Focus Bikes bicycle - General Warning; A Special Note for Parents

12 Focus Bicycles - Bicycle Owner’s Manual
Safety 13
8. Never ride with headphones. They mask trafc sounds and emergency vehicle
sirens, distract you from concentrating on what’s going on around you, and
their wires can tangle in the moving parts of the bicycle, causing you to lose
control.
9. Never carry a passenger, unless it is a small child wearing an approved helmet
and secured in a correctly mounted child carrier or a child-carrying trailer.
10. Never carry anything which obstructs your vision or your complete control
of the bicycle, or which could become entangled in the moving parts of the
bicycle.
11. Never hitch a ride by holding on to another vehicle.
12. Don’t do stunts, wheelies or jumps. If you intend to do stunts, wheelies,
jumps or go racing with your bike despite our advice not to, read Section 2.F,
Downhill, Stunt or Competition Biking, now. Think carefully about your skills
before deciding to take the large risks that go with this kind of riding.
13. Don’t weave through trafc or make any moves that may surprise people
with whom you are sharing the road.
14. Observe and yield the right of way.
15. Never ride your bicycle while under the inuence of alcohol or drugs.
16. If possible, avoid riding in bad weather, when visibility is obscured, at dawn,
dusk or in the dark, or when extremely tired. Each of these conditions
increases the risk of accident.
C. Off Road Safety
We recommend that children not ride on rough terrain unless they are
accompanied by an adult.
1. The variable conditions and hazards of off-road riding require close
attention and specic skills. Start slowly on easier terrain and build up your
skills. If your bike has suspension, the increased speed you may develop
also increases your risk of losing control and falling. Get to know how to
handle your bike safely before trying increased speed or more difcult terrain.
2. Wear safety gear appropriate to the kind of riding you plan to do.
3. Don’t ride alone in remote areas. Even when riding with others, make sure
that someone knows where you’re going and when you expect to be back.
4. Always take along some kind of identication, so that people know who
you are in case of an accident; and take along some cash for food, a cool
drink or an emergency phone call.
5. Yield right of way to pedestrians and animals. Ride in a way that does
not frighten or endanger them, and give them enough room so that their
unexpected moves don’t endanger you.
6. Be prepared. If something goes wrong while you’re riding off-road, help
may not be close.
7. Before you attempt to jump, do stunt riding or race with your bike, read and
understand Section 2.F.
2. Always do the Mechanical Safety Check (Section 1.C) before you get on a bike.
3. Be thoroughly familiar with the controls of your bicycle: brakes (Section 4.C.);
pedals (Section 4.E.); shifting (Section 4.D.)
4. Be careful to keep body parts and other objects away from the sharp teeth of
chainrings, the moving chain, the turning pedals and cranks, and the spinning
wheels of your bicycle.
5. Always wear:
 • Shoesthatwillstayonyourfeetandwillgripthepedals.Makesurethat
shoe laces cannot get into moving parts, and never ride barefoot or in sandals.
 • Bright,visibleclothingthatisnotsoloosethatitcanbetangledinthe
bicycle or snagged by objects at the side of the road or trail.
 • Protectiveeyewear,toprotectagainstairbornedirt,dustandbugs—tinted
when the sun is bright, clear when it’s not.
6. Don’t jump with your bike. Jumping a bike, particularly a BMX or mountain
bike, can be fun; but it can put huge and unpredictable stress on the bicycle
and its components. Riders who insist on jumping their bikes risk serious
damage, to their bicycles as well as to themselves. Before you attempt to
jump, do stunt riding or race with your bike, read and understand Section 2.F.
7. Ride at a speed appropriate for conditions. Higher speed means higher risk.
B. Riding Safety
1. Obey all Rules of the Road and all local trafc laws.
2. You are sharing the road or the path with others — motorists, pedestrians and
other cyclists. Respect their rights.
3. Ride defensively. Always assume that others do not see you.
4. Look ahead, and be ready to avoid:
 •Vehiclesslowingorturning,enteringtheroadoryourlane
ahead of you,
or coming up behind you.
 •Parkedcardoorsopening.
 •Pedestrianssteppingout.
 •Childrenorpetsplayingneartheroad.
 •Potholes,sewergrating,railroadtracks,expansionjoints,roadorsidewalk
construction, debris and other obstructions that could cause you to swerve
into trafc, catch your wheel or cause you to have an accident.
 •Themanyotherhazardsanddistractionswhichcanoccuronabicycleride.
5. Ride in designated bike lanes, on designated bike paths or as close to the
edge of the road as possible, in the direction of trafc ow or as directed by
local governing laws.
6. Stop at stop signs and trafc lights; slow down and look both ways at street
intersections. Remember that a bicycle always loses in a collision with a
motor vehicle, so be prepared to yield even if you have the right of way.
7. Use approved hand signals for turning and stopping.