The level of pollution to which children transported in bicycle trailers are exposed is much higher than that breathed in by the adult piloting the two-wheeler.
- The switch from car to bicycle for travel is linked to a desire to reduce pollution
- But transporting children in a trailer hitched to the bike exposes them to a higher level of pollution.
- Installing a hood on the trailer or covering the child with a blanket limits this exposure to pollution
Cycling is very eco-friendly. But when the two-wheeler is also used to transport a young child in a trailer attached behind him, beware of the effects of pollution. The air breathed by the baby would be much more polluted than that breathed by the pedalling! This is what demonstrates a study by the Global Center for Clean Air Resaerch in Surrey (UK) published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances.
18% more pollution at the trailer level
On usual journeys such as the one between home and the crèche or school, the average concentration of coarse particles of pollution would be 14% higher at the level of the child’s trailer than at that where the parent is on the his bike. An over-pollution which even amounts to 18% when entering or leaving school and even beyond during peak periods or hot spots (traffic lights) of urban traffic.
To measure the level of pollution linked to this mode of transport, the researchers simulated the exposure of an adult cyclist and young children seated in a trailer attached to a bicycle at home-school journey times in the morning and l ‘afternoon. The measurements were taken from 80 typical routes.
The use of bicycles born of a desire to reduce car use
The will to reduce the use of the car, often at the origin of the switch to cycling, would thus be counterproductive in terms of children’s exposure to pollution. “It is unfortunate that people who help minimize pollution by cycling rather than driving can expose their children to higher levels of pollution”note the authors of this study.
Fortunately, there is a parade: install a hood on the trailer, or even simply protect the child with a blanket. The level of pollution by fine particles would thus be reduced by half! And that’s important because air pollution is one of the leading causes of death among children under 5 today. In 2016, it was estimated that more than 540,000 worldwide died in this age group related to outdoor pollution.
Consider infrastructure and traffic planning
But the even more effective solution suggested by the scientists is to sensitize public authorities so that infrastructures such as traffic planning allow “safer use of so-called sustainable transport”.
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