Giant Bicycles - Chapter 2: Comprehensive Riding Safety; Basic Safety Rules and Legal Compliance

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2. Safety
A. The Basics
WARNING: Many states require specic safety devices. It is your
responsibility to familiarize yourself with the laws of the state where you
ride and to comply with all applicable laws, including properly equipping
yourself and your bike as the law requires.
Observe all local bicycle laws and regulations. Observe regulations about
bicycle lighting, licensing of bicycles, riding on sidewalks, laws regulating
bike path and trail use, helmet laws, child carrier laws, special bicycle
trafc laws. It’s your responsibility to know and obey the laws.
1. Always wear a cycling helmet which meets the latest certication standards
and is appropriate for the type of riding you do. Always follow the helmet
manufacturer’s instructions for t, use and care of your helmet. Most serious
bicycle injuries involve head injuries which might have been avoided if the
rider had worn an appropriate helmet.
WARNING: Failure to wear a helmet when riding may
result in serious injury or death.
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. Increased speed means
higher risk.
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