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25 mph if you wear a helmet, register your vehice, get mandatory insurance and a driver's license or a drivng legislation certificate. Otherwise no. E-bikes are

by petre 7y ago

25 mph if you wear a helmet, register your vehice, get mandatory insurance and a driver's license or a drivng legislation certificate. Otherwise no. E-bikes are assisted up to 25 mph, why would e-scooters be any different? At least in Europe, if you have an e-bike that is assisted up to 25 mph or over 250 Wh continous rated power, you have to register it as a moped, wear s helmet, get insurance, pay vehicle ownership taxes in order to operate it on public roads. There are already too many irresponsible e-scooter riders on the roads who ride the wrong way on one way streets, cross mounted at pedestrian crossings, ride on sidewalks, ignore red lights, stop signs etc.

mikepurvis 7y ago
All those behaviours are bad, but the point of mandatory insurance is to cover liability— the ability of your choices and your equipment to incur damage and costs for others. In that regard, mandatory insurance for scooters doesn't pass the sniff test any more than mandatory insurance for people riding bicycles. Yes, you can concoct scenarios where a scooter/bike triggers a crash by doing something unexpected/illegal such that another vehicle swerves. But these are rare circumstances, particularly in contrast with automobile collisions which nearly always involve damage to vehicles or property. Even at 25, 30, or even 40mph, how much damage is a scooter or e-bike capable of doing? Bicycle licensing has been requested and studied so many times in Toronto that they actually have a page on their website about why it isn't done: https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/streets-parking-transportation/cycling-in-toronto/cycling-and-the-law/bicycle-licencing/ https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/streets-parking-tra...
- petre 7y ago
  I'm not talking about push scooters, muscle operated bicycles or pedal assisted e-bikes with a power rating below or equal to what an average person delivers. This is a discussion about motorized vehicles with more powerful engines that can operate at speeds in excess of 15 mph. At 25 mph you can definitely kill a pedestrian or knock another cyclist and injure them. Bicycle licensing is unnecessary. 1/2 * (100 kg vehicle + occupant) * (45 mph)^2 = 6328 J ~7×10^3 J = Muzzle energy of an elephant gun, e.g. firing a .458 Winchester Magnum[90] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(energy)#1_to_105_J https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(energy)#1...

by petre 7y ago

mikepurvis 7y ago

All those behaviours are bad, but the point of mandatory insurance is to cover liability— the ability of your choices and your equipment to incur damage and costs for others. In that regard, mandatory insurance for scooters doesn't pass the sniff test any more than mandatory insurance for people riding bicycles. Yes, you can concoct scenarios where a scooter/bike triggers a crash by doing something unexpected/illegal such that another vehicle swerves. But these are rare circumstances, particularly in contrast with automobile collisions which nearly always involve damage to vehicles or property. Even at 25, 30, or even 40mph, how much damage is a scooter or e-bike capable of doing? Bicycle licensing has been requested and studied so many times in Toronto that they actually have a page on their website about why it isn't done: https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/streets-parking-transportation/cycling-in-toronto/cycling-and-the-law/bicycle-licencing/ https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/streets-parking-tra...

petre 7y ago
I'm not talking about push scooters, muscle operated bicycles or pedal assisted e-bikes with a power rating below or equal to what an average person delivers. This is a discussion about motorized vehicles with more powerful engines that can operate at speeds in excess of 15 mph. At 25 mph you can definitely kill a pedestrian or knock another cyclist and injure them. Bicycle licensing is unnecessary. 1/2 * (100 kg vehicle + occupant) * (45 mph)^2 = 6328 J ~7×10^3 J = Muzzle energy of an elephant gun, e.g. firing a .458 Winchester Magnum[90] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(energy)#1_to_105_J https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orders_of_magnitude_(energy)#1...