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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

you know those carriages that attach to the back of bikes for children to sit in

76 replies

stottiecake · 15/03/2010 22:34

Don't you think they are a bit risky?

Saw a chap on a bike pulling a small child along in one of these today.

Surely if children have to be in car seats when travelling in cars then perhaps you shouldn't be allowed to pull little ones around in canvas trolleys on busy roads???

OP posts:
fernie3 · 16/03/2010 09:02

I have seen loads of these and they look pretty good to me especially around here where we have alot of bike lanes, they DO stick out a little from the bike lane but clearly visible to any driver so dont see a problem. My husband uses a seat on the back of his bike but we are thinking of getting one of these as you can fit two children in and they have better safety reviews etc.

I Do hate when you see people with children in the or on the bike seats without a helmet. There is a boy (about 4 or 5) who gets brought to school on one of those kids bikes that attaches to an adult bike, his dad is on the front in a helmet but the child iis on the back with no helmet seems odd to me

callmeovercautious · 16/03/2010 09:03

I love the look of the Kangaroo

They do make me nervous too but then I can drive and live near enough to Town to walk most days if I need to.

I have a good friend who uses a trailer, she does not drive and needs to transport 2 DC in a Town with practically no public transport. There is only so much time in the day for walking to the GP, Shops, School etc so she rides some places with them.

As safe as the rider imo.

JaneS · 16/03/2010 09:26

They're horrible. They slew out sideways round corners and are not really visible, even with the flag. Plus what happens if your child decides to throw his/her weight to the side or even decide to climb out? Cars have child locking etc. - this is just a box on wheels.

And I have seen an empty one (which I assume was too light to control properly) hit by a car.

diddl · 16/03/2010 09:27

I had one & it was great.
It was the only way I could have two children with me whilst biking.

That said I´m in Germany where cyclists rule!

Cobweb95 · 16/03/2010 09:34

Exactly diddl - same in Holland where every road has a cycle lane completely separate/divided from the road. I would use a trailer there, not in UK.

Having said that - this reminds me of that Freakonomics book, with examples like cycling might increase your risk of road accidents but the physical exercise reduces your risk of heart attack by more....

MrsBadger · 16/03/2010 09:53

ditto omdb, heaps round here, drivers very aware

ShowOfHands · 16/03/2010 10:19

I've read around and am pretty convinced. I have no choice really. I don't drive and live rurally. I have to transport dd somehow. The safety reviews are excellent and there are lots round here. Never heard of an accident involving one locally yet.

LittleRedDragon, they wouldn't just climb out, it's not a box, it's cleverly designed and well produced to protect the strapped in child.

Those kangaroos are superb but I don't have £2000 to spend on a limited use bike!

JaneS · 16/03/2010 10:24

That's reassuring, showofhands. However, I really think they should not be for us in heavy traffic/roads without cycle lanes.

I admit I am biased as the event that really scared me involved a woman turning into a one way street the wrong way, and of course I shouldn't base my opinions of the technology on someone who's being a fool anyway. Nevertheless, they do worry me.

Incidentally, unless you've already seen several of them about, the flag is totally useless. The first few times I saw a flag waving about near the side of the road, I assumed someone was carrying it on the pavement.

JaneS · 16/03/2010 10:25
  • use, not us.
sarah293 · 16/03/2010 10:34

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JaneS · 16/03/2010 10:47

Of course I can see cyclists. I said that, when I first saw these flags, I assumed they were being carried by someone on the pavement. I realized that wasn't the case when I got closer (duh), but it's not imo the best way of marking that there's something following the bike, esp. if bike and flag are moving at around walking page.

If, having not seen this bike trailers before, I look across the lane of cars to turn right, and see a flag waving behind them, moving at walking pace, right by the pavement, why would I expect it to be attached to a bike?!

JaneS · 16/03/2010 10:51

Btw, heavy traffic is not necessarily slower. I was in heavy traffic on the MI yesterday, in the slow lane doing 70. That isn't especially slow, you know.

sarah293 · 16/03/2010 10:56

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JaneS · 16/03/2010 11:05

Yes, but even in the city I live in, there are 30 and 40 zones where people do use these trailers. If you're talking cities were 20 is more usual, that makes a lot more sense. I suspect I'm being a bit unreasonable here - what I basically get annoyed about is cyclists who have no understanding of the rules of the road and little common sense, and who use these. I wish there were some kind of test you had to pass before cycling on the road. But I accept this is kind of tangential to the issue.

sarah293 · 16/03/2010 11:10

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ShauntheSheep · 16/03/2010 11:13

'what I basically get annoyed about is cyclists who have no understanding of the rules of the road and little common sense, and who use these.'

Thing I get annoyed about is drivers who have no understanding of the rules of the road and little common sense AND have still managed to pass their tests and drive huge veichles really badly. It is terrifying to watch them (I live in SW London which has a LOT of these).

I think that the rule of the road shoudl be changed so that drivers no longer feel that they have the right to the whole road and that it is theirs to do with as they please.

JaneS · 16/03/2010 11:19

I agree. All road users should be kept to the same standards. I wish we had better provision for cyclists on the roads - more cycle lanes, and less of a sense that cyclists don't belong on the road.

However, I know that if I hit a cyclist in my car through no fault of my own, that cyclist is far more likely to suffer than me. It's not a comforting thought.

Where I live, at the start of every university term you see cyclists on the road who have no idea of what they're doing and it makes me quite paranoid, I guess. The thing is, if you're a driver, you do have to pass a test. This doesn't weed out idiots and risk-takers, but it does at least mean that these people have an inkling of the rules. In contrast, I come across cyclists who don't know about basic things like bike lights, one-way streets, pedestrian areas, etc. etc.

I'm really not trying to suggest cyclists should be penalized, but if they were all made to take a road test, and if we made drivers more aware and considerate of other road users, I would be a lot less nervous about accidents.

JaneS · 16/03/2010 11:21

Incidentally, when I say 'don't know about', I mean that literally. I'm a student and periodically one or another new student will tell me in all innocence that they were cycling through a red light as normal - as they're allowed to do, right? - and something bad happened.

ShauntheSheep · 16/03/2010 11:29

Bloomin heck. Now I know lots of fuckwitslads down the pub who cycle and do stupid things but I kinda presumed that they knew the rules of the road and just ignored them. How do these kids manage to get to that age without learning the rules of the road. Am utterly gobsmacked.

Only problem with tests etc is that they will cost money and either cyclists will stop cycling cos they cant afford to do the test or they will just chance cycling without doing the test. It would be very difficult to enforce and hence lies the problem.

JaneS · 16/03/2010 11:31

Shaun, where I live many students come from overseas. Some of the rules are different, and they don't realize that. Where one of my friends lives in the States, one-way streets never apply to cyclists. Others have never cycled before because where they live it's considered too dangerous, but it isn't here, and they don't realize teh danger.

I do see that it'd be difficult to enforce and expensive. But then, my grandparents' generation didn't have to pass a test to drive a car! I'm glad that one's changed.

mrsboogie · 16/03/2010 11:33

I live in York where you see loads and loads of these. I would be afraid to use one myself as I am paranoid too but I haven't ever hearing of any accidents with them around here or seeing anything in the paper.

sarah293 · 16/03/2010 11:38

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porcamiseria · 16/03/2010 11:42

agree so unsafe, and so are those seats on the back of bikes

I am a Londoner though......which means my feedback is based on inner city traffic

JaneS · 16/03/2010 11:44

Yes, and cycle lanes around here begin and end far too abruptly.

Btw, the university isn't irresponsible, it does do leaflets but because cycling isn't in any way controlled - unless the police happen to see you and tell you to stop - lots of people assume it's not very important to keep by the rules. And this has a knock-on effect, so that it becomes 'normal' that cyclists should run the reds, because everyone does.

Hope you get on well with the new bike.

Morloth · 16/03/2010 11:46

Lots of people around here use them. I haven't seen any crazy behaviour TBH, they all have the flags and all the Mums and Dads are careful.

Not everyone can run a car and it makes it a lot quicker to get the kids around. If I was buying one I would go for the tricycle type one with the two seats on the back and the shopping basket bit. Very nice indeed.

Alas I am too lazy.