Are cargo and longtail bikes safe for children?
This is the question that can be asked while watching disturbing crash test videos made in Switzerland and Germany.
On one, a cargo bike rushes at 25 km/h into a stationary car, the two child mannequins seated in the box at the front are ejected, their belts are torn off and their heads hit the chest.
In another sequence, a car hits a stopped longtail at 30 km/h.
The driver of the bicycle and the two small mannequins seated in the back, in child seats, crash into the bonnet.
“
It is not certain that they would have died”,
explains Martial Giobellina, one of the experts who took part in the Swiss crash test, “
but in any case they would suffer from serious injuries
”.
These new types of bicycles, called "longtails" when they are extended at the rear and "biporteurs" when they are equipped with a box at the front or at the rear, are developing more and more, especially in Urban.
Between 2020 and 2021, sales have increased by 54%, and the growth will not stop any time soon, if we are to believe the launch of a "low-cost" longtail (2,700 euros all the same) by Decathlon.
The first seduced are city dwellers: "
To transport the shopping and the children, it's great
", confides Amandine during a test session carried out by the Cyclable franchise, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris.
"
Today I ride with a normal bike and child seats, but this test convinces me
", explains this other father who came to test a longtail.
However, watching these crash test videos made by the Dynamic Test Center, in Switzerland, and by the ADAC, a German road safety association, the question of safety arises.
According to the Highway Code, children under 5 must be transported in an approved seat with a restraint system and footrests.
For children over 5 years old, apart from the compulsory helmet up to 12 years old, they are considered adults.
Thus, the only legal requirements are an independent seat attached to the vehicle, footrests and a tether strap or handle.
"
Carrying someone on a luggage rack is strictly prohibited",
specifies Olivier Moucheboeuf, the standards and regulations manager of the Union Sports and Cycles (USC), an organization bringing together French bicycle manufacturers.
And after several email exchanges with Road Safety, it was confirmed to us that it was legally strictly forbidden to transport children or adults in the back of a longtail in the absence of an independent seat... Even though this type of bike is made for that.
And impossible to know what is defined as a seat under the law.
Regarding safety belts in the boxes of cargo bikes, the conclusion is no less unpleasant: at present, there is no standard or approval for the transport of children on these bikes.
“
It is according to the goodwill of the manufacturers
”, hesitates Olivier Moucheboeuf of the USC.
The belts reassure parents, and yet: "
On the model we tested, the belt was simply fixed using a screw in the wooden box
", explains Martial Giobellina of the DTC, "
and it is torn off at the moment of impact
".
Same observation on the freighters tested by the ADAC.
For the expert in accident analysis, these belts are useless in the event of an impact and only serve to prevent children from getting out of the transport box.
On the other hand, he specifies that in the event of a collision, whether on a cargo, longtail or classic bike, there will be little difference: drivers and passengers will suffer.
In France, no brand of cargo bike and longtail has yet carried out a crash test.
We asked Maël Bourras, the customer service manager of Yuba, one of the largest cargo and longtail bike manufacturers in France, to react: “
These crash test videos show above all that cars are the danger and that 'it is necessary to create more cycling facilities
'.
For Yuba, who has been manufacturing this type of bike for 15 years, a standard concerning the transport of children would be almost expected: "
It would prevent low-cost brands from doing anything concerning safety while we would be almost certain to meet all the criteria,
" says Maël Bourras.
