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The ebikes aren't dangerous, the cars that hit them are. I think that's an important distinction.
by dev1n 4y ago
The ebikes aren't dangerous, the cars that hit them are. I think that's an important distinction.
- whafro 4y agoIt's not the ebikes that he's saying are dangerous, it's the couriers. I got hit by a Getir rider in Brookline (probably near the parent) who zipped the wrong way out of a one-way street into the crosswalk I was using. Any vehicle driven by someone who isn't following the general rules/flow/expectations of everyone around them is dangerous. And large vehicles are dangerous too. But that's orthogonal.
- 7speter 4y agoRight, its the cars that are dangerous when people on bikes (ebikes or not) ride on sidewalks.
- bandofthehawk 4y agoI think part of the problem is that the danger from cars kind of force the bikes onto the sidewalk. If a biker has a choice between possibly getting hit by a car or possibly hitting a pedestrian, the choice is kind of obvious. The solution is better infrastructure for bikes. Separate bike lanes from cars and pedestrians, slow the cars down, and improve visibility at conflict points.
- eropple 4y ago> If a biker has a choice between possibly getting hit by a car or possibly hitting a pedestrian, the choice is kind of obvious. I don't think that's true, though. The alternative is not "endanger pedestrians", the alternative is "walk". A biker has a choice to not bike. And that's what I do; I walk when I'm in Boston, because I don't think urban biking is safe enough for me to make that choice. Like, yes, better bike infrastructure is a good idea and separated bike lanes is something that I absolutely support, but biking is a choice, and right now a lot of people on e-bikes (not so much regular bikes, to be honest) make me feel unsafe to walk in places that they tend to congregate.
- magicalist 4y agoIf biking is a choice then so is driving a car, and cars are far more dangerous to pedestrians.
- eropple 4y agoCars absolutely are more dangerous when pedestrians and cars intersect. They're also not on the sidewalk, where pedestrians usually are, while bicycles (and, in my experience, especially e-bikes) tend to be. I've never gotten hit by a car. I have gotten hit by bicyclists. I'd rather not be hit by either. If we're all on board with punishing bicyclists (and, again, especially e-bikes), who get to act like vehicles when it suits them, from being on sidewalks and potentially endangering pedestrians, I think there's a great dialogue to have about that.
- eropple 4y agoE-bikes are absolutely dangerous to the pedestrians they hit. I don't much like cars, but cars aren't driving on the sidewalks where I am.