Whether you are riding for fun, fitness, or your daily commute, a few simple safety tips can help make every trip smoother and safer. Check out our safety videos below for easy ways to ride with confidence.
Helmet safety
No matter what your age, helmets save lives. By-law in Ontario, anyone under the age of 18 is required to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle.
Before you ride, make sure your helmet:
Fits snuggly so it doesn't slide around, but not too tight that it is uncomfortable
Has the straps done up
Has no visible cracks and has never been dropped or in a previous accident. If any of these are true, purchase a new one immediately
Lastly, make sure your helmet is CSA approved
Helmet safety video
Cycling hand signals and bike lanes
Before you ride your bicycle, please review the cycling hand signals and learn what forms of transportation are allowed on bike lanes in Newmarket.
Bike lanes
A bike lane is a portion of a roadway designated by signs and/or pavement markings for the use of bicycles, children's bicycles, power-assisted bicycles, motor-assisted bicycles, and mopeds. View the video above to learn how to use bike lanes and how to comprehend the signs you may encounter when travelling on a bike lane in Newmarket.
A moped is a motor-assisted bicycle fitted with pedals that can be operated at all times and has a maximum speed of 50 km/h.
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A motor assisted bicycle is a bicycle that:
Is fitted with pedals that are operable at all times to propel the bicycle
Weighs no more than 55 kg (121 lbs)
Has no hand or foot operated clutch or gearbox driven by the motor and transferring power to the driven wheel
Has an attached motor driven by electricity or having a piston displacement of not more than 50 cubic centimetres
Does not have sufficient power to enable the bicycle to attain a speed greater than 50 km/h on level ground within a distance of 2 kilometres from a standing start
Does not include a motorcycle or pocket bike
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A power-assisted bicycle means a vehicle that:
Has steering handlebars and is equipped with pedals
Is designed to travel on not more than three (3) wheels in contact with the ground
Has one or more electric motors that have, single or in combination, the following characteristics:
Is capable of being propelled by muscular power
It has a total continuous power output rating, measured at the shaft of each motor, of 500 W or less
If it is engaged by the use of muscular power, power assistance immediately ceases when the muscular power ceases
If it is engaged by the use of an accelerator controller, power assistance immediately ceases when the brakes are applied
Is incapable of providing further assistance when the bicycle attains a speed of 32 km/h on level ground
Bears a label that is permanently affixed by the manufacturer and appears in a conspicuous location stating, in both official languages, that the vehicle is a power-assisted bicycle as defined in this subsection
Has one of the following safety features:
An enabling mechanism to turn the electric motor on and off that is separate from the accelerator controller and fitted in such a manner that it is operable by the driver, or
A mechanism that prevents the motor from being engaged before the bicycle attains a speed of 3 km/h
