It is a well known fact that cyclists sharing a road with motorized vehicles and have a run-in or collision never win. Neither do motor cyclists win against heavier vehicles as a result of a collision.
Precautions can be taken, of which one of the most important ones is COLOUR, according to the mantra “Be Seen”. Two colour items can save lives: Bright clothing, such as yellow and hot pink or similar; and more importantly a good white front light and a good strong red rear light.
When I cycle, out of twenty or more cyclists I meet on the trails maybe one only has those lights, and they are on. This should be a legal requirement, same as daylight permanent lights on any North American motorized vehicle. Better invest in a $20 light than loose your life.
Be Seen and See. The second precaution is: “do not only rely on a rear view mirror (if any), but look over your shoulder frequently”. Meaning, do not rely on vehicle drivers paying attention to you as a cyclist. Be prepared !
Incredible how many bicycles are stolen, because of insufficient safety measures. Easy enough to install: (1) Use of two bike lock chains. One to secure the seat (which gets easily removed) together with the rear wheel, and/or helmet. One to secure the frame and the front wheel (if it can also be easily removed) to a fixed bike store facility.
(2) When cycling take your bike papers with you including the Serial Number. So, that when your bike gets stolen you can call in with the details incl. Ser.#. I also always have a photo of my bike on me together with the documents. That is what I do.
[ http://www.cpic-cipc.ca/index-eng.htm ].
Small tit-bit: During hard times or war, when bicycles are valued at a premium, many governments resorted to treating bicycle theft as a criminal offence.
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