the 07/21/2008

Helmets are a must for kids in bicycle trailers, jogging carts

"I can't find a bike helmet small enough for my baby."

It's a statement Ann Brunzell, SAFE KIDS Tri-Cities coalitioncoordinator, has been hearing a lot lately.

Her first reaction is to ask the child's age.

"Typically I'm hearing 9 months, that's the age babies reallystart to sit up well," she said.

The reason people can't find a helmet for a baby so young? Theydon't make them, she said.

Brunzell and others in the child safety industry recommend childrenbe at least a year old and weigh 20 pounds before they ride in abike trailer or in a child carrier seat mounted on an adult's bike.

The muscles and bones in an infant's neck aren't strong enough tofully support their heavy heads. For that reason, babies under ayear old and 20 pounds must ride in rear-facing car seats when in avehicle. The same rule applies to bicycling, although there aren'tany laws in Nebraska directly addressing the matter, Brunzell said.

In addition, the behind-the-bike trailers take a lot of jolting,which could cause injuries to a baby's neck and brain. With anolder child, the same type of injury can occur if they fall asleepin a carrier or a trailer and their head rolls back and forth, shesaid. For that reason, Brunzell recommends stopping if a childfalls asleep.

The number of phone calls Brunzell receives daily on the subjecthas gone up this year, which she believes is connected to the pushfor families to be more physically active and the higher use of bicycles due to the increase in gasoline prices.

The trailers are also something fairly new, having just becomepopular in the last few years, so there is an educational learningcurve, she said. She highly recommends researching which trailer isbest for your family. Look for large wheels, which make a trailermore stable, and a roll-over cage to protect a child if the trailertips over. Over-the-shoulder harnesses and screens that cover thefront and side of the trailers, to prevent debris from hitting thechild, are also important, she said.

It is also important to remember that a car seat should never beused in a trailer, she said.

John Wayne, owner of Wayne Cyclery in Grand Island, said with theincrease in gas prices he has been selling twice as much bicycleequipment, including trailers, which people have been using tocarry groceries as well as children. He also stocks some trailersthat convert into strollers.

"We are sold out right now," he said.

Before placing a child in the trailer, practice driving around withit attached to the bike because it will cut down on a bike'smaneuverability and is wider than the bicycle, Brunzell said.

Statistically, trailers are involved in fewer crashes than carriersmounted on an adult's bike because carriers raise the bike's centerof gravity. With a carrier, a child also has farther to fall duringa crash, she said.

When deciding whether to purchase a carrier or a trailer a personshould consider which device a child can be placed into while therider isn't on the bike. A child can't be placed in a carrier bythe rider when the bike is resting on a kickstand because the bikemight topple over. It may take two adults to use a carrier and onlyone to use a trailer, Brunzell said.