5 ms·

I ride a motorcycle to work almost everyday (today's 47 degree ride was a bit brisk) and i have to say, drivers don't look out for bikes, and this is a major ci

I ride a motorcycle to work almost everyday (today's 47 degree ride was a bit brisk) and i have to say, drivers don't look out for bikes, and this is a major city (San Antonio). My big issues with motorized bicycles are lanes to ride and rules of the road. I see people riding them on sidewalks, in streets, and in bike lanes. It is almost like people on motorcycles who ride in the break down lane or lane split (both of which are illegal in Texas). We already had/have a HUGE problem with the escooters, people getting run down by kids on the sidewalks and riding them in traffic downtown. I am for this 100%, but please put down infrastructure and some sort of rules of the road and enforce it.

bretpiatt 7y ago
I'm in San Antonio as well and have switched to Currus NF [1] high speed electric scooter. For areas of San Antonio I believe it's totally feasible now and for others due to safety / lack of roads with viable route and 35 mph or lower speed limits it is not. I spend almost all of my time inside the 10 mile diameter area bounded by 410 on the north, 10 on the south, the AT&T Center on the east and Our Lady of the Lake on the west. While the rented scooters downtown have been a mess during the roll out they have visibly reduced downtown auto traffic (much of which my hypothesis is was Lyft / Uber / Taxis). [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsBCu-sSWII https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsBCu-sSWII
diabeetusman 7y ago
> I see people riding them on sidewalks, in streets, and in bike lanes Where are you suggesting that they ride?
- downerending 7y ago
  Not on sidewalks. Pedestrians can and do change direction on a dime, and on a sidewalk, they always have the right of way. Adding high-speed (i.e., greater than five mph) vehicles to that mix is a recipe for disaster.
  - alisonatwork 7y ago
    There are some simple rules pedestrians can follow that make commuting easier for everyone. Move at a steady pace. Don't stop or change lanes without doing a shoulder check. Look both ways before crossing the flow of traffic. This not only makes it easier to share the sidewalk with vehicles, it also improves the flow when there are a lot of foot commuters with different walking speeds. I live in a city where pedestrians frequently share the sidewalk with both bicycles and electric mopeds. It works because people pay attention to what's going on around them and generally work together to try keep the traffic flowing smoothly.
    - asdff 7y ago
      That sort of rule of thumb works fine with an abled bodied sober and alert adult, but throw in someone with a disability, an elderly person, a toddler, and suddenly it makes far more sense to have the bike/moped on the road and just offer the gutter at the very least for a bike lane. A road bike can kill a toddler.
      - alisonatwork 7y ago
        Usually the way it works here is if a rider sees a kid or older person then they will slow down to walking pace and only pass when it's safe. Pedestrians still have right of way, after all. I am not against dedicated roads for bikes (although depending on the city's density, they can just end up as a second sidewalk), but I also think it shouldn't be treated as a prerequisite for developing a bike culture.
        asdff 7y ago
        Again, the honor rule isn't a great rule for people. Most people are reasonable but we regulate for those that aren't. In my experience by shared bike/walking baths, if I see a cyclist in spandex riding a carbon fiber bike at 25mph, I barrel out of the way because they won't slow down, they will hit me, then they will blame me for being in the way of the bike.
        7y ago
TulliusCicero 7y ago
The answer should be protected bike lanes and separated bike paths/trails. But, US cities generally have very few of those, preferring to skimp by just using strips of paint. Hence the situation you end up with here: some go into the meager bike lanes, some feel more comfortable taking the lane, and some feel safer on protected walk lanes, aka sidewalks.
valtism 7y ago
>We already had/have a HUGE problem with the escooters, people getting run down by kids on the sidewalks and riding them in traffic downtown. How much of a huge problem is that that you have seen personally? I personally have found that everyone loves to complain about them, but I never find much evidence of people being run down by them (in what I've seen)
- siffland 7y ago
  I have personally almost hit people riding in the middle of he road on multiple occasions (mostly near the convention center area). On the weekends i will drive around the downtown area wasting time and gas to now avoid that situation. My wife drives for lyft and spends a considerable amount of time downtown and has almost had accidents with people riding escooters in the street, to the point we engaged our insurance agent and asked about liability (we were assured if hit in the middle of the road and not in a bike lane, crossing lane or sidewalk we would bee free of liability and she now has 3 cameras in her vehicle). An last year at PAX south in downtown SA I was walking on the sidewalk and hearing people yelling to move because they were having all sorts of fun chasing each other and almost running people down. So I am not complaining to complain. I assume you live in San Antonio and are downtown quite a bit? People leave them everywhere, they fall over in the streets, you cannot say you don't see this.
bagacrap 7y ago
It's not exactly easy to just "put down" infrastructure. In fact that is the single hardest piece of this puzzle. Technology can't defeat the will of the people, which is still firmly behind dedicating as much space as possible to driving and parking cars [in Texas and most of the US].

bretpiatt 7y ago

I'm in San Antonio as well and have switched to Currus NF [1] high speed electric scooter. For areas of San Antonio I believe it's totally feasible now and for others due to safety / lack of roads with viable route and 35 mph or lower speed limits it is not. I spend almost all of my time inside the 10 mile diameter area bounded by 410 on the north, 10 on the south, the AT&T Center on the east and Our Lady of the Lake on the west. While the rented scooters downtown have been a mess during the roll out they have visibly reduced downtown auto traffic (much of which my hypothesis is was Lyft / Uber / Taxis). [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsBCu-sSWII https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsBCu-sSWII

diabeetusman 7y ago

> I see people riding them on sidewalks, in streets, and in bike lanes Where are you suggesting that they ride?

downerending 7y ago
Not on sidewalks. Pedestrians can and do change direction on a dime, and on a sidewalk, they always have the right of way. Adding high-speed (i.e., greater than five mph) vehicles to that mix is a recipe for disaster.
- alisonatwork 7y ago
  There are some simple rules pedestrians can follow that make commuting easier for everyone. Move at a steady pace. Don't stop or change lanes without doing a shoulder check. Look both ways before crossing the flow of traffic. This not only makes it easier to share the sidewalk with vehicles, it also improves the flow when there are a lot of foot commuters with different walking speeds. I live in a city where pedestrians frequently share the sidewalk with both bicycles and electric mopeds. It works because people pay attention to what's going on around them and generally work together to try keep the traffic flowing smoothly.
  - asdff 7y ago
    That sort of rule of thumb works fine with an abled bodied sober and alert adult, but throw in someone with a disability, an elderly person, a toddler, and suddenly it makes far more sense to have the bike/moped on the road and just offer the gutter at the very least for a bike lane. A road bike can kill a toddler.
    - alisonatwork 7y ago
      Usually the way it works here is if a rider sees a kid or older person then they will slow down to walking pace and only pass when it's safe. Pedestrians still have right of way, after all. I am not against dedicated roads for bikes (although depending on the city's density, they can just end up as a second sidewalk), but I also think it shouldn't be treated as a prerequisite for developing a bike culture.
      - asdff 7y ago
        Again, the honor rule isn't a great rule for people. Most people are reasonable but we regulate for those that aren't. In my experience by shared bike/walking baths, if I see a cyclist in spandex riding a carbon fiber bike at 25mph, I barrel out of the way because they won't slow down, they will hit me, then they will blame me for being in the way of the bike.
      - 7y ago

TulliusCicero 7y ago

The answer should be protected bike lanes and separated bike paths/trails. But, US cities generally have very few of those, preferring to skimp by just using strips of paint. Hence the situation you end up with here: some go into the meager bike lanes, some feel more comfortable taking the lane, and some feel safer on protected walk lanes, aka sidewalks.

valtism 7y ago

>We already had/have a HUGE problem with the escooters, people getting run down by kids on the sidewalks and riding them in traffic downtown. How much of a huge problem is that that you have seen personally? I personally have found that everyone loves to complain about them, but I never find much evidence of people being run down by them (in what I've seen)

siffland 7y ago
I have personally almost hit people riding in the middle of he road on multiple occasions (mostly near the convention center area). On the weekends i will drive around the downtown area wasting time and gas to now avoid that situation. My wife drives for lyft and spends a considerable amount of time downtown and has almost had accidents with people riding escooters in the street, to the point we engaged our insurance agent and asked about liability (we were assured if hit in the middle of the road and not in a bike lane, crossing lane or sidewalk we would bee free of liability and she now has 3 cameras in her vehicle). An last year at PAX south in downtown SA I was walking on the sidewalk and hearing people yelling to move because they were having all sorts of fun chasing each other and almost running people down. So I am not complaining to complain. I assume you live in San Antonio and are downtown quite a bit? People leave them everywhere, they fall over in the streets, you cannot say you don't see this.

bagacrap 7y ago

It's not exactly easy to just "put down" infrastructure. In fact that is the single hardest piece of this puzzle. Technology can't defeat the will of the people, which is still firmly behind dedicating as much space as possible to driving and parking cars [in Texas and most of the US].