to be skocked at a child on the back of a motorbike in school uniform with bare legs?

[muppetgirl]

I know I'm not, there's just no

OH MY GOD ARE YOU MAD??????

in the topic list.

The adult in chrage had full leathers yet the child did not. School jumper and school shorts that's all.

(I rode a bike for a while and wore leathers with a protective jacket.)

I get angry seeing adults on motorbikes without protective gear let alone a child on their inadequately dressed.

Do they not realise how much damage even a minor accident could cause?

My brother has always had motorbikes so I've always been aware of all the proper gear that should be worn as he is hot on this.

Funnily enough the other day we saw a guy on a motorbike wearing shorts and a t-shirt -DD was horrified. She must have picked up the importance of leathers etc from us somewhere along the line

I know someone who does this.

Kid goes to a private school. No question of not being able to afford a car (they have 2 - one for the family and t'other for the wife/au pair)

They are prats.

there not their (coffee hasn't reached brain yet )

Think its awful that an adult would would a child in danger like that! I wouldn't really want my children to be on motorbikes no matter what gear they were wearing!! Sorry to but in but could somebody please advise on how to start a thread, new to all this and need life advise!!

i know myuppet girl-that was very common wasn't it? a friends family used to drive with kids in the footwell! so dangerous!

but can you also see that your parents were doing the best they could with the resources that they had?

when i make mistakes as a parent as i frequently do it makes it easier to understand the mistakes my parents made.they weren't perfect but they were doing their best.

TMMJ - if you can't afford the safety gear then get the bus.

I hate this, I think that they seem to have a false sense of safety with the helmet.. what about the rest of the childs body!!!

the brain may not be mashed but the back is broken

mmj - I can definately see they were wrong!

We have a dad at our school who picks up his DS on a motorbike and the child has a full set of leathers and gloves as well, he is only 4yrs old! and he can touch the footrests at the back as it's one of those racing bikes.

I can remember riding pillion on the back of my dads bike, we used to rev the engine then cut it steam down the hill and see how far we could go

Great fun

{this was before he ended up under a bus, legs broken in 3 places and a face so tarmac'ed his own parents walked past him in the hospital as they didn't recognise him)

My dad took me home from school on the back of his bike a few times. It was when we didn't have a car, just the Caravanette.
Just one of the things my parents used to do/allow that I think were a bit insane...
MCN is always full of graphic pictures of loons who have come off their bikes without full leathers on.

Bloody hell, that's outrageous. One instance where you can't possibly NOT judge.

MMJ's story I think illustrates changing perceptions of safety - as people have said, in the olden days parents used to stick multiple children in the boot of estate cars and no-one thought it was dodgy. (We used to be chucked in the back of the Cortina with a duvet on long motorway journeys).

My mother's parents had a motorbike and couldn't afford a car - but they had a sidecar. Actually, no idea how dangerous sidecars are, if you had an accident wouldn't they get crushed/keep rolling on into the traffic?

thanks littlelapin, appreciate it!!

Theres a bloke who I see on a pushbike with his kid on a cushion thats strapped to the crossbar! He's been taking him to school like that for years and he must be about 9 now... can just picture him still being taken to school on the cross bar in year 11 lol.

TBH I would have thought, maybe it was a one off and was an emergency and the only form of transport. I would hope that anyway.

So, am I the only one who isn't outraged?

I don't think it's ideal, but it's all about risk assessment. If the parent is a careful and experienced rider, I imagine it's quite fun for the child.

But it doesn't matter how careful and experienced the biker is, they might well be unfortunate enough to meet a stupid driver who just doesn't see them. And they are clearly not that careful if they can't be bothered to buy leathers for their child.

I would be prepared to duck now huw
the thing is that however experienced they are, an accident might be caused by a less experienced (or stupid) car or bike driver, or even a cat running into the road making them swerve. Sadly the child will come off far worse than all of them.

Its not ideal. As I say, I hope it was a one off.

I do see your point about the leathers but assume the child doesn't have them as it's a one-off emergency or treat. It all comes down to risk assessment, but am really gobsmacked that lapin suggested calling the police.

We spend a lot of time in Spain and see kids on bikes all the time there, so maybe I'm more used to seeing it.

{shock]

Funny this has come up as I saw a man getting on his motorbike today carefully putting on his helmet - to go with his short sleeved shirt, shorts and pumps.

Is there anyway we could find out if this is illegal though I have a sneaking suspicion that the school would say they can't get involved morally or legally.

My dad used to pick me up from swimming club on the back of his motorbike - it was fab - in those days there was no helmets needed ( am very old !) - in winter my hair had ice in it by the time we got home.