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06-29-2004, 09:36 AM

David Kerber wrote:

> In article <40e18470@news.ysu.edu>, frkrygow@mousepotato.com says...
>
> ...
>
>
>>>I think I recall seeing something about helmets not being available for
>>>children under about one year of age for similar reasons.
>>
>>... yet try to find ANY evidence that a kid less than one year old has
>>ever been seriously hurt on a bicycle, or in a bike trailer! If it's
>>out there, I certainly haven't seen it. And if it's happened, it's
>>certainly very, very rare. But that won't stop the handwringers' warnings.
>
>
> Probably because people carrying kids under 1 year old in a trailer are
> also very, very rare.

Of course, that's part of it. Trailers themselves are not common. But
what evidence is there of _any_ kids getting seriously hurt while riding
on parents' bikes?

Somehow, the Safety Industry (or its subsidiary, Handwringers
Incorporated) seems to think it knows so much more than any given parent
about what is safe and what is dangerous.

They seem to envision a parent negligently tossing a child onto a rear
rack, held down by a loose bungie cord. In my experience, parents are
quite cautious with kids on their bikes, more so than with kids in their
cars.

>
>>It's interesting to me that a jogger can (apparently) push that trialer
>>as fast as they can run, and it remains "safe." But if a bicycle is
>>towing it, it will be "dangerous."
>
>
> That jogger is almost certainly not going over about 6 to 8 mph, and can
> stop a LOT quicker than a bike can. On a bike, you could easily double
> that speed, and triple it on not much of a hill.

.... and 24 mph is usually fatal???

You seem to be MUCH more afraid of bicycling than I am.

FWIW, if a parent thinks 6 to 8 mph is all that's safe, they can ride
their bike at 6 to 8 mph. There is nothing specific about being moved
by a bike that makes a trailer dangerous.

But in my limited experience (and the considerably greater experience of
some of my friends) trailers are very stable indeed, no matter what the
speed.

--
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com.
Substitute cc dot ysu dot
edu]

06-29-2004, 09:36 AM	#29 (permalink)
Frank Krygowski Posts: n/a	Re: age for child trailers David Kerber wrote: > In article <40e18470@news.ysu.edu>, frkrygow@mousepotato.com says... > > ... > > >>>I think I recall seeing something about helmets not being available for >>>children under about one year of age for similar reasons. >> >>... yet try to find ANY evidence that a kid less than one year old has >>ever been seriously hurt on a bicycle, or in a bike trailer! If it's >>out there, I certainly haven't seen it. And if it's happened, it's >>certainly very, very rare. But that won't stop the handwringers' warnings. > > > Probably because people carrying kids under 1 year old in a trailer are > also very, very rare. Of course, that's part of it. Trailers themselves are not common. But what evidence is there of _any_ kids getting seriously hurt while riding on parents' bikes? Somehow, the Safety Industry (or its subsidiary, Handwringers Incorporated) seems to think it knows so much more than any given parent about what is safe and what is dangerous. They seem to envision a parent negligently tossing a child onto a rear rack, held down by a loose bungie cord. In my experience, parents are quite cautious with kids on their bikes, more so than with kids in their cars. > >>It's interesting to me that a jogger can (apparently) push that trialer >>as fast as they can run, and it remains "safe." But if a bicycle is >>towing it, it will be "dangerous." > > > That jogger is almost certainly not going over about 6 to 8 mph, and can > stop a LOT quicker than a bike can. On a bike, you could easily double > that speed, and triple it on not much of a hill. .... and 24 mph is usually fatal??? You seem to be MUCH more afraid of bicycling than I am. FWIW, if a parent thinks 6 to 8 mph is all that's safe, they can ride their bike at 6 to 8 mph. There is nothing specific about being moved by a bike that makes a trailer dangerous. But in my limited experience (and the considerably greater experience of some of my friends) trailers are very stable indeed, no matter what the speed. -- Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com. Substitute cc dot ysu dot edu]