Riding your bicycle in the Netherlands is safer than anywhere else in the world. But it is also a lot of fun, especially for Dutch kids! Here 10 examples of what makes cycling in the Netherlands so much more interesting for the little ones!
1.
(by lyooa)
2.
(by Noah Markus)
3.
(by Dave A)
4.
(by Iam Marjon Bleeker)
5.
(by Bhakti Dharma)
6.
(by Carol Jones)
7.
(by Thomas Vuillaume)
8.
(by Clare-White)
9.
(by H. Michael Miley)
10.
(by Todd Gunderson)
Most pictures look rather dangerous
Eh, I suppose those bikes are heavy enough that braking might be hampered somewhat.
But otherwise, the kids are mostly in seats made for it, and unless the kids are flailing around I don’t really see much going wrong here. (though picture 6 has an additional kid on the back seat)
Another thing to note is that mostly bikes here only ride on roads where cars aren’t allowed, are separated, or are only allowed to drive slowly.
More importantly though, I’ve personally seen much more precarious ways people ride bikes as a passenger.
Ja lekker nr. 10: de kinderen krijgen de uitlaatgassen recht in het gezicht.
I found this so irresponsible! Please make kids wear a helmet!! And the excuse that dutch people know how to cycle and the cycling infrastructure is better than elsewhere doesn’t count! A bike accident can cause severe damages to a kids head!!!
The helmet is like the airbag: not always the lifesaver.
About children in traffic: I keep gasping about the videos of Eldat Hager (Hope for Paws). He saves stray dogs. He puts the saved/captured animal in his car. No, not in a bench. No, not on the backseat. No, not secured with a savety leash. A frightened strange animal, eventually wounded, is put just in front near the driver on the big passenger seat.
And now I know it can be worse: you put the dog behind and put besides you two little children without savety beld. It’s on the Youtube, so it will be allowed. Here is such behaviour forbidden. Even the short track with the third an a smaller child on the drivers lap, very near to the steering wheel. I really can’t believe that it is allowed in the USA were all dangers (exapt schooting weapons) must be abandonned from the sight of the so terrible week or unknowing people or at least must be warned like: don’t put your wet pet in the microwave.
Of course skill and better infrastructure count. Look at the stats for bicycle accidents and I would imagine they are very low for Holland compared to over protective bubble wrap countries such as the USA and Canada. While I totally agree an accident can cause severe damages, I just don’t remember many people getting into these severe accidents when i lived in Holland (for the first 40 or so years of my life). I think it is more the fear for the unknown that causes anxiety in people who haven’t lived in Holland all their life.
A helmet? Are you nuts or something? Idiot! Real Dutch bikers don’t were helmets.
Actually, these are bad examples of why kids love cycling, since the kids above are all passengers. What they really love is to ride themselves 🙂 And please, enough about the helmets
What is this sad obsession with helmets? 2cm of foam will only have a small shock-absorbing effect – it is not magic. When I was a kid no-one got serious head injuries when riding their bikes. One kid did get a fractured skull when he slipped in the bathroom and hit his head on the sink. He was fine except for the blood and the headache, and the bones healed nicely.
I love those photos of normal people riding bikes in normal ways. Keep it up, dutchies!
P B
Helmets are for special accidents, like falling with your head on the brim of the causeway.
When I was a child, children were better bikers then the nowadays louts, who need the full road width for 3 side by side. We went 2 side by side on the bike tracks which were narrower then todays.
Here in the States children wear helmets on their scooters, while roller and ice skating, etc.. The parents are so afraid something will happen. Neither I nor my children ever wore helmets in the Netherlands or here, and we’re still alive. Biking in the States is nowhere near as safe as in the Netherlands. Neither the cars or bikers are used to dealing with each other in traffic. I never wore a helmet in the Netherlands, but I do now. There are so many accidents in the community where I live.