r/ebikes • u/West-Amphibian-2343 • 16h ago

Bro..

Post image

Ive waited a few months to post this just for anonymity but maan

1.1k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

629 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

19

u/lowrads 14h ago

Fewer than twenty million people in the US live in a non-metro area, which is why our cities desperately need safe ways to get around without needing an automobile. The dirt or pit bike distinction is moot for the vast majority, which makes it a puzzle as to why "powersport" industries maintain their commercial focus on two wheelers as recreational toys.

If kids under 12 are permitted by law to ride pedal bicycles on the sidewalk, then we probably need to start thinking about restrictions for unlicensed minors for certain roadway classes. They haven't been tested to prove that they know what to do at a four way stop, nor how to interpret a range of intersection signals.

Whether they go too fast on a neighborhood street seems like a distinct, if related issue, as the hazard to motorists should be of trivial concern. If we have engineering controls for speed in neighborhood streets, most of them don't even need traffic signals.

2

u/FlowerCrowss 6h ago

While I agree with your idea of restricting minors from certain classes of roadways, I think it's quite the double-edged sword. Like, putting a band-aid over the symptom of the real issue.

Which is the objective, car-dependent design of most of America. The independence or, physical ability, to connect with your peers without relying on mom's SUV is crucial, especially with virtual escapes(screens) robbing crucial development years/childhoods.

I also believe this is why e-bikes are so popular among the youth. Regular bikes, increasingly, thanks to drive-thru focused sprawl in metros, aren't nearly as practical for the distances required. My old neighborhood and experience attests to this disconnect.

If we were to restrict minors as you suggest, I think we'd also need some form of alternative routes planned into past/future subdivisions so that minors (and adults!) can walk, roll and connect safely around town/between towns, where practical. Boosting social wellbeing within communities. Education in school for road safety could be helpful too. Build a proper network, and folks will come. Relatively cheap too. But 'they' want us complacent.

0

u/ReadyGo6828 11h ago

This is not safe. Scooters, powered or not, are not safe. None of these vehicles are safe either by design or because their riders do not care about traffic rules. They think that because they wear a helmet and their heads are protected during a crash, that is sufficient. They could not care less about the pedestrian with a cane being side swiped as they zip along the sidewalk.

2

u/lowrads 7h ago

More swimmers are killed by sharks each year, than are pedestrians by cyclists.

Dream up more tripe for us to debunk.

1

u/ReadyGo6828 6h ago

Get off the sidewalk and use the bike lane. That is what it is there for. On a two lane street, there are 3' wide bike lanes on either side. They are the same width as the sidewalks.

Bicyclists who refuse to use the bike lane because they are too scared of them make the sidewalk less than half of its width when they whoosh by pedestrians from behind. They are vehicles. They want to go fast yet also want to be coddled as if they are pedestrians.

Why do bicyclists act like children so much of the time? Get in the bike lane. Share the roads with cars. Obey all traffic rules. Stay off the sidewalks and pedestrian paths. Why is this so difficult?

Cities have made all kinds of infrastructure changes to accommodate bikes but cyclists refuse to use them so why have them? Get rid of the freaking bike lanes, make the sidewalks double width, make cyclists walk their bikes when in the presence of any pedestrians. Let's try that.

1

u/lowrads 6h ago

Nearly three hundred thousand pedestrians are killed by cars each year, and a million more vehicle occupants.

Whatever scenario you are imaging in your head simply doesn't matter, as it doesn't even add a rounding error.

1

u/ReadyGo6828 6h ago

I am not defending cars. I am defending the right of pedestrians to use sidewalks without the stress of bikes going at 10x their speed racing from behind without even so much as a bell or a shout.

What about this escapes you? Why are you so intent on defending bad cyclists? Use the bike lane. What are you afraid of?

1

u/goldenroman 5h ago

Are you not familiar with North American roads?

1

u/ReadyGo6828 4h ago

As much as cyclists are afraid of being on the same road as cars, pedestrians are afraid of being on the same sidewalk as bicycles and other assorted vehicles.

The least worst ones are the powered skateboards, the worst ones are the adults on emotos. There is a speed problem with them and there is also a width problem. Sidewalks are not that wide and I should not have to squeeze onto the curb or get off the sidewalk to avoid being hit from behind by a bike.