To think this is so unsafe…

[MyBadHabitsLeadToYou]

Parents with toddlers on the back of the bike, cycling on busy city roads with the buses and the crazy drivers.

Howwww is this legal?! When the rules on car seats are so strict.

And don’t even start me on those flimsy trailer things that are so low down they couldn’t be seen from a large car.

Am I missing something??

I agree, OP. So dangerous. Cycling in busy urban areas can be a huge risk (you hear frequently of cyclists being hit by cars or crushed by buses or rubbish trucks in London). Fine to take that risk on your own behalf but not for your children.

@CrankyFrankie. Actually I very rarely drive at all (walk/use public transport most of the time and we own one small car which we only use at weekends). I still wouldn't put my children in one of those flimsy contraptions and take them out on a busy road given the standard of driving where we live and the number of buses and lorries.

Your brain may be surrounded by bone but it's a delicate thing rattling around in a hard box. I wouldn't fancy being hit by anything at 10 to 15 mph.

Can one single one of you that thinks bike seats are dangerous PLEASE provide some data that supports this???? How can you all argue a point so vehemently without any evidence?

Cyclist are very safe, car deaths per year in uk 1800 - serious injury 22,000 —— cycling deaths 130 per year most of them caused by car drivers….nuff said

You can't really compare though as loads more people drive/travel in cars than cycle.

@mswales

Can one single one of you that thinks bike seats are dangerous PLEASE provide some data that supports this???? How can you all argue a point so vehemently without any evidence?

They can’t, their brains only go as far as ‘cycling bad, car good’

Backwaterjunction

Cyclist are very safe, car deaths per year in uk 1800 - serious injury 22,000 —— cycling deaths 130 per year most of them caused by car drivers….nuff said“

My specific concern is the filth that children on bikes, amongst the traffic, are breathing in.
I have nothing against cyclists, I am one. We know, though, that air pollution contributes to the premature deaths of many hundreds of thousands and that cycling or walking along back streets or rural roads is considerably safer (in that particular context) than riding in traffic on busy city roads.

Stationery (ary, spelling?) bikes with children at exhaust height on choked up city roads seems a completely unnecessary risk to take.

Agree with so many if the favourable comments about the benefits of cycling. It’s not an ideal world, though. Until all vehicles are electric/hydrogen, why take that unnecessary risk when there are proven, safer alternatives (like using back routes, be that on bikes or walking)?

@mswales

Can one single one of you that thinks bike seats are dangerous PLEASE provide some data that supports this???? How can you all argue a point so vehemently without any evidence?

People don't need evidence, silly, just their own ideas!

And stop with the urban love of massive Range Rover type cars! They are status symbols, that will definitely kill if it hits you. Fine if you live rurally. But in cities, they are insane on every level, environmental etc

I think cycling is fine.

Kids in bike seats/trailers are fine on cycle paths so long as they're wearing helmets. Less keen on kids in bike seats on busy roads.

Kids in those trailers on busy roads is just moronic. They're too low to be seen. And yes children have been killed in them.

@purplesequins

you think child seats or trailers are bad? below is a common sight in nl of a child hitching a ride with their parent...

My argument to my son is that if you are old enough to do that you are old enough to cycle your own bike alongside me using your own bleddy legs.

Lovely13

And stop with the urban love of massive Range Rover type cars! They are status symbols, that will definitely kill if it hits you. Fine if you live rurally. But in cities, they are insane on every level, environmental etc“

Yes, they are. So why do people think it’s fine to attach their children to the back of their bike in basically a sack and ride on the same roads?

What’s more important, principle or child’s safety?

I have only ever seen trailers around here being used on bicycle paths, or over parks, around forrest, etc. I haven't ever seen one on a busy road, same with the baby bicycle seat. So l am surprised but non judgemental as l know what it's like not to have a car when children are young.

So what this thread is about is people wanting more road space for bloody cars. I hate cars, and I'm pretty pissed off with drivers too. Just get off your arses and stop ruining our towns and cities.

annistunut

So what this thread is about is people wanting more road space for bloody cars. I hate cars, and I'm pretty pissed off with drivers too. Just get off your arses and stop ruining our towns and cities“

Not here, at all. Most town/city car journeys are completely unnecessary.

Just don’t understand why, until combustion engines are finally banned, people would willingly put their children at great risk.

Guessing none of you have been to Amsterdam??
They often have two or three kids on the bikes with them. And it’s crazy busy!

Because there will never been a reduction in the number of cars on the road until more people start cycling. And people have to continue to get their children places. Hence child bike seats and trailers.
As for car exhaust fumes, as has already been pointed out, children INSIDE cars are exposed to the same car fumes, but no one is telling those parents they are putting their children's lives at risk.

@MrsSkylerWhite

annistunut

So what this thread is about is people wanting more road space for bloody cars. I hate cars, and I'm pretty pissed off with drivers too. Just get off your arses and stop ruining our towns and cities“

Not here, at all. Most town/city car journeys are completely unnecessary.

Just don’t understand why, until combustion engines are finally banned, people would willingly put their children at great risk.

They'll never be banned IMO.

I really think this thread is grim, attacking parents who are trying to do the best for their children.

How many of you let your children on trampolines - against all paediatric advice? Or feed your children cancer-causing processed meat? Or let your kids play with NERF guns without wearing eye protection? Or let them play for hours on computers? Everyone takes risks and makes choices others don't agree with.

The hypocrisy is awful. You're not a higher class of parent because you drive.

I never had a trailer or bike seat, but this thread is full of absolutely awful judgemental rubbish.

Awful pollution caused by cars

Awful accidents caused by cars

Do you see the pattern?

Cyclists are not the problem here, it's drivers that don't drive with proper care and attention.

I'm a cyclist and a driver.

Never understood it, lots of friends have done it, same friends who let their kids scoot or ride bikes without helmets. Bonkers people are bonkers

It is of course risky as all cyclists are at risk as they are so exposed; a child on the back or trailed on the back is more at risk. I worked for a trauma service and can safely say that bike injuries are bad because the rider has no protection.

Small children in the trailers are exactly at fume level and are breathing this in to young vulnerable lungs.

All a very bad idea.

Not if the children are breathing in exhaust fumes direct.

Bike trailers are about the same height as a pram. It's dangerous for a child in a trailer to be breathing in the fumes, but the one in the pram half a metre to the left (on the pavement) is fine? Do people even hear the nonsense they come out with?