Riding a bike through city traffic does not become a problem area, cycling actively explains.
Compared to motorists, cyclists are the weaker road users and are therefore legally protected. Yet they have no fool’s freedom.
This particularly affects cyclists who are caught with too much alcohol in their blood. In the event of an accident, you can get yourself into a lot of trouble. Anyone who cycles with over 1.6 per thousand blood alcohol is classified as absolutely unfit to drive and commits a criminal offense according to the law.
Biking on the road: Special rights for children
A general driving ban for cyclists applies both in pedestrian zones and on sidewalks. Children are excluded. In special traffic situations, parents should consider, for safety reasons, whether the child they are accompanying drives along on the road or whether they can use the sidewalk together. Traffic lawyers have found in individual cases that road traffic regulations are not always practical. Reading Road and mountain bike reviews can help parents know the rules of road biking.
Listen to music while cycling
In principle, music in the ear is allowed when cycling. Headphones are allowed to be worn as long as the cyclist can still hear the traffic around them acoustically. When it comes to external perception, it also depends on the type of headphones. In-ear headphones that are stuck in the ear canal or those that shield the entire auricle allow much less ambient noise than so-called ear-bud headphones, which are hung on the ear via a bracket.
But according to a study, even at normal volume in traffic, listening to music leads to a reduced reaction time of up to 20 percent, which significantly increases the risk of accidents. So you better enjoy the sound of the city.
Biking on the road: Cell phones and helmets
Telephoning on the bike is taboo. Cyclists who are caught with a cell phone on the ear will be held accountable.
Even if wearing a helmet is extremely useful, you do not have to wear a helmet on the bike. The lawyers see it differently in the case of a “sporty driving style”. Mountain bike or racing bike riders can be complicit in accidents if they do not wear a helmet, since as a “particularly endangered group of cyclists” they face a higher risk of injury.
