TireFlys CYA

[Fritz M]

I bought some TireFlys for my son's bike just for the fun of it. Those are the little
motion-activated LED lights that screw on to the valve caps. Worthless in daylight, but
seven-year-olds still think they're pretty cool.

The directions on the back includes a paragraph of corporate-lawyer-mandated CYA
warnings. One of the more "interesting" warnings is:

"Children should not ride bicycles on public roadways."

A couple of questions that came to my little mind:

1. Where did TireFly lawyers get this information that children shouldn't ride in the
street?

2. Has TireFly exposed themselves to liability by offering such dubious safety advice?
If a child with TireFly equipped bike riding down the sidewalk were killed or injured by
a car backing out of the driveway, can the parents sue TireFly and win?

RFM
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Fritz M +> wrote:

: 2. Has TireFly exposed themselves to liability by offering such dubious safety advice?
: If a child with TireFly equipped bike riding down the sidewalk were killed or injured by
: a car backing out of the driveway, can the parents sue TireFly and win?

Possibly, if it's the U.S. However, they didn't advise for the kids to
ride on the sidewalk...

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[Tom Keats]

In article >,
writes:
> Fritz M +> wrote:
>
>: 2. Has TireFly exposed themselves to liability by offering such dubious safety advice?
>: If a child with TireFly equipped bike riding down the sidewalk were killed or injured by
>: a car backing out of the driveway, can the parents sue TireFly and win?
>
> Possibly, if it's the U.S. However, they didn't advise for the kids to
> ride on the sidewalk...

I think the company is just concerned that somebody might
construe this product as being adequate night lighting
for bicycles.

There is that certain age range where children's cognitive
skills typically haven't developed sufficiently for safe
riding on the street. That would be the same age range
where you wouldn't let the kids cross the street alone,
on foot, either. Maybe this is what the company had
in mind?

I think the first thing most people do when they open
the box of a new acquisition, is to throw the instruction
sheet/manual away, anyway :-)

(I came to this cynical conclusion after working for
awhile in a TV repair shop).

As the old saying goes: when all else fails,
read the instructions.

I wonder if these TireFlies come in nifty shapes, like
human skulls or .44 cartidge cases.


cheers,
Tom

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[henry]

Interesting...I got something similar about 8-10 years ago called "Fire
Flys". They were basic black plastic with a red LED out the top on a
pivoting head that you could turn to face up or to either side for better
side visibility. Not dependant on tire roatation to stay lit.

I used them for night rides and commuting and they really helped to catch
peoples attention. I even got comments about them from drivers at
stoplights. Very fred in appearance but effective as hell.

ie
"ride fast, take chances"

"Fritz M" +> wrote in message
...
> I bought some TireFlys for my son's bike just for the fun of it. Those
are the little
> motion-activated LED lights that screw on to the valve caps. Worthless in
daylight, but
> seven-year-olds still think they're pretty cool.
>
> The directions on the back includes a paragraph of
corporate-lawyer-mandated CYA
> warnings. One of the more "interesting" warnings is:
>
> "Children should not ride bicycles on public roadways."
>
> A couple of questions that came to my little mind:
>
> 1. Where did TireFly lawyers get this information that children shouldn't
ride in the
> street?
>
> 2. Has TireFly exposed themselves to liability by offering such dubious
safety advice?
> If a child with TireFly equipped bike riding down the sidewalk were killed
or injured by
> a car backing out of the driveway, can the parents sue TireFly and win?
>
> RFM
> --
> To reply, translate domain from l33+ 2p33|< to alpha.
> 4=a 0=o 3=e +=t