this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2023
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Live in a not so small town in Germany. I haven't had the need to have a car after I have been living for 9 years.
I commute with bike to work, take public transport when it's a farther journey.
Until I have a daughter a couple of months ago. I realize that I really need a car. :(
It’s hard to have a baby without a car. It’s for sleep, for nappy changing, your closet and your pantry. Those first few years especially. If you need one even for a few years it’s totally understandable.
Yeah. It's very difficult. Going to pediatrician for example. Or if it's raining. It's so troublesome to bring a baby with a bike in that situation.
The cargo bike boom has brought us some really decent ways to transport small children and stuff by bike, I actually think it's quite possible to use is you live in a not so small town. There are accessories to weather proof the cargo area, there are Iso-fix mounts for child seats and once the child can sit by itself it's usually quite a joy for them as well. These bikes are also protecting the child in case of a fall much better than you would think.
However I really do understand that a car is significantly more convenient. I live in rural Germany and there distances can easily amount to 10-15km one way to run errands such as going to the pediatrician. It's just a bit much, particularly with a toddler. And the car really does become storage for clothes and all that, you can just park it and everything in there is dry and safe, all that makes the car very attractive. Also a decent cargo bike with kids-friendly accessories will run you as much as a cheap small used car, although only the initial cost of course.
The key to bad weather is decent clothes, and children can easily be weather proofed for the most part. My kid is three now and I've seriously considered switching over to a bike, but only to replace the second car that I frequently use because my partner will need one to go to work anyways. But running the car cost me around 250€ every month (I keep track of every expense except cleaning) and that is only as long as nothing major breaks. Upkeep of even a large cargo bike is a fraction of that.
Sounds great! I still don't think that a cargo bike is very safe. Especially for a baby. :(
It definitely crosses my mind, that I'd do that if the kid is getting older. But definitely not before 2-3 years old.
I haven't bought a car yet. I'm still in paternal leave so I can manage to do everything. Once I start working, let's see how well we are doing without a car. :)
Even in America, I have seen a fair few parents carrying their kids around by bike. It seems it’s not totally impossible, though you may need to put your bike through some upgrades.
I don't dare to bring my now 3 months old baby with bike. The weather is still "summer"y now. In winter I wouldn't do it. I myself have fallen down from bikes at least 4 times in the last couple of years. I can't imagine if that happens while I'm taking my baby with bike.
It's possible, but it's really obnoxious and shitty. Especially if the weather is too cold for a new born to be outside.
New born parents is one of the few true excuses to use a car over a bike, imo.
But that's okay, we'll still need roads for emergency services anyway so it's okay if some people use them.
I bet those people are doing it for economic reasons, not environmental ones. A bicycle is probably the most dangerous form of transportation for you to have your kid on.
How us bicycle more dangerous than cars?
Sure cars have all the safety features for people on the inside, but on a bike you're exposed to much slower speeds and better field of view. Bike accidents have much smaller fatality rate than car accidents.
Unless of course you mean cycling among cars is less safe, but that argument just confirms that cars are unsafe, not bikes. Bikes are not dangerous. Cars are.
It wouldn't be any dangerous if car and bike infrastructure was structurally separated (and if there were far fewer cars).
But they aren't.
That should be changed, shouldn't it?
Of course, but if my vehicle was the only vehicle in the world, I'd still feel like a 2 year old kid on the back of my bike going 7 miles is more dangerous than on a bus, train, or even a car over the same distance.
Fair enough, a seat on the back is the least safe option to transport kids.
There are options like this though. Seatbelts, low position, side walls.
I don't mind this too much, but I'd want more padding for the kid and an extra wheel in the back for stability.
I have two kids and use a bike (for ecological reasons). I realize I'm incredibly lucky my area has very good and safe biking infrastructure. Had to upgrade to a electric cargo bike when the second one came about, but I don't regret at all, it's more'confortable and safer for the kids. I do own an old ICE car, which I considered replacing with a new EV, but since I drive maybe a few hundreds of kilometers per year, I figured it'd make more sense to keep the old diesel than to replace it.