Two babies have tragically drowned recently in separate accidents in Australia. In a bizarre attempt to prevent loss of life in the future, Australia has enacted a new law (AS/NZS 2088-2000) that will mandate new “safety” standards for pushchairs beginning in July 2009.
Foremost amongst the changes are the requirements that all strollers have a red brake, and a leash. The idea is that any adult who hasn’t any idea where the brake is will be able to figure it out when he or she sees red. Or, failing that, the brake won’t be necessary because said adult will already be leashed to the stroller.
Good thinking, Australia. But please explain to me how these provisions would have saved little Rebecca Hopper, dead just before her third birthday.
Little Rebecca was in a twin jogging stroller with her eight-month-old brother when her (married) father decided to walk out with his (married, but not to him) lover. As they walked beside these waters
along the path you see on the ridge above the steep slopes into the sea, Daddy decided to kiss his sweetheart. Later daddy Andrew Hopper told all to the police. He feels terrible. You see, while he was kissing his paramour, he let go of the stroller, which slipped down this embankment into the water, trapping the children. Son Lewis survived. Rebecca did not.
So here’s the question: Does anyone seriously believe that this new law would have prevented this horror? If Daddy, who chose to take his children with him for a rendezvous with a lover, along a obviously fairly perilous walkway, couldn’t be bothered to keep a hand on his babies’ stroller, why on earth should anyone believe that he would carefully leash himself to the stroller, and diligently set the brake before turning to his secret mistress and smooching her?
It’s absurd, isn’t it? It would never happen. This parent made one choice after another that completely disregarded any consideration of his children’s well-being. No red plastic brake pedal or leash of any length would have saved these children. (And it should be noted that, had dad leashed himself to the stroller, but NOT set the brake, the weight of the heavy, double jogging stroller might well have dragged him into the water as well while still tied to the stroller frame. )
So some people are a bit up in arms about this new law, including my colleague The PramMan, who wonders if his lifetime collection of indigenous, vintage, Australian prams and pushchairs is now jeopardized. He believes that the new law may prevent sale of any pram or stroller manufactured before 2006, making sale or acquisition of historic prams impossible.
If so, Aussie landfills may get a new lease on life when thousands of otherwise perfectly good, pre-loved, prams and pushchairs end up in the tip. And Australia, which no longer produces its own pushchairs or prams, will lose the artifacts of its own stroller manufacturing history.
It’s not clear to me that the Pram Man’s interpretation is necessarily accurate. But what is clear is that this law is a knee-jerk reaction to a problem that does not exist. If you want to prevent your stroller from moving, set the brake. If you haven’t set the brake, hold on to the handle. If you’re pushing a potentially fast-moving jogger, use a leash in case the stroller out-performs you. And, oh yes, pay attention to your surroundings. This is not rocket science, folks.
Jogging strollers are inherently more dangerous than standard pushchairs. Three wheels make them more unstable, and extra large wheels with air-filled tires allow a jogger to roll much more easily than traditional four-wheel strollers. If you’re using one, you probably bought it precisely for this feature. It’s your job to remember that.
On second thought, maybe Australia should just outlaw jogging strollers. Or procreation by irresponsible idiots. Either approach might solve the problem a bit more effectively.
Don’t write and tell me that Mr. Hopper feels terrible. He should. He murdered his little girl because his good time was more important than his children’s lives. And don’t get me started on his wife, who, it’s claimed, is standing by her husband. Accidents happen; this wasn’t an accident. It was criminal neglect. I don’t know about you, but killing my child through calculated recklessness is a real deal-breaker for me.
It’s called the Seed Pli. Sleek, yes? But wait, there’s more! Here’s the chassis, folded:
But wait, there’s more! In fact, this buggy may come close to being the holy grail of the pram world. The seat and stroller are all-in-one, and they FOLD all-in-one. Take that, Bugaboo!
That’s a DVD player jammed into the stroller handle. Yep, your baby doesn’t EVER need to interact with the world around her. (Or him, but if you’re relying on TV to raise your kid, you probably aren’t pushing him around in a pink stroller.)
If you can’t read the text, it says “Elastic straps with snaps to attach to hood”. (Yeah, my image manipulation skills stink.) Here’s a view of the part of the apron in place:
The picture’s too small, but you can just see the split to the left of the lower snaps. The elastic strap wraps around at the top and snaps to the hood. You can see the strap angling up to the right above the words “elastic strap”.(This blue pram is somewhat newer than the green one, and has the Marmet nameplate on the side.) That shiny metal bit to the right is the hinge of the metal frome for the hood.