In this video, bicycle injury lawyer, Jim Dodson (aka The Florida Bike Guy) discusses some helpful tips on commuting by bike.

So if you've been thinking about commuting by bike, let me give you some thoughts based on my experience and what we see in our personal injury law practice. I think commuting by bike is getting more and more feasible. There are some things you need to think about because someone who commutes by bike is usually going to be riding for a longer distance. And, many times they will be on a road that has higher traffic volume than if you were to just take a leisurely bike ride. All of these roads don't have bike lanes. So these are some safety concerns to keep in mind when you're trying to determine if it is feasible for me to ride my bike from home to work? You need to know what the distance is. How long it will take you. What will the weather be like? And, most importantly, how safe will it be?

I will tell you that many people are transitioning to commuting by bike. And I think it's a wonderful thing. The advent of the e-bike has the potential to become a total game-changer if you are considering traveling to work on a bicycle because the Class 3 e-bike, for instance, you can travel up to 28 miles per hour, and in the right environment would be a very convenient thing to do on the right road and in the right environment where you can properly use that speed. The thing that I would keep in mind is to carefully think about your route.

Bear in mind that just like a road cyclist, visibility is probably one of the most important things you can do to stay safe. I am a total advocate for having bright neon colors on. Yellow, green is even more prominent than yellow, statistically. But you need something to help you set yourself apart from the visual clutter on the roads. Drivers need to be able to pick you out before making a quick decision. High visibility lights in the front and back are a must for commuting by bicycle and both lights should be used during the day as well.

I'd also look at your auto insurance and make sure you have uninsured motorist (UM) on your auto policy. If you own a car, that has uninsured motorist on your policy, it will protect you in the unlikely event you ever have a crash with a vehicle.

The other thing is there are definite considerations to spending that much time on your bike every day in traffic. There are things that cyclists can do and need to do to protect themselves on the road by how they position themselves on the road. When you turn, when you stop, where do you stop? Speeds, intersections, all these things. I highly recommend checking out CyclingSavvy.com for detailed information on this. If I was a cycling commuter, the first thing that I would do is go through their website and learn what they're telling you to do so safely because they are bike commuters themselves.

And every cyclist on the road whether commuting or just riding for leisure should have a properly fitting helmet and a safe tuned bike to ride.

For more cycling safety tips on commuting by bike or road cycling, visit my website www.TheFloridaBikeGuy.com.