To some, this scene of a Kidical Mass ride may represent a wholesome, healthy way for parents to spend a summer afternoon with their kids. But one Oregon congressman sees something altogether more sinister happening here.
Representative Mitch Greenlick has proposed a state law, punishable by a $90 fine, that will, if passed, make it illegal for parents to bicycle with a child under six in a bike seat, trailer, or on a tow-along bike.
Portland has long been revered by bicycle enthusiasts for its bike-friendly culture and infrastructure. It boasts the highest number of bike commuters of any large U.S. city, and it’s the only city in the nation that has been awarded with the League of American Bicyclists’ platinum status. The city council unanimously approved the 2030 Bicycle Master Plan last year, envisioning Portland as a “world-class bicycling city” and outlining a goal of building three times as many bicycle routes as the city currently has.
So why would Greenlick, a Democrat representing Northwest Portland, introduce a bill that would keep a large segment of the cycling population from using their bicycles as transportation?
Greenlick cites child safety. He says that while there’s no data to suggest children are unsafe in bike trailers, bike seats, or on tow-along bikes, he wants to “start a conversation” about the topic and hopes his proposed bill will compel a study. He points to a recent study of serious male riders who bike to work on a regular basis, which he says found that 30 percent of riders suffer a “traumatic injury” each year and 8 percent suffer an injury serious enough to require medical attention.
“I was not able to resist asking myself what would have happened to a young child strapped into a seat on the bike when the rider suffered that serious traumatic injury,” Greenlick wrote in a statement. “The study clearly leads us to work to reduce the environmental hazards that make those injuries more likely.”
The study Greenlick cites actually found that 20 percent of serious cyclists experienced a traumatic injury each year and 5 percent required medical attention. And, Mia Burk, the former bicycle coordinator of the city of Portland and current CEO of Alta Planning and Design, points out that the language in the study is misleading, because the emotionally-loaded words “traumatic injury” actually denote minor injuries, like bumps, bruises, and scrapes. As she points out, doing any sort of outdoor athletic activity brings some risk of minor injury, as does cooking. Moreover, the study says nothing about the safety of bike trailers, tow-along bikes, or bike seats.
Greenlick is simply concerned that transporting kids on bikes may be dangerous. I’ve heard the same concerns before, notably from my own parents. And here’s where, at the risk of destroying my status amongst adventurists and the free-range parenting community, I have a little confession to make. My husband and I are, um, cautious. Okay I said it. We’re not into heli-skiing or sky-diving, bull-riding or rugby, motocross or sword swallowing. I teasingly call my husband “Safety Dad”, because he seems to have the vision of a condor when it comes to detecting danger. “Be really careful,” were some of our son’s first words, which perhaps tells you how often he’s heard that phrase.
When we ride our bikes, we take quiet roads and bike paths, wear helmets, and look both ways before we cross streets. And we — cue the scary music — strap our son into a bike trailer, which we both feel is safe, and which my son loves riding in.
Not surprisingly Greenlick’s bill has outraged Oregon’s cycling community, including the small but growing number of people who live car-free. Greenlick says he’s received hundreds of angry letters in the last week, and he’s already considering amending the bill to get rid of the violation portion and instead ask for a study on child safety.
I’m glad Greenlick is reconsidering this bill, because I believe it is misguided on a number of levels. Oregon is suffering during this economy, and the bill would hurt one of the most economically vulnerable populations — those who can’t afford cars.
I agree with Greenlick that we should have a conversation about bicycle safety, because we should be encouraging more people to ride bikes. We know that bicycling is good for the health of people, society, and the environment. We also know that a large percentage of Americans say in surveys that they would like to ride a bike, but feel scared doing so. Bicycling does not have to be as risky as it is in most American cities.
I like to envision a city where the roads and sidewalks are safe for pedestrians and bicyclists, a city with lots of bike lanes, bike paths, bike boulevards, and bike boxes. A city where goods and services are within walking distance of where people live. A city where sprawling parking lots, 12-lane highways, and neighborhoods without sidewalks, which are deadly to non-motorists, are replaced with human-scale development. A city where the air and water are clean and people are healthy.
If it’s hard to imagine such a city, my vision looks a little bit like this:
I hope Greenlick’s bill will start a conversation about how we can get closer to this vision. Criminalizing riding bikes with children is certainly not that way.
Besides, as my husband, points out, “When bicycle trailers are outlawed, only outlaws will tote their kids in bicycle trailers.”
If you liked this post, check out these related posts:
- Bicycle Love
- Car-Free Chronicles
- Confessions From the Car-Free Life
- Lessons in Car-Free Living
- Car-Free Delivery
- Car-Free With Four Kids!
- Plan a Car-Free Vacation
- A Snapshot of Car-Usage in America
- Revisiting the Car-Free Life
What do you think of Greenlick’s bill? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
What do I think? I think this is crazy. I’d like to see someone do a serious analysis of all statistics available on bike safety versus auto safety for children. I bet bikes win.
I think it’s a better idea to make a law lowering the car speed limit so as not to injure cyclists!
This is insane. Riding in cars is just not all that safe either. I think of this every time someone is concerned about us being in the “wilderness” with our children (my husband and daughter are certified in basic wilderness 1st aid). I don’t know for certain but I’m pretty sure I am putting my children at greater risk driving to the mountains with them than I am hiking on steep slopes and such with them.
I feel like it’s penalizing one population group for another population group’s faults. drivers often don’t share the road well. I think bicyclist make drivers feel uncomfortable.
I would love to see more laws about traffic speed. But I’d settle for greater education of the current laws. How many of the bicycle laws are even on the drivers test?
Oh my goodness. Crazy! Take this as a good sign, though. It seems to me that people only try to get things outlawed when they feel like it’s creeping into their life. I mean, those things have been around forever, but non-car people are starting to become more mainstream. Perhaps this guy is starting to feel like his own lifestyle is threatened.
Instead of outlawing stuff, maybe efforts would be put to better use trying to make drivers remember that you actually DO have to watch for pedestrians and cyclists before (in my state at least) turning right on red.
I think outlawing trailers is odd in places that are “safer” – like quiet suburbs without tons of traffic. I do think trailers (and bikes too) ought to be outlawed on busy city streets. Too many right-hand turns and SUVs, you know?
I live in Chicago, which is a really bike-friendly city. I, for one, would never consider riding with my children in a bike trailer on the streets of Chicago. I seriously freak out when I see other parents doing so – and I see a lot of them. Seriously, do they not realize how dangerous this is….? It’s one thing to ride your bike as a tall, visible grownup (and that’s plenty dangerous in my book). The only place bike trailers belong is on quiet sleepy suburban streets and actual bike trails. As for Oregon
First of all – great video! Second – I would absolutely DIE if bike trailers were outlawed in Denver! I think it’s ludicrous! Especially to suggest it without a study EVER being done on it. Sounds like a political publicity stunt to me. Shame! I agree with some of your other comments – maybe look to lowering speed limits for cars if it’s a concern (though it doesn’t sound like it even IS anyway).
To the comments that trailers should be outlawed on busy city streets… I think just because you fear something doesn’t make it dangerous, there are flags on trailers to make them more visible to vehicles, and wouldn’t make more sense to outlaw polluting, excessive SUV’s that have limited visibility for their drivers (which sounds dangerous to me)!
Conversations are all well and good, but you would think it would be possible to have such a conversation without a bill outlawing them causing people to get angry. Anger and conversations never really end well.
I live in Freiburg in Germany. Bikes are essential here and trailers are nearly mandatory for a parent here. They have trailers that people push while roller blading as well as those attached to bikes. As mentioned I imagine the number of injuries involving cars is just as worrisome with a far higher rate of medical attention needed.
I have never ridden with one, but looking at them the trailers look fairly stable and enclosed. They are also lower t the ground unlike a bicycle. The other flawed bit of the study idea is that I can well imagine that experienced riders without trailers may be taking more risks and riding faster than those towing their children.
Anyway I hope it all works out for Portland and maybe they can look at restricting cars rather than bikes.
do you think also that children should not have to ride in the back seat of a car, strapped into a proper child safety seat? I understand: you really, really like bikes and it skews your judgement.
Yes, loving bikes definitely shapes my judgment. That’s why I hope more city planners and law makers will fall in love with bikes.
Hi Abby – I was recently in Indonesia where cities, which were once almost entirely cycling cities, have converted to being choked with cars and motor scooters. Does anyone get anywhere faster? Not really. Most of this is not to do with personal need for some new form of transport it’s just a result of economic growth, and the status given to vehicle ownership + foreign aid given to building roads vs integrating public transport. Maybe once we’ve all been urbanised as long as the Europeans we’ll realize that cycling is actually the safest, most sociable and the fastest form of urban transport (even if you ride quite slowly with your kids en tow.)
Im tired of these politicians who don’t ride making laws on those of us who do . Have mr Greenlick ride to work for 2 months before he brings any more laws to the table