Bicycle safety — Texas Permit Test

A bicycle rider may be required by local law to wear a helmet.

Texas leaves it to the town rather than setting one rule. Where you ride decides whether it is required.

You may be required by law to wear a helmet depending on your local laws

A bicyclist riding on pedestrian facilities should reduce speed and use caution.

People on foot change direction without warning and do not hear a bicycle. Slowing is the whole adjustment.

riding on pedestrian facilities, reduce speed and exercise caution

A bicyclist should not weave in and out of parked cars.

Weaving takes the rider out of the driver's view and back in again. Holding a straight line is what makes a rider predictable.

Do not weave in and out of parked cars

A bicyclist should move off the street to stop, park, or make repairs.

A stopped bicycle in a traffic lane is a small obstacle nobody is looking for. Getting off the road takes seconds.

Move off the street to stop, park, or make repairs to your bicycle

A bicyclist should select a route according to their own bicycling skill and experience.

A busy arterial is a different ride from a quiet street. Choosing the route is the decision that matters most.

Select a route according to the rider’s bicycling skill and experience

A bicyclist should wear light colored or reflective clothing to make it easier for drivers to see them.

A rider in dark clothing disappears into the background. Being seen is most of staying safe on a bicycle.

Wear light colored or reflective clothing to make it easier for drivers to see you

Water makes manhole covers and painted stripes on the road slick, and also hides hazards such as potholes filled with water.

Metal and paint are the two surfaces that go first in rain. Both look exactly the same wet as dry.

Water makes certain surfaces slick. Be aware of manhole covers and painted stripes on the road

The visibility of motorists is greatly decreased in wet weather, which matters to a bicyclist.

The driver is looking through a wet windshield at a small target. The rider has to assume they have not been seen.

In addition, the visibility of motorists is greatly decreased in wet weather

The shared lane marking may be used to assist bicyclists with position in a shared lane with on-street parallel parking, reducing the chance of hitting the open door of a parked vehicle.

A door opening into a rider is one of the commonest city crashes. The marking puts the rider outside the swing.

The shared lane marking may be used to: 1. Assist bicyclists with lateral positioning in a shared lane with on-street parallel parking in order to reduce the chance of a bicyclist impacting the open door of a parked vehicle

The shared lane marking may also be used to alert road users of where bicyclists are likely to ride, to encourage safe passing, and to reduce wrong-way bicycling.

One marking does several jobs at once. Telling drivers where to expect a rider is the one that matters to them.

Alert road users of the lateral location bicyclists are likely to occupy within the traveled way

Who decides whether a Texas bicyclist must wear a helmet?

Local law where the rider is riding. Texas leaves it to the town rather than setting one rule. Where you ride decides whether it is required. Texas Driver Handbook, p.63: “You may be required by law to wear a helmet depending on your local laws”