Bicycle Riding with a Child on Board? It can be fun and safe

by Rob Walker | May 5, 2008 at 02:34 pm | 252 views | 1 comment

I live in an area with lots of traffic, pedestrian and otherwise, and I see a lot of parents riding around with their kids on their bikes.

I actually saw a woman topple over with her kid in the back. She wasn't going very fast, in fact was trying to safely stop and get off, but they both went to the ground. They were both wearing helmets and I went over to see if they were ok, but the mom got the kid up and they both seemed fine.

It did occur to me at the time to wonder how safe it is to have your kid on a bike, and the different seats for kids I've seen.

Barb Wentworth is a bicycle safety planner for the City of Toronto and a national examiner for CAN-BIKE, a cycling education program offering courses to adults and children.
She offers some suggestions for adult cyclists who plan to hit the road with child seats mounted on their bicycles.

Make sure you're a strong rider before you take a child along. "What happens when you have a child on the bike is it raises the centre of gravity, so it changes how it feels and how it operates," Wentworth said.

"You want to have really good bike skills of your own before you take the kids along but it's a great things to do, and the kids love it, and there's also bike trailers that work really well for children."

When biking with a child on board, use a trailer, a rolling ride-along that hitches to the back end of a bike. It is a much safer option than a carrier, a "passenger" seat that sits directly on the bike, according to Dr. Scott Bautch, a member of ACA's Council on Occupational Health. Dr. Bautch prefers trailers because of their added stability. He cautions that carriers can decrease a bike's stability, possibly causing it to topple and injure both the parent and child.

To further ensure the child's safety while biking, keep the following tips in mind:

The trailer must be equipped with a harness that can be placed over the child's body. The harness should be complicated enough that the child cannot unhook it or wiggle out of it.

A screen that covers the front of the trailer will add an extra line of protection against stray pebbles and other flying objects.

Be sure to select a trailer that has large, bicycle-style tires, which will add stability and ease to your ride.

Protect your child's head with a sturdy, adjustable helmet that can be sized to fit properly. If the helmet rests too high, it will expose part of the child's head, leaving it susceptible to injury.

Bike only on smooth surfaces for optimal control.

Only an experienced rider should attempt to bike with a child on board at all. And even then, the rider should practice with a ride-along trailer for two weeks before riding with a real child - in an effort to get a feel for the strength and coordination necessary to maneuver the bike.

Whether you're a motorist, bicyclist, or pedestrian, knowing about safety for your desired mode of travel is important. The Department of Motor Vehicles makes a driver's manual teaching motorists how to drive safely, so why not have a manual teaching bicyclists the same? Bicyclists are road-users too. Well, the wait is over because now "Safe Bicycling in the Washington Area" is here!

Bicyclists under age 16 accounted for 40% of all bicyclists injured in traffic crashes in 2000 and 28% of all fatalities. Severe brain injury causes 2/3 of bicycle-related fatalities. Use of a bicycle helmet, according to a major study done at Harborview, can prevent up to 88% of serious brain injuries.
Any child who rides on a bicycle, tricycle, wheeled toy, or in a trailer or a bicycle-mounted child seat should wear an approved and properly fitted bicycle helmet.

All bicycle helmets sold today must meet the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) standard. Look for a sticker inside the helmet.