I DEFY ANYONE to think IABU - Has DP finally lost his mind?

[Shitemum]

This morning I discovered that since DD1 grew out of the child seat for DP's bycicle a few weeks ago he has taken her to school a few times on the back of his bike, i.e. perched on the luggage rack thingy. She is 4.6 yo. It's about 10 mins walking to school, faster on the bike obviously but it's a busy road, there is lots of traffic and many construction site vehicles and buses.

I went completely mad at him when I found out - he thinks it's fine and not dangerous. and of course I am the crazy, raving one and he is Mr. Calm and collected, his usual strategy for turning things around when he is the one being an idiot.

BTW we are in Spain so road rules are probably different, I don't know what they are but even if I did it wouldn't make him think he was wrong as he doesnt think rules apply to him. Arsehole.

I think if you have an accident that big, it doesn't matter how the kids are on the bike, to be fair. (And helmets won't make much difference either. )

Drivers do leave a lot more room for cyclists with kids, except when they feel the need to pull alongside to berate me for it.

i have fond memories of my dad taking me on the back of his bike on trips! This was however over twenty years ago! No helmet. I must have been nine! It helps me smile remember him. But that is all beside the point. I would not do it now with my ds. With or without seat. And i am not trying to offend anyone but i just think there are too many idiots on the road. There is a guy near me that has a little trailer his kids sit in

Twiglett - it's the thought of being strapped into one and dragged along the road/under a car, unable to get out/losing an arm etc
my problem, really, as, as has been pointed out, there's the other scenario of being tossed across the road as well
i just hate them because i do, and i'm not willing for DS to go on a road in one
i'd never criticise anyone for using them, as i do think, like i said, it's 90% my issue

That happened to me once NQC. We were taking up a fair bit of a road as we had to pull out round a parked car - which I did with due caution and at a reasonable speed - considering I was 6 mths pregnant at the time and had dd1 on her own bike and me with mine and a trailer bike on the back with dd2 on it. Git in car overtook us and shouted various obscene things out of the window before accelerating off. I rang the police and reported it

yep you're right, it doesn't bear thinking about sometimes

I use a bike every day, and have also found for some reason that drivers give you more room if you wear yellow reflective gear or vests, but respect you least if you're in proper cycling gear, why?!

yellow gear - they mistake you for the police

proper cycling gear - they think you're a mad speed cyclist and that you're going to jump red lights?

visibility .. yellow gear is highly visible and has a slight officialdom about it (police / fire / paramedic) .. cycling gear makes people look like yuppy twats sometimes (depends on the extent)

NQC - you're right there, because I see little kids racing around on their own bikes and scarcely give it a 2nd thought
maybe it's a control thing
drivers pulling up to berate you....oh that's clever of them....paying attention to the road, there....and distracting you too
well done, them.

I don't see the big deal here. Okay, not wise, but it's not the worst crime of the century.
If it is just 5mins to school, then it is unlikely she will fall asleep and fall off the back- seeing as she would have been awake an hour after a long night's sleep..... And no doubt he told her to hold on to him tight, and if he felt the grip loosen, I am sure as a father he would have ensured she was safe and insist she kept holding on.

But then, I live in Holland, and that is all very normal. I spent years with my sister and I zipping around busy parts of town on one bike.
And would often perch on the back of my mum's bike when it was needed.

What a tosser NL. There are always drivers like this, somehow they think thwey have exclusive use of the roads, um no actually, bikes, horses, even runners can use the roads too!

maybe they think you're a giant wasp!
i think yellow /red/orange is an instinctive "back off a bit" signal, brought to us by millennia of evolution

I was fuming - not least because of the obscene language he used in front of my kids - who were confused by the whole thing and didn't really 'get it' fortunately. I got his number though

god for you NL....did you find out what happened?

lol at yuppy twat or speed cyclists in lycra! I've only jumped red lights when there where literally hundreds of us, the pressure was on, and we'd been cycling for 8 hours and I just wanted to get to the finish.

I recommend everyone wears yellow vests when cycling, and get your kids to wear them too, it really does make a difference!

did the police do anything NL?

Not really - they found the car on the computer from the reg no so I knew I'd remembered it right - which was pleasing. they said because of a lack of witnesses (there were people around but obviously i didn't have names or anything) they couldn't really do much but they would note it so it was on their file for if he did anything else I like to think it will come back to bite him one day
main thing was - I felt I had taken control of the situation and defused my anger a bit!

motherhurdiecure - yes sorry, i was agreeing with you too!

DD does wear a helmet although DP has to be nagged to put his on as it 'messes up his hair' - I point out that his unprotected head coming into contact with the tarmac at high speed would mess it up considerably more, but...

Maybe I'll just have to get up earlier [gulp] and take her to school myself. Then DP can supervise DD2s breakfast instead, which coincidentaly is a lot like being in a traffic accident!