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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think this is so unsafe…

381 replies

MyBadHabitsLeadToYou · 30/08/2021 18:51

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??

OP posts:
ViceLikeBlip · 30/08/2021 19:22

Semi-related: I've never understood why health visitors are completely obsessed with telling you how dangerous it is to put a baby in a car seat up on a table (away from prying toddler fingers) but yet they're perfectly happy for you to strap that same car seat into the car and drive down the motorway at 70mph 😕

00100001 · 30/08/2021 19:27

@whenthedoveslie

*You're comparing a car traveling up to 70mph with a child in a car seat to a bike traveling below 15mph with a child in a bike seat

Hardly an even comparison*

You have CLEARLY not seen the result of the two colliding.

Show me the figures for collisions with bikes and cars where the child was injured. I'll bet more children were injured or killed in a car.
Original poster
MyBadHabitsLeadToYou · 30/08/2021 19:27

There are far, far more children in cars than on bikes though.

OP posts:
00100001 · 30/08/2021 19:29

@whenthedoveslie

Presumably you don’t do this, so why are you concerned?

It is precisely why many of us don't. Because it is fucking dangerous. I assume you do. You hugely risk the safety of your children.

I suspect you don't care as long as your cyclist privilege is upheld.

But is it fucking dangerous?

More dangerous than strapping them into a tonne of metal and propelling them at upto 70mph?

seaandsandcastles · 30/08/2021 19:30

It’s not safe and shows a shocking lack of appropriate parental judgement.

wheresmyshoe · 30/08/2021 19:31

I saw this today on a National speed limit country road. The cyclist had a child in a trailer behind their bike, little flag bobbing about, madness on a fast busy road at any time of year let alone harvest.

Cuddlemonsters · 30/08/2021 19:31

Well in loads of cities (including ours) there are bicycle lanes. Ours are really wide and very safe. I don’t think it’s particularly unsafe.

starpatch · 30/08/2021 19:32

Well I did this with DS but admittedly never on main roads. Only on quiet roads where traffic was pretty slow. I am astounded though that we are not making anywhere near the changes we need to make to prevent climate change. As a result of that it seems to me that my grandchildren are going to starve. Doesn't that bother anyone?

Username7521 · 30/08/2021 19:33

I’m one of those people. @MyBadHabitsLeadToYou have you actually looked into the stats about their safety? Have you done a comparison between cars and bikes?
I’m just asking as I have. And thank you @seaandsandcastles for calling my parenting skills inappropriate. How delightful

MsWalterMitty · 30/08/2021 19:33

Both of my dc used to ride on a front seat with me or in a trailer. But we never went on busy roads though.

What I hate driving past are little wobbly kids on their own bikes.

pictish · 30/08/2021 19:34

I love it how the sad drivers blame the cyclists. Cyclists’ privilege is it? Don’t think so.

apalledandshocked · 30/08/2021 19:34

@Soveryhungry

And of course the main issue with safety for bikes is the number of vehicles on the road. Surely the solution should be for us to reduce the number of cars on the road, not try to discourage people from not using a car?
What needs to happen actually is much much better cycle networks and some proper rules about the types of cycle paths that should be included with different roads. e.g. roads with 2 lanes - separate cycle path, roads above 30 mph - cycle path with physical barrier between it and the road, roads above 60 - completely separate cycle route. That would make it safe to cycle with children. Although you would still get idiotic people suddenly cutting in front of traffic etc with kids on the back (a frequent thing in the Netherlands). As it is, I wouldn't want to cycle on a busy road (or unprotected cycle path alongside a busy road) with my child on the back - being morally in the right isn't much protection if you are hit by an articulated lorry.
ronswansonstache · 30/08/2021 19:35

When I lived in london I used to see a dad take his son to school in one every day down the Holloway Road. It made my blood run cold! I'm not sure the pollution would be great either - kids often seem level with exhausts of many vehicles.

pictish · 30/08/2021 19:35

Oops I didn’t mean to have ‘sad’ in there. Don’t know where it came from. I drive and I cycle. I look out for cyclists when I’m driving.

pictish · 30/08/2021 19:36

It was meant to be ‘car’.

StoneofDestiny · 30/08/2021 19:36

Must admit it scares me to see it. There is no protection from a vehicle at all. Even if the cyclist hits a bump in the road as they fall off, there is injury guaranteed.

chairchoo · 30/08/2021 19:37

@ViceLikeBlip

Semi-related: I've never understood why health visitors are completely obsessed with telling you how dangerous it is to put a baby in a car seat up on a table (away from prying toddler fingers) but yet they're perfectly happy for you to strap that same car seat into the car and drive down the motorway at 70mph 😕
It's something to do with leaving young babies at a certain angle for too long I think?

"Car seats are not safe sleep environments. Babies should sleep on their back, in a crib without blankets or pillows. When a car seat is taken out of the car and placed on the ground, the angle can cause the child head to tip forward which can result in constriction of their airway."

wheresmymojo · 30/08/2021 19:37

In fact,let me find some facts for you;

125 people died in the roads in London, of which 68 were pedestrians.
5 people died in a bike.*

I mean...we're 18 months into a pandemic and despite all the media discussions of stats your grasp of relative risk stats is still this low?

MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 30/08/2021 19:37

More dangerous than strapping them into a tonne of metal and propelling them at upto 70mph?

Yes - per hour on the road, cycling is 5 times more dangerous than driving link. Car travel is extremely safe.

I think bike seats and trailers are fine for cycle trails and quiet backstreets but they terrify me when sharing roads with cars. I have seen many cyclists hit by cars (in A&E). Even at low speeds, it doesn't end well.

ThisBear · 30/08/2021 19:38

Missing the point though, even on town roads where both cars and bikes are going 15mph, there are a lot of shocking drivers going too fast, taking dodgy turns, on their phones and so on. It feels dicey enough avoiding some of them from the relative safety of a "tonne of metal" so being in a seat that's so open to their surroundings seems like you'd be even more at the mercy of those around you.

dworky · 30/08/2021 19:38

Here we go again: let's hate on cyclists doing no harm to anyone to avoid taking any personal responsibility for the toxic fumes killing young children.

lljkk · 30/08/2021 19:40

YABVU

SeaShoreGalore · 30/08/2021 19:40

I think they look great. If you’re bothered about their safety, maybe have a think about driving more carefully in future.

StoneofDestiny · 30/08/2021 19:41

Most people aren't driving through towns at 70 mph.

apalledandshocked · 30/08/2021 19:42

@StoneofDestiny

Must admit it scares me to see it. There is no protection from a vehicle at all. Even if the cyclist hits a bump in the road as they fall off, there is injury guaranteed.
I do agree that cycling with no protection from cars going fast (and possible driven by idiots) is risky. But I am not sure that the bike falling over by itself is likely to cause injury (small children are physically strapped in in bike seats so less likely to get thrown out). In fact I saw a bike go over side ways (extremely strong cross winds) and the child in the bike seat at the back was completely fine. Obviously not something you would want to happen but bike seats are designed to protect against that sort of thing. They are NOT designed to be hit by a car going at speed, but then I dont think there is any way to protect against that. Which is why other stuff needs to happen to protect that - better cycle paths, better awareness amongst drivers (including not parking in bike lanes like a dickhead) and yes in some cases cyclists being more careful too.
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