E-Bikes

[LogDog75]

I don't know how it is where you live but in the San Diego area E-bikes are everywhere and most riders don't obey the traffic laws. Many of them blast through stop signs, don't use hand/turn signals, ride at night without a headlight, etc.. Where I live, many of the kids in middle and high school are riding E-Bikes which cost $1,200 - $2,000 each. They'll ride double or triple on a bike. Many times while taking a walk around town I'll see a kid about 13 or 14 riding an E-Bike one-handed and looking at their phone in their other hand. It's not just the kids that are the problems, it's also the adults over 45 that are the problem too.

I'm not opposed to E-Bikes, I ride a regular 24-speed pedal bicycle, but I seriously think children under 15 shouldn't be allowed to ride them. I also think E-Bikes should be registered, anyone under age18 needs to complete an E-Bike safety course, E-Bike rides must carry some form of government issued ID in case they're stopped by the police for traffic infractions.

Have E-Bikes become a problem where you live?

[vapor2]

1. I have read where this kids on their e- bikes are beyond reckless here in Vegas

You are correct, maybe a safety course at best

[stopdiggin]

2. problem is - there is really little you can do

on an e-bike - that is not equally possibly on a regular bike. And that unfortunately includes all bad habits and dangerous behavior.
( i.e., that extra little bit of torque is not the problem ... the people doing the riding are. )

[Haggard Celine]

3. I saw an ebike yesterday that would go 50 mph!

They're going to be as fast as motorcycles before long. They're already as fast as a lot of scooters, which have to be registered and operated by someone with a driver's license. If we had more bike lanes, maybe we would have more of them around, but cars still own the road around here.

[Irish_Dem]

4. Starting to be a problem.

The kids are ignorant of traffic laws or protocol.
And it really irks me that they are not wearing helmets, and are double and tripled up on the bikes.

[MichMan]

5. First time, warning; 2nd time fine, 3rd time, seizure

[GoneOffShore]

6. E-bikes are very popular around here because of the steep hills.

Most of them are ridden by older people who want to maintain fitness, but don't want to struggle with the hills. Food delivery people use them a lot and occasionally cause issues in the pedestrianized section of town.

A far bigger problem are the e-trottinettes (steerable scooters that you stand on).

Found this:

Ebike laws in France

The nominal power of the motor must not exceed 250 Watts. ...
The pedal assistance must be cut off above 25km/h.
The pedal assistance must only be triggered if the cyclist is pedaling and must imperatively be cut off when the pedaling stops.

[Liberal In Texas]

7. Seems that there are 2 kinds of E-bikes.

One must be like a motorcycle or scooter because the electric motor drives it with no pedal input.

The other is like what I have. You have to pedal and the motor is an assist for when you hit a hill or a stiff headwind. Without pedaling you're not going anywhere. It also has lights front and rear, but I think riding after dark is nuts. Speed limits are supposed to be 20 in the city to 28 mph on the road. Many E-bikes are built to not go faster than that.

My bike was made in the Netherlands and cost a bit under $4000. The company has been around for over 100 years. I really didn't want one made in China; no point on buying something with questionable quality from a company that' only been in business for 6 months.

[AllaN01Bear]

8. ive seen reckless behaviour by regular cyclists too .

nope. ive seen kick scooter drivers with betterr manners than motorists. one day my worker and i were travelling west on a major road in sonora ca. an idiot pulled out into a hashed line area of the road and cut in front of everybody else.how rude . those kind of ppl id love to see bloked by a 2 mile train whos locomotives have broken down and the nearest ones availabe are 200 miles away.

[RockRaven]

9. Yes, e-bikes are becoming a bit of a menace in my neighborhood (in SF Bay Area).

All of the typical bad bicycling behaviors on display -- no lights at night, no hand signals, blowing through stop signs without slowing never mind stopping, weaving in and out of traffic, phone distraction, extra riders, no helmets, up on sidewalks, too close to pedestrians, wrong side of street, etc.

So on one hand there is nothing unique there. And the cops can and sometimes do enforce traffic rules/laws on poorly behaved cyclists, e-bike or not.

The difference, though, is that e-bikes allow all of those behaviors at speeds which are conventionally quite effortful (if not impossible for the individuals in question) for little to no physical effort. It sure seems like that changes the odds of otherwise avoidable and avoidably bad accidents happening.

By a wide margin most of the e-bike users I see are adolescents; however, I live near a middle school and a high school. But that experience has led me to posit this: when e-bikes can reach or exceed posted speed limits with no propulsion from the rider, they are functionally just motorcycles with a regulatory loophole.