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news
road.cc newsRhyl cyclist criticised for towing kids in wooden trailer
The Daily Post has published a photograph of a Rhyl man towing a baby and group of children in what looks like it could be a homemade trailer. The image was sent in by a ‘concerned reader’ but North Wales Police have yet to comment on it.
The picture was taken on Rhyl High Street and there have been questions as to whether the trailer is legal. “The youngsters, riding in a wooden trailer, appear to not be wearing any seat belts or safety restraints,” says the Daily Post.
A spokesperson for Brake, the road safety charity, said:
“A trailer may well be fine for carrying goods in, but not young children, including a baby. We’re all for encouraging people to drive less and cycle more, but the children in this picture appear not be fully secured and are certainly not wearing protective helmets.”
However, all sorts of child seats and trailers are commercially available and there is no restriction in law, the Highway Code or Road Traffic Act concerning the carrying of children in trailers.
In 2011, we reported how a father from Burton-on-Trent was fined £100 for carrying his two-year-old son on his bike, with the youngster sitting on a seat that had been bought from Halfords. Speaking at the time, Malcolm Shepherd, chief executive of the cycling charity, Sustrans, expressed surprise that the case had been brought.
“This is one of the prescribed ways of carrying a child on a bicycle. The most important thing is that it is a proper seat that has been fitted properly. We want kids on their bikes and we don't want incidents like this to put parents off carrying their children.”
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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24 comments
that does look good fun to be honest...
genius
No one yet addressed the real horror here.. growing up in Rhyl....
Some people really do need to get a life, I seem to remember as a child knocking together go karts out of anything lying around, getting towed around by your mates on bikes and throwing yourself down hills on it. No restraints, no helmets, no knee pads or elbow pads. I remember my mother going spare on a visit to my cousins when I borrowed his Grifter to try out the BMX track he had built with his mates, no helmet and a plaster cast on my arm, she was worried I would break the cast
Some people really do need to get a life, I seem to remember as a child knocking together go karts out of anything lying around, getting towed around by your mates on bikes and throwing yourself down hills on it. No restraints, no helmets, no knee pads or elbow pads. I remember my mother going spare on a visit to my cousins when I borrowed his Grifter to try out the BMX track he had built with his mates, no helmet and a plaster cast on my arm, she was worried I would break the cast
Shudder - how did you survive without the fully protective CE sticker on the hand made go-kart!
We used to tie one behind my mates dad's BSA motorbike and hoon around his garden but I knew I was safe because the go-kart was from a shop and had a CE mark
Won't somebody think of the kids?
Rhyl...shudder
On a daily basis I experience behavior from motorists that is far more dangerous than carrying some kids in a trailer. Imagine if there was a newspaper article every time I experienced:
-A near pass at speed
-Motorists pulling out in front of me
-Being tailgated
-Lorries/buses overtaking and cutting in tight in front of me
The press would be full of this shit.
Looking at the original article, I don't really see what the fuss is. I can't imagine cars are building up much speed on Rhyl High Street, so what's the problem? If the motorists are all looking where they are going, and the cyclist is being sensible (as I imagine you are when you are towing your kids in a trailer), and the kids have been told not to act up, then what's the problem?
"Motorists looked on in horror ".
surely not far too busy
In the brief moment they looked up from using their mobiles.
The article is just typical overreaction from a shitty local rag that would complain about "its health and safety gone mad" if it was the council making kids wear PPE for using a fair ride, etc, ad nauseum, .....
Would the rag react any different if it was this woman, for instance?
It's only unsafe because he didn't have a dog in the trailer with his kids. When UK drivers see a dog they slow down and overtake carefully.
You're right there - do Halfrauds sell dog seats?
There is only so far we should be going with wrapping the nation in cotton wool. I'm sure he was riding carefully.
Well this was 2 minutes of my life I'll never get back.
It's about time somebody put the brakes on the funding for Brake!
Yeah. Stupid old road safety. Who wants that.
How fast was this fellah going that would have made seatbelts essential? And how likely would it be that the kids would fall out and bang their heads.
I am a big supporter of road safety and the trouble with this is that plenty of people will view this as unsafe without any evidence and make a big fuss. But you trying bringing in a 20mph speed limit in town and just watch the erstwhile road safety supporters take umbrage.
Road safety needs to focus on dangerous things like driving too fast in towns and not on making anyone that might be in the way "look like" they have protection from speeding cars. I say "look like" because the collision from behind from a speeding car would make a seatbelt and helmet irrelevant.
You need to remember that it's the people driving cars (and I am an advanced motorist) that are doing something dangerous. Not the cyclists and the kids tootling along at 8mph.
I am not that familiar with 'Brake' but come on, you can't assume you can judge these sorts of groups by their self-descriptions!
Next you'll be telling me sustrans promotes sustainable transport!
(It should be called 'leisurebodge' or something like that!)
From the photos it is clearly a regular cycle trailer that's been modified with additional wooden side supports, the comments from BRAKE regarding advisory restraints and cycle helmets are entirely irrelevant, as a charity they should be welcoming people using healthy sustainable transport rather than fuelling this victim blaming nonsense.
From the photos it is clearly a regular cycle trailer that's been modified with additional wooden side supports, the comments from BRAKE regarding advisory restraints and cycle helmets are entirely irrelevant, as a charity they should be welcoming people using healthy sustainable transport rather than fuelling this victim blaming nonsense.
Its clearly not, it might have the bracket from one but the rest is clearly entirely home made. However, if its well built and he rides sensibly then there is no reason it is unsafe, certainly no more than letting a child play in a treehouse or ride their own bike.
And you let them do that? Are you mad? Oh won't somebody think of the children...!?!
Please stop repeating their insistance on always having charity in their name, they are a pressure group with charitable status, what benefit they have to the community is questionable, their motives and suggestions are rarely based in fact.