[mlc9852]

If the brakes were faulty, how is that the rider/buyer's fault?

[Ninian Dryhope]

"If the brakes were faulty, how is that the rider/buyer's fault?"

That is a big IF. What are the chances that both the front and back brakes on a bike are both going to go from working well to not working at all? It is not going to happen since there are simple, independent, systems, that do not suddenly fail. They may work suboptimally, but they would still stop the bike. It is far more likely that the kid was not paying attention to what he was doing and rode out in front of a car, as kids are wont to do.

[KeepUSfree]

Because, in the same manner that you are supposed to check your mirrors, brakes, tires and what's sitting on the ground behind you when you start your car and pull out, one is also SUPPOSED to check the brakes and tires on a bicycle also. IF the first time you try braking is in a busy intersection, your a friggin' idiot and deserve what's coming to you.....

[depenzz]

How do we know the kid even applied the brakes? Maybe he was trying to beat the vehicle that hit him. One of the first things a young driver of an automobile says after they missed the stop sign is, "the brakes didn't work".

Hope the brakes on this bike aren't messed up too much from the accident that they can see if they actually worked.

[RedBeaconNY]

I don't know about you, but I've had to work on every bike I've ever come to own before I rode it. With new bikes, the brakes are pretty much always too tight, resulting in a nice toss over the handle bars. It doesn't hurt to check. If the kid had, he would have caught the problem. This kid's a moron, and his mother too.