Push-chair safety

[autobrake]

Hello all,
I am a design student seeking some comments and thoughts from parents. I am doing a project looking at push-chair safety and their braking or stopping systems. I want to design a system for automatically stopping a push-chair from rolling when the usual brakes are not applied. So....
[b]Do you always apply the push-chair brakes when you are stationary?
Could you describe any experiences of problems with stopping a push-chair?
Do you think an auto-brake system is a good idea?
Would you pay more for a push-chair with an auto brake built in?
Would you buy a separate auto-brake attachment or accessory?[/b]

Any responses or thoughts further to the above questions gratefully received.
Thanks,
Jo

I used the safety strap all the time, in case the brake fails, so would have no need for a auto system

I had a buggy (Hauck) which you couldn't drag backwards (it's safety feature was that it couldn't move backwards).

I hated it, I often pull buggies (umbrella folding types) backwards when walking fast, and it was impossible to move it around backwards in small spaces (like shops when you suddenly have to maneuver around other people). What a pain!! So maybe an auto-brake system would be ok if you could turn it off, but that kind of defeats the purpose because I'd just leave it off all the time. I'd certainly not pay extra for such a feature.

I don't always apply the brakes when stationary but I usually think about whether I need to. Maybe a reminder system like a little beep when the pushchair stops for more than 5 seconds would be more useful.

I agree with SGK. I have had 3 buggies with a safety strap (Mountain Buggy, Phil and Teds and Bugaboo) and I find it really useful. I can't see that an autobraking mechanism would do anything other than just pee me off tbh Safety strap has also doubled up as somehting for dd to hold onto when walking beside the buggy if we are walking in town. Having said that, some buggies are a bit too manuverable for their own good. I let go of the Bugaboo once and it rolled into the road. Let me tell you, it only takes one time for that to happen and you'll never forget to put the brake on again

Yes LL, I took Ds2 out of the bugaboo yesterday and forgot to put the brake on, the bugaboo went rolling down the road, Dd1 grabbed it for me.

Scary isn't it SGK. I felt very shaky afterwards. It was a split second, bt I guess that's all it takes.

i forgot to put bobs brakes on once when i was putting dd3 into the car. a guest of wind took him off down the road.

that was for the 'have you aged well thread' I still get quizzed for ID, and am 30!!!

not sure if i would pay extra but i think it sounds like a good idea, i've had many buggies, atm i struggle to get brake on with buggyboard attached so the auto brake would be a good function for me.

Thanks for all the responses guys, this is really helpful and raises issues I'd not thought of. Cheers. Maybe you'll see me on Dragons Den!

I was thinking what if you had a little alarm system of the handles. When the buggy has been stationary then a few little beeps sound.

This wouldn't be annoying if left on all the time, but it would make you realise that the buggy was moving when you weren't looking at it.

Sorry, I started last post out by thinking that the alarm system could be sophisticated enough to detect whether there was pressure on the handles (from hands), but really it doesn't need to be that complicated.

Misdee, I lost a maclaren in a pond due to a gust of wind sending it there

If you could invent something to stop a pram moving on a bus when the bus goes round a corner, that wouldbe fab.

My P&T was always rolling off, but I always kept safety srap on my wrist.

I always put break on when I stop.