HOW TO RIDE SAFELY

There are five basic principles of cycling in traffic. If you obey them, you can cycle in most places without causing traffic conflicts. In general, follow the rules of the Highway Traffic Act.

The Five Principles Are:

• Drive on the right side of the roadway, never on the Left and never on the sidewalk.
• When you reach a more important or larger road than the one you are on, yield to crossing traffic. Here, yield means look to each side and wait until no traffic it coming.
• When you intend to change lanes or move laterally on the roadway, yield to traffic in the new lane or line of travel.
• When approaching an intersection, position yourself with respect to your destination - on the right near the curb if you want to turn right, on the left near the centre line if you want to turn left and between these positions if you want to go straight.
• Between intersections, position yourself according to your speed relative to other traffic; slower traffic is nearer the curb; faster traffic is nearer the centre line.

Source: Forester, John, Effective Cycling, 1993.