Child seats on shared bikes at issue

A child seat installed on an Ofo shared bicycle. People violating user agreements are liable for accidents, companies say Shared bike companies discourage the use of removable child seats on their bikes and warn that users must take full responsibility for any accidents involving a child seat. The child seats - which can be attached to different brands of shared bikes - popped up in online marketplaces with But several bike-sharing companies including Ofo, Mobike and Mingbikes released statements saying their user agreements forbid carrying extra passengers on the bikes because of safety risks, and warning that they assume no legal responsibility if a violation leads to an accident. Ofo said its on-street personnel, who mostly shift bikes between locations depending on demand, will attempt to persuade bike users to remove child seats if they spot them. Wang Weiwei, a lawyer at Beijing Zhongwen Law Firm who has an interest in laws and regulations on road safety, said the child seats designed for the shared bikes are not "fixed", so their sale and use should be banned in Beijing and other cities with similar regulations.