There are NO Australian standards in existence for centre mounted child bicycle seats. The only Australian standard is 12 years old and specifically relates to rear mounted seats.

A respected cycling-specific engineering firm performed an independent analysis of the WeeRide and concluded that the WeeRide (or centric-safe haven as it was called) is far safer than a rear-mounted seat.

Here's why a center-mounted seat is safer...
1.)  Better balance – the weight of the child is between the two wheels of the bike.
2.)  More control over the random behaviour of a toddler – with a WeeRide the child is in front of you in your normal line of sight so you can control/prevent/proactively take action.
3.)  The child is more engaged in the ride – unlike in a rear-mounted seat, the child does not have to sway in their rear-mounted seat to see past you. The child is less bored and less tempted to cause trouble by accidentally dropping or even throwing things.
4.)  It is virtually impossible for the child to put feet, hands, shoes, dolls into a wheel - since they can't reach and you'd see it happening!
5.)  No “car-seat syndrome” – with a read-mounted seat the child is close to you but out of reach - and they know it – that’s why things get thrown, put in wheels and so on
6.)  In a rear-mounted seat you spend a large amount of your time worrying about what is happening behind you rather than concentrating on what is happening in front of you - that cannot be safe.

There is a bone of contention is around what actually would happen in an accident, with pro-rear-mounters saying  the child would take the first impact in a WeeRide - whereas you, the rider, can be a crumple zone for a rear-seat - and the pro-WeeRides saying, well at least I can get my arms around them....all speculation, no data exists! Safe to say with either type of seat in an accident there will be no winners and since prevention is far more effective the WeeRide wins hands down.

Let me explain my personal position. I rode today (Jan 2008) and dropped my 40 month old daughter at childcare. I've ridden with both rear & front mounted seats. If I felt a rear-mounted seat was better, I would use it. This isn't a commercial line - I started out using the WeeRide as a customer just like you. I did 18 months of riding with my daughter in a WeeRide and thought it was such a great design that I obtained the rights to import them.

More information on Australian Standards....

There are two legally mandated standards that apply to bicycles in Australia being "AS/NZS 1927:1996   Pedal Bicycles – Safety Requirements"  and "AS/NZS 2063:1996  Pedal cycle helmets" (detailed here - http://www.rcta.org.au/index .php?option=comˍcontent&task =view&id=32&Itemid=41).Neither of these apply to bicycle child carriers.

Alongside mandatory standards, there are also legally enforced state-specific Road Traffic Acts which often include bicycle child carriers - for example in WA, section 14 of the Road Traffic (Bicycles) Regulations 2002 states...

14. Child-carrying seats

Any child-carrying seat on a bicycle -

(a) must be securely attached to the frame of the bicycle;
(b) must be soundly constructed without sharp edges or protrusions;
(c) must not be located forward of or on the handlebars;

Obviously a WeeRide is not located forward of or on the handlebars - so is in compliance with this too and we can not find any state-specific legislation that WeeRides break.

There are also voluntary standards, created for commercial reasons by the privately owned company Standards Australia and this is where the confusion seems to arise. There is one for bicycle child carriers ... AS/NZS 4287:1995   Child carrier seats for pedal bicycles—Safety requirements .

This was formulated in 1995 well before the WeeRide was invented and is only for rear-mounted seats. The WeeRide complies with all of the voluntary requirements such as quality of build, strength of attachment to the bicycle and so on ..... but a Weeride is not rear mounted and therefore cannot claim to fully comply.

It's interesting to us that many bicycle stores that don't stock WeeRides will often mention this Standards issue as if WeeRides are some how illegal (obviously they are not) or death-traps (WeeRide is the biggest selling Baby Bike Seat onAmazon.com - does anyone imagine for a second Americans wouldn't have sued somebody into oblivion if the seat was in the slightest bit unsafe?) and yet the store will sell Trailers or Tagalongs - for which NO standard exists..... go figure!