The New York Times published a pair of articles this weekend highlighting the rising number of deaths of cyclists riding electric bikes. However, in one of the most impressive feats of victim-blaming I’ve seen from the publication in some time, the NYT lays the onus on e-bikes instead of on the things killing their law abiding riders: cars.
When I’m driving, and a cyclist is “in my way”, I don’t blame the cyclist. I blame the shitty infrastructure. I’d love to ride a bike more often, but the roads and laws are just too hostile.
So you don’t live in NYC where cyclists ignore red lights, cross walks, stop signs, etc…and just expect you to jump out of their way.
It’s safer for bikes to ignore those, that’s why some states that are smarter about it have legalized the Idaho stop
Forgot that pedestrians don’t matter and bikes should run red lights cause ignoring traffic laws isn’t dangerous at all.
@Princeali311 @buckykat bicycles and pedestrians got a long fine for decades before the invention of traffic laws
The first stop sign was literally a PR stunt from a car owner’s club
Ignoring stupid car-centric traffic laws on a bicycle is safe and reasonable.
Not for pedestrians it isn’t. Nor are ebikes driving on sidewalks or going as fast as they do in the bike lane.
Yes, for pedestrians too. And the only reason an ebike would be on the sidewalk is if there are too many cars in the road.
Lol no. They are all over Williamsburg on Kent when there is no traffic at all.
I live in NY. As a pedestrian, cars are way more annoying than bicycles.
Man’s gotta avoid getting run over somehow.
Just another perspective here.
Yes, it’s cars, and yes, it’s infrastructure. However…
E-bikes have been causing a spike in cyclist crashes, even in places that is considered the safest place to cycle: The Netherlands.
The problem with e-bikes is that they are more like motorcycles and less like bikes, so you get a huge number of people under 25 and people over 55 crashing these things left and right.
This article from The Verge is worth the read to get a better idea of what’s going on.
80 yo or 14 yo on ebikes are menaces. One because they don’t have the reaction time and coordination to handle the speed. One because they don’t have a shred of situational awareness or respect for the rules of the road.
It’s honestly scary to share a bike path with both.
New day same bullshit
Not going to read the article so in response to the comment, electric bicycles put people in a strange place in terms of safety. You’ve got the speeds of a motorcycle without the ability to flow with traffic. In the presence of high density traffic I’d say an e-bike is more dangerous than a motorcycle.
I’ve been a motorcyclist most of my life and I can say you have to be super vigilant about situational awareness and ready to evade at all times. People driving in cars are not programmed to notice motorcycles. They’re always looking for cars and sometimes don’t register other hazards. It shouldn’t be that way, but nothing is going to change that as long as human beings are driving.
My recommendation to anyone who wants to use an e-bike for regular transportation is just go to a motorcycle, it’s going to be much safer in traffic. There’s some really nice electric motorcycles now. For e-bike users you have to be extra careful. Drivers don’t see bicyclists anyway and you’re going a lot faster most of the time. A head injury at 10 mph can be fatal.
Speeds of a motorcycle?? Most ebikes top out at 28mph. You can go that fast on a normal road bike if you’re in shape too.
You’re so close, bud.
Most ebikes have a top speed of 20mph and weigh less than a motorcycle (and MUCH LESS than a car,) so your first paragraph is BS.
2nd paragraph - right on. It’s almost like cars are big heavy death machines that are dangerous, even FATAL, at high speeds.
Motorcycles cost more, are heavier, and move much faster than ebikes. They’re absolutely more dangerous than an ebike.
Give ebikes their own infrastructure and do urban planning that reduces the speed and danger levels of large, fast-moving vehicles.
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A video of some dipshit hooligans proves nothing.
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