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E-bikes might be the first tech in decades that actually gets teens off screens and into the real world without feeling like a chore. That’s a win.
by wbly 1y ago
E-bikes might be the first tech in decades that actually gets teens off screens and into the real world without feeling like a chore. That’s a win.
- y-curious 1y agoI think this tune will change once more reliable data comes out about injury statistics, especially serious injuries. Where I live (suburbs in the Bay Area), I see gangs of teens doing extremely reckless things on busy roadways. I can't imagine giving children motorcycles before they know the rules of the road is going to go unnoticed
- harambae 1y agoI know parents who start their children racing motocross dirtbikes around age 6. (Meanwhile, my brother is making sure his dinner table corners are padded for his 7 year old to not run into... different parenting styles, I guess)
- ryandrake 1y agoYea, I don't think we ought to let (real OR imagined) fears of injury suffocate new inventions that might help get kids out of the house and active. Growing up in the 80s, we roamed freely and got injured all the time, sometimes seriously (broken bones, torn ligaments, probably concussions--I don't remember because my brain doesn't work anymore), and most of us turned out fine!
- y-curious 1y agoThis anecdote is survivorship bias quite literally. There are many people that are dead from lack of regulation during the 80s that cannot comment. I agree that we shouldn't let fear rule us, but I think the risk of fatal and disfiguring accidents is high on roadways in the US. It's kind of like letting your cat be an outdoor cat, but instead of a sad nextdoor post we are going to be seeing teen funerals
- y-curious 1y agoRacing bikes on a closed course is many magnitudes safer than riding an electric motorcycle on a roadway in the US. I think people don't consider how distracted drivers of multi-ton vehicles are