Child Trailer Safety

Burley has a tremendous reputation as very safe; many stories abound of Burley trailers being hit by cars, flying up through the air, landing with occupants safe inside. Sounds compelling, except, as pointed out on uk.rec.cycling, any good quality child trailer should do the same; it has to do with the light weight of the trailer as much as sturdy construction. At least one other parent, Dave Roth also concluded that the much vaunted-reputation of Burley's for safety may not be exclusive to this brand.

Roth decided, and this makes sense to me, that the key safety features to look for in a trailer are:
  • Roll bar
  • Attached to bottom part of bike (chainstay or rear axle)
  • Flag for visibility
  • 5-point straps
  • Wide wheel base (for stability)
  • Visibility (bright colours so motorists see you)
Wike has a link to several articles on cycling with kids safely off of this page.


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About the author

My name is John Swindells and I'm a keen recreational cyclist with a preference for long one-day rides. I've also previously dabbled in time trialling and cyclo-cross. See more of what I get up to on Strava!