The SWOV Institute for Road Safety Research was commissioned to determine what activities could be undertaken to be able to introduce quality requirements for newly marketed bicycles within a period of five years. This study consisted of the following components: (1) an inventory of norms and requirements for bicycle lighting and bicycle child seats; (2) an inventory of practical data intended to determine the availability of approved or unapproved bicycle parts; (3) a written survey conducted among the bicycle branch and its interest groups; and (4) an accident and a cost effectiveness analysis. The following recommendations are made: (a) include technical requirements for front lighting in the vehicle standards; (b) introduce a selling ban on lighting parts without a mark of quality; (c) arrive at Dutch norms for bicycle seats and, in conjunction with this, a legal stipulation that only approved bicycle child seats may be sold; (d) conduct monitoring in shops to check for lighting components without a mark of quality; (e) conduct random sampling tests to determine whether products possessing a mark of quality meet the required standards; (f) conduct research into the photometric qualities of front reflectors integrated into the headlamp glass; (g) following the results of such a study, arrive at a legal obligation that front reflectors be mounted on new bicycles. (A)
Abstract