Tips to avoid accidents among your employees.
You are never alone on the road, certainly not when you are on your way to or coming back from your work every morning or evening. Therefore it is important to urge your employees to drive safely with a speed pedelec and so avoid accidents in your company. With a speed pedelec you can easily reach speeds of up to 45km/h. Other people on the road may have difficulty in estimating correctly at what speed you are approaching. See to it that your employees are aware of this situation. You can do this by organising specific info sessions or by setting up practical workshops or courses on bike safety in traffic.
The behaviour of a speed pedelec driver resembles quite a lot that of a motor cyclist. So why not talking to an employee coming to work on a motor bike. Tips on safe motor biking are equally interesting for all employees coming to work on a speed pedelec.
Tips for the employee
Make yourself familiar with your leased bicycle. By driving carefully yourself, as an employee, you are reducing the risks of an accident. Know how your bike will react in particular circumstances. Your grip on the road surface is weaker than that of a car. Slow down well in advance and don’t wait until the last second if you have to brake or stop. Also take into account the changing weather circumstances. Braking on wet or dry surfaces is quite different. As soon as the weather conditions are getting harsher, you better put winter tyres. They provide more grip and stability. You can read extra tips for making your bike winterproof and some good advice on bicycle safety on the blog page.
By anticipating you increase not only your own level of safety, but also the one of the other road users. Pay attention to your wider environment and always look into the direction you want to go. You will ride nicer lines and get a better overview. Do exaggerate, after a while it will become a (safe) attitude. It is not wise to use your brakes in a bend. Brake well in advance, so that you can speed up again when going round the bend. You will stay better in control making the manoeuvres you’re making.
As road user, make your intentions clear when you are on the way to your work. When you are about to turn, always lift your arm to ask for extra attention for the move you are about to make. Even if you have no intention to turn, increase your safety by keeping eye contact (e.g. by means of a mirror or a car window) with the car next to you. If you cannot make eye contact, then slow down to avoid a possible accident.
The most important traffic rules for speed pedelecs
Unlike with the classical electric bike, wearing a helmet is obligatory. Also see to it that the license plate of your speed pedelc is clearly visible at all times. As speed pedelec user you often get the possibility to use the public road or the bicycle path. When the maximum speed on the road is 50km/h, you can choose which one to use. When the maximum speed is higher, you must make use of the bicycle path.
Therefore, always analyse each situation and go for the safest option. Moreover, you do not always have to ride at a speed of 45km/h on your speed pedelec. Feel for yourself what pace is the best under the given circumstances and take other road users into consideration too, especially when using a tow-path on your speed pedelec. As many pedestrians make use of them, the maximum speed for pedelecs has been limited to 30km/h.
More news on cycling mobility is to be found on the o2o blogpage.
Source: www.politie.be
