4 ms·

All the speed of motorcycles without the sound awareness, what could possibly go wrong? My overall experience is that E-bike riders generally have decent cycli

All the speed of motorcycles without the sound awareness, what could possibly go wrong? My overall experience is that E-bike riders generally have decent cycling manners, it's the scooter and unicycle riders that seem to think they can just crank their walking speed up to 30mph and go everywhere a pedestrian would. I usually just give them a firm "heads up next time" when I get buzzed by an electric motor whine at 20mph.

jacquesm 5y ago
Scooters are a plague (and this bike is classed as a scooter, unfortunately, so I'm lumped in with the worst), but a bigger danger is mobile phone use by cyclists. That's roughly 1/3rd of all the adults and 2/3rds of the teenagers here.
- megablast 5y ago
  The biggest danger is cars that kill 2 million people every year around the world. Everything else is so tiny as to not count.
- _Understated_ 5y ago
  > but a bigger danger is mobile phone use by cyclists. Or by pedestrians! My brother curses the number of pedestrians in Glasgow that cross the road while looking at their phones... they're by far his biggest hazard.
  - pawelwentpawel 5y ago
    Screen-zombie pedestrians annoy me as well. So do uneven pavements, trash, rocks and any other obstacles that appear on my way. If I'm on an electric scooter or a bike though it's my responsibility to ensure that I'm not riding a silent, heavy and fast vehicle into someone. Especially if they can't see me because I'm approaching from behind. And to emphasise - there is an entire range of pedestrians that might have a disability (mobility issues, seeing, hearing etc.) which makes them much more vulnerable to accidents.
    - jacquesm 5y ago
      Absolutely. But spending time on your mobile phone has no place in traffic and that has nothing to do with being disabled. It's just being grossly disrespectful towards others and endangering them and yourself.
      - withinboredom 5y ago
        Sure it does if you’re in a cross walk. As a driver of a vehicle, you should be yielding to those as per their right of way and paying attention to anyone who might or might not take their right of way.
        jacquesm 5y ago
        In practice: cyclist head down looking at their mobile phone swerving all over the road, two hands holding the phone to be able to text using whatsapp or whatever other IM they are using entirely lost situational awareness. I've seen enough accidents from this by now to become an advocate for substantially increased fines for cell phone use in traffic.
  - Dylan16807 5y ago
    Roads are way too biased toward cars and away from pedestrians, and if this is what it takes to reclaim them then I'm all for it.
- ryzvonusef 5y ago
  you should get a "trail bell", you can turn it on to make a constant noise to make people aware, much earlier, that you are coming https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRLZ1MMk3mc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRLZ1MMk3mc
orforforof 5y ago
I used to ride a motorcycle, now I have an ebike. They seem equally safe to me, which is to say neither are safe at all if there are other people on the road. The only solution is extremely defensive driving/riding, assume no one (including pedestrians) can see you. This attitude has been embedded deeply in the motorcycle culture and is the best way to all-around responsible riders -- and it needs to be propagated to ebike riders. I don't think it's about having manners, really. Also, sound awareness is a myth propagated by Harley riders.
- wing-_-nuts 5y ago
  >Also, sound awareness is a myth propagated by Harley riders. This pisses me off so much. I know harley riders that have straight pipes and ride around with ear plugs in to keep from going deaf. Anyone caught over the legal noise limit should have their ride confiscated. It's asshole behavior masquerading as 'safety'.
  - orforforof 5y ago
    The only saving grace is at least they know the word 'safety'. I've ridden with such guys too and yes they are assholes, but notably they espouse the same defensive riding opinions of most riders, and they're still alive. That's the key in my opinion, being safe/responsible is not the same as being polite, and I think this gets lost when people focus only on (e)bikers needing to learn good manners and be nice to other road users. (One should do both of course.)
- jacquesm 5y ago
  100% agreed, defensive driving is the key, and a good part of that is to know when to slow down: when there are other cyclists near you.
- bambax 5y ago
  > assume no one (including pedestrians) can see you Exactly. I'm in the same situation. I used to ride a motorcycle (that I still own but almost never use now) and am on an ebike every day. It's not about "assuming" no on "can" see you: it's that nobody does see you, and nobody cares. It's also the fact that people don't think about your speed or your ability to slow down fast -- they only care about your general volume. People will be more careful around a big parked truck than when faced with a small barrel rolling down a hill at full speed. The way to stay alive is to be able to predict what everyone is about to do. I think I have become quite good at this, although one is always learning.
lapetitejort 5y ago
> unicycle riders You probably mean "one wheel" riders? (As in the electric, low profile, self balancing type, not the traditional large wheel, seated, fixed axle unicycle) Unless you live around an inordinate amount of rude unicyclists. In that case, I must see that as it sounds very humorous.

jacquesm 5y ago

Scooters are a plague (and this bike is classed as a scooter, unfortunately, so I'm lumped in with the worst), but a bigger danger is mobile phone use by cyclists. That's roughly 1/3rd of all the adults and 2/3rds of the teenagers here.

megablast 5y ago
The biggest danger is cars that kill 2 million people every year around the world. Everything else is so tiny as to not count.
_Understated_ 5y ago
> but a bigger danger is mobile phone use by cyclists. Or by pedestrians! My brother curses the number of pedestrians in Glasgow that cross the road while looking at their phones... they're by far his biggest hazard.
- pawelwentpawel 5y ago
  Screen-zombie pedestrians annoy me as well. So do uneven pavements, trash, rocks and any other obstacles that appear on my way. If I'm on an electric scooter or a bike though it's my responsibility to ensure that I'm not riding a silent, heavy and fast vehicle into someone. Especially if they can't see me because I'm approaching from behind. And to emphasise - there is an entire range of pedestrians that might have a disability (mobility issues, seeing, hearing etc.) which makes them much more vulnerable to accidents.
  - jacquesm 5y ago
    Absolutely. But spending time on your mobile phone has no place in traffic and that has nothing to do with being disabled. It's just being grossly disrespectful towards others and endangering them and yourself.
    - withinboredom 5y ago
      Sure it does if you’re in a cross walk. As a driver of a vehicle, you should be yielding to those as per their right of way and paying attention to anyone who might or might not take their right of way.
      - jacquesm 5y ago
        In practice: cyclist head down looking at their mobile phone swerving all over the road, two hands holding the phone to be able to text using whatsapp or whatever other IM they are using entirely lost situational awareness. I've seen enough accidents from this by now to become an advocate for substantially increased fines for cell phone use in traffic.
- Dylan16807 5y ago
  Roads are way too biased toward cars and away from pedestrians, and if this is what it takes to reclaim them then I'm all for it.
ryzvonusef 5y ago
you should get a "trail bell", you can turn it on to make a constant noise to make people aware, much earlier, that you are coming https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRLZ1MMk3mc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRLZ1MMk3mc

orforforof 5y ago

I used to ride a motorcycle, now I have an ebike. They seem equally safe to me, which is to say neither are safe at all if there are other people on the road. The only solution is extremely defensive driving/riding, assume no one (including pedestrians) can see you. This attitude has been embedded deeply in the motorcycle culture and is the best way to all-around responsible riders -- and it needs to be propagated to ebike riders. I don't think it's about having manners, really. Also, sound awareness is a myth propagated by Harley riders.

wing-_-nuts 5y ago
>Also, sound awareness is a myth propagated by Harley riders. This pisses me off so much. I know harley riders that have straight pipes and ride around with ear plugs in to keep from going deaf. Anyone caught over the legal noise limit should have their ride confiscated. It's asshole behavior masquerading as 'safety'.
- orforforof 5y ago
  The only saving grace is at least they know the word 'safety'. I've ridden with such guys too and yes they are assholes, but notably they espouse the same defensive riding opinions of most riders, and they're still alive. That's the key in my opinion, being safe/responsible is not the same as being polite, and I think this gets lost when people focus only on (e)bikers needing to learn good manners and be nice to other road users. (One should do both of course.)
jacquesm 5y ago
100% agreed, defensive driving is the key, and a good part of that is to know when to slow down: when there are other cyclists near you.
bambax 5y ago
> assume no one (including pedestrians) can see you Exactly. I'm in the same situation. I used to ride a motorcycle (that I still own but almost never use now) and am on an ebike every day. It's not about "assuming" no on "can" see you: it's that nobody does see you, and nobody cares. It's also the fact that people don't think about your speed or your ability to slow down fast -- they only care about your general volume. People will be more careful around a big parked truck than when faced with a small barrel rolling down a hill at full speed. The way to stay alive is to be able to predict what everyone is about to do. I think I have become quite good at this, although one is always learning.

lapetitejort 5y ago

> unicycle riders You probably mean "one wheel" riders? (As in the electric, low profile, self balancing type, not the traditional large wheel, seated, fixed axle unicycle) Unless you live around an inordinate amount of rude unicyclists. In that case, I must see that as it sounds very humorous.