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The law states "You MUST NOT carry a passenger unless your cycle has been built or adapted to carry one."
So if I strap a cushion onto my rear rack to give someone a backie, I've adapted my bike, right? In fact, a rear rack by itself is meant to carry loads, one of which could be a human being, so that in and of itself could be a pertinent adaptation.
Having given and received backies more than once in this country, I find this law a trifle silly.
I don't have a rear rack that's capable of taking the weight of anyone I know, even assuming for engineering tolerances. Though I suspect my fixing bolts would give out first.
Technically I think the 'adapted to carry one' means specifically adapted with a human carrying bit of kit (such as a child seat), rather than 'bodged something that means a person can sit there'.
Rear racks in the Netherlands and Denmark must be particularly strong as folk ride on them all the time - there are even videos about the subtle ballet of getting off and on as the bike stops and goes.
I use cushion and panniers to keep legs out of wheels for my youngest daughter (she is 10). I have given two grown ups backies recently (two separate backies not chineses state circus routine) where they sat on the saddle and I stood on the pedals. Has worked fine over short distances on empty suburban roads early evening and after midnight. Quite good fun.
Backies were more prevalent in my childhood when not everyone could afford a bike. I had a raleigh chico, cheapest bike in the Kays Club Book (catalogue). But neighbour's on our council estate whose dad wrote for Mills and Boon had a chopper. Backies on a chopper could often end in over the handle bars double acts.
"Mills and Boon had a chopper"
Quite a few I'd imagine.
"...one of which could be a human being..."
Nope. It probably says in the shrugblurb associated with racks these days. Not sure what the specific requirements for a not-just-a-child seat for a bike would be, so don't know if a cargo bike with a rear platform which doesn't specifically exclude humans from intended usages or if you'd need official footrests, to prevent wheels eating feet.
Wasn't there once a thing in a newspaper about a bloke being policed for riding with a child on a proper child's saddle which he had duct-taped to his crossbar?
Childhood backies on those sub-coat-hanger-thickness spring-loaded wire parcel racks only worked until the rack bent and the extra person's weight started causing the rear mudguard to act as a brake.
yes he got the idea from the name of the bike
The handsome tree chopper wrapped his cotton plaid shirt around his manly torso and got down to work
Is that the sort of thing you mean? He wrote with a woman's pen name
At uni my best mate and I used to share my bike and would often give backies. Usually with one of us on the saddle and the other standing up. It was great fun. I do remember trying to fit three people on (one on the rack) and the back wheel collapsing in short order.
My mighty Dutch beast can take a load of 250kg if memory serves!
The Flyingdutchman says "there has never been a test case to clarify what exactly the law means by this ... it is completely normal to carry a passenger on your bike in the Netherlands, we must conclude that our Dutch bikes have, in fact, been built with the carriage of passengers in mind."
I suspect some of the cycling illustrated there could lead to charges of careless, and inconsiderate, cycling if persisted with.
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