While the city's plan for connecting bike lanes remains a work in progress, there are four things you can do to lessen the number of bike accidents in San Jose:



1.Take Action: Join or create a San Jose bike-advisory committee to help deal with local cycling issues. While the city is focused on limiting bike accidents by providing safer routes, it is a long process. If you notice areas that are particularly hazardous, don't be afraid of speaking face-to-face with a legislator.

2.Encourage Safety: Whenever you're talking with another cyclist, especially an amateur, explain the significance of safety equipment. Out of San Jose's 309 bike accidents in 2006, only 21 cyclists were recorded as using proper safety equipment. By using a fitted helmet, reflectors, gloves, lighting and other safety gear, many of those accidents would have been less serious or avoided altogether.

3.Create a Cycling Club: Unlike driving a motor vehicle, you don't need to pass a road test to be able to ride a bicycle in San Jose. Unfortunately, many cyclists are not prepared for the task at hand. Hundreds of bike accidents happen in California every year because cyclists are riding on the wrong side of the road, making improper turns, operating without required equipment, failing to obey signs, failing to obey the right of way, or not crossing intersections properly. By creating a cycling club and getting friends to join it, you can discuss the rules of the road together in a way that encourages good times as well as safety.

4.Promote Biking: According to one expert, the more cyclists there are in San Jose, the fewer bike accidents there will be. Peter L. Jacobsen, a public-health consultant in Sacramento, California, was published in the January/February edition of Bicycling magazine stating, "motorist is less likely to collide with a person walking or bicycling if more people walk or bicycle". The reasoning is that as the number of cyclists increases so does the amount of drivers that bike occasionally; in turn, they give greater consideration to other cyclists.

By taking action and becoming a part of the solution to reduce bike accidents in San Jose, you'll be heavily rewarded for your efforts. Not only will you make the roads safer for you to bike on, but you'll also help others avoid bike accidents and the suffering that can be caused by them.