JUNE 19 2011 Page 9ST

thesundaymail.com.au 9NEWS

Lookingforwardto saferkids’ rideJackie Sinnerton

Up front: Sylvia Vincencand Charlie, 3, lead the wayin using the new child seat.Picture: Glenn Hampson

SYLVIA Vincenc of South-port and her three-year-olddaughter, Charlie, are fans ofthe front rider seat. But theyare in the minority.

Despite it being the safestway to carry children on abike, Queensland parentshave been slow to warm tothe handlebar child seat.

‘‘Only one in every hun-dred customers seek out thefront-positioned seat,’’ saidPaul Bowden, the manager atLifecycle bike shop on PetrieTce, Brisbane. ‘‘They tend tobe attracted to the ones fittedbehind the rider. I think thereis the perception they (frontseats) may not be so safe.’’

But Kidsafe Queenslandchief Susan Teerds said rid-ing in the front positionmeant not only would child-ren have a more stable ridebut it was more stimulating.

‘‘An adult can talk to themand give them guidance as tohow to behave on thejourney,’’ she said.

The front carrier was al-ready a hit in Europe, es-pecially Holland, and MsTeerds expected Australiawould soon catch on.

‘‘It has taken a while forthe seats to go through thevigorous safety proceduresin Australia. But they haveAustralian Standards ap-proval. If they have theAustralian Standards sticker,(they’re the best option) pro-viding all the safetymeasures are in place.’’

Children’s legs must besecured, a five-point harnessmust hold them in, and thechair and helmet must havebeen expertly fitted. Also theadult rider’s legs need tohave free movement.

Ms Vincenc said the frontseat felt more stable and wasmore stimulating for Charlie.

‘‘The other good thing iswhen they’re smaller, theycan use the little tray/rest tohave a nap,’’ she said.

Stackhat hereto stayKelmeny FraserConsumer affairs

QUEENSLAND’S tough bicycle hel-met laws are here to stay after a reportfound any relaxation could increasehead injury rates by 50 per cent.

The Sunday Mail can reveal the StateGovernment secretly commissioned a$34,000 study into potentially scrap-ping compulsory helmet laws ahead ofthe roll-out of Brisbane’s controversialCityCycle scheme and the release of areport questioning the effectiveness ofhelmets in preventing injury.

The confidential study by Queens-land University of Technology’sCentre for Accident Research andRoad Safety examined whether cyc-lists off-road or in 40km/h speed zonesshould be allowed to ride helmet-free.

Any such relaxation would throw alifeline to the struggling CityCyclescheme after speed limits in the CBDwere reduced to 40km/h in 2009.

Helmet laws are seen as the keyroadblock for the struggling scheme,leading to talk about the introductionof helmet vending machines.

Exemptions from Australia’s20-year-old helmet laws for all adultswas also considered in the StateGovernment-commissioned report.

Documents released under Right toInformation laws show researcherswere asked to look at benefits anddisadvantages of compulsory bicyclehelmet laws and examine ‘‘evidence tosupport a segmented approach tomandatory helmet legislation’’.

Debate about the worth of helmetlaws and concerns about the impact onpublic bike hire schemes triggered thestudy, according to documents.

The report was kept secret untilearly this month when it was releasedto Brisbane cycling group CBD BicycleUser Group via an RTI request.

A spokesman for Transport Minister

Annastacia Palaszczuk said the reportshowed helmets reduced the likeli-hood of head injury by 60 per cent.

But Bicycle Queensland’s BenWilson said it was unlikely to stemdebate over helmet laws, with thesubject set to heat up ahead of the AsiaPacific Cycle Congress in Brisbane inSeptember.

Helmet critic Dr Chris Rissel, whotriggered the debate with a report lastyear questioning the effectiveness ofhelmets, will speak at the conference.

CBD Bicycle User Group co-convenor Paul French wants exemp-tions for cyclists riding off-road, sayingadults were being treated like children.

COMMENTBEN WILSONBicycle Queensland

THE research is strong on thebenefits of helmets. It is simple,helmets are reducing the traumaof head injuries.

Australia is one of the onlycountries in the world withcompulsory helmet laws and it isquite ironic, with the nanny statedebate going on about cigarettesand gambling at the moment.

There can be parallels drawnbut at the end of the day themajority of people are quitehappy to wear helmets.

It is like saying let’s removeseatbelt laws and tell people todrive more carefully so you won’thave an accident.

At the end of theday, you are saferwith a helmet on.

Designs haveimproved a lotin the past 20years.