• Re: E Bikes and Idiots

    From Carol@cshenk@virginia-beach.com to alt.home.repair on Wed Nov 5 19:05:36 2025
    From Newsgroup: alt.home.repair

    rbowman wrote:

    On Mon, 27 Oct 2025 11:14:52 -0400, Ed P wrote:

    E Bikes are becoming very popular. Cheap easy transportation, they
    are good for a lot of people. With risk, though, much from
    stupidity.


    https://baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2025/10/24/st--petersburg-police-e-
    bike

    The local subreddit had a thread yesterday about a guy who rides
    around on a onewheel and seems to have a death wish. So far there
    haven't been any city ordinances but as e-bikes and e-scooters
    proliferate it's a matter of time. I think the Forest Service has
    banned them and they are now added to the prohibited signs at
    trailheads. The icon is a bicycle with an electric cord with a red
    slash.


    Last night I was out late and ahead I saw a blinking red light.
    From 50 yards away, it was more like a firefly than signal light.
    From 5 yards, not much better. At a traffic light I pulled next to
    him. Dimly lit street, poor flashing light, no headlight, black
    bike and the rider wearing black too.

    I hope he made it home.

    When I go home at night most of the trip is on rural roads with no
    street lights. I've found even a very visible red blinker attracts my attention in all the darkness and I tend to aim at it. Target
    fixation.

    It's worse in the city with bicycles being the preferred mode of transportation for the homeless. They aren't too big on safety
    equipment or common sense. The homeless pedestrians are no better but
    they don't move as fast.

    I have no problem with e-bikes properly used but in Virginia Beach
    they've been banned from the Boardwalk area and the bike trails. All
    bikes are banned from the boardwalk anyway except at really odd hours
    like 2-5am or somesuch.

    The problem is the e-bikes can hit over 30mph and kids aren't using
    them safely around regular foot traffic or of slower normal bikes.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From hubops@hubops@ccanoemail.com to alt.home.repair on Wed Nov 5 18:34:47 2025
    From Newsgroup: alt.home.repair

    On Wed, 5 Nov 2025 19:05:36 -0000 (UTC), "Carol"
    <cshenk@virginia-beach.com> wrote:

    rbowman wrote:

    On Mon, 27 Oct 2025 11:14:52 -0400, Ed P wrote:

    E Bikes are becoming very popular. Cheap easy transportation, they
    are good for a lot of people. With risk, though, much from
    stupidity.


    https://baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2025/10/24/st--petersburg-police-e-
    bike

    The local subreddit had a thread yesterday about a guy who rides
    around on a onewheel and seems to have a death wish. So far there
    haven't been any city ordinances but as e-bikes and e-scooters
    proliferate it's a matter of time. I think the Forest Service has
    banned them and they are now added to the prohibited signs at
    trailheads. The icon is a bicycle with an electric cord with a red
    slash.


    Last night I was out late and ahead I saw a blinking red light.
    From 50 yards away, it was more like a firefly than signal light.
    From 5 yards, not much better. At a traffic light I pulled next to
    him. Dimly lit street, poor flashing light, no headlight, black
    bike and the rider wearing black too.

    I hope he made it home.

    When I go home at night most of the trip is on rural roads with no
    street lights. I've found even a very visible red blinker attracts my
    attention in all the darkness and I tend to aim at it. Target
    fixation.

    It's worse in the city with bicycles being the preferred mode of
    transportation for the homeless. They aren't too big on safety
    equipment or common sense. The homeless pedestrians are no better but
    they don't move as fast.

    I have no problem with e-bikes properly used but in Virginia Beach
    they've been banned from the Boardwalk area and the bike trails. All
    bikes are banned from the boardwalk anyway except at really odd hours
    like 2-5am or somesuch.

    The problem is the e-bikes can hit over 30mph and kids aren't using
    them safely around regular foot traffic or of slower normal bikes.


    Yeah but ...
    .. e-bikes don't hurt people - careless e-bike _riders_ _do_ !
    So don't put _any_ restrictions on the e-bikes -
    and let the overcrowded courts deal with the careless riders.
    Problem solved.
    John T.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Ed P@esp@snet.n to alt.home.repair on Wed Nov 5 18:57:07 2025
    From Newsgroup: alt.home.repair

    On 11/5/2025 6:34 PM, hubops@ccanoemail.com wrote:
    On Wed, 5 Nov 2025 19:05:36 -0000 (UTC), "Carol"


    The problem is the e-bikes can hit over 30mph and kids aren't using
    them safely around regular foot traffic or of slower normal bikes.


    Yeah but ...
    .. e-bikes don't hurt people - careless e-bike _riders_ _do_ !
    So don't put _any_ restrictions on the e-bikes -
    and let the overcrowded courts deal with the careless riders.
    Problem solved.
    John T.

    I like your sensible thinking. We should eliminate speed limits on the streets too! How do you feel about stop signs and the lines down the
    road?
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2