and text messaging may not see the cyclist who is following the rules so I believe that bike riders should ride as if the world is trying to run them over.

Wear a helmet and keep your eyes moving.