‘A Dangerous Combination’: Teenagers’ Accidents Expose E-Bike Risks' A New York Times Article

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‘A Dangerous Combination’: Teenagers’ Accidents Expose E-Bike Risks​

The e-bike industry is booming, but many vehicles are not legal for teenagers, and accidents are on the rise.



A memorial for Brodee Champlain Kingman on the corner of El Camino Real and Santa Fe Drive in Encinitas, Calif. Brodee was killed last month in an e-bike traffic accident.

A memorial for Brodee Champlain Kingman on the corner of El Camino Real and Santa Fe Drive in Encinitas, Calif. Brodee was killed last month in an e-bike traffic accident.Credit...Ariana Drehsler for The New York Times
Matt Richtel
By Matt Richtel
Reporting from Irvine, Calif.
July 29, 2023Updated 9:11 a.m. ET

On a Thursday evening in late June, Clarissa Champlain learned that her 15-year-old son Brodee had been in a terrible crash, the latest teen victim of an e-bike accident.
He had been riding from home to shot-putting practice. The e-bike, a model made by Rad Power, had a top speed of 20 miles per hour, but his route took him on a busy road with a 55-mile-per-hour limit. While turning left, he was clipped by a Nissan van and thrown violently.

Ms. Champlain rushed to the hospital and was taken to Brodee’s room. She could see the marks left by the chin strap of his bike helmet. “I went to grab his head and kiss him,” she recalled. “But there was no back of his head. It wasn’t the skull, it was just mush.”

Three days later, another teenage boy was taken to the same hospital after the e-bike he was riding collided with a car, leaving him sprawled beneath a BMW, hurt but alive. In the days following, the town of Encinitas, where both incidents occurred, declared a state of emergency for e-bike safety.
The e-bike industry is booming, but the summer of 2023 has brought sharp questions about how safe e-bikes are, especially for teenagers. Many e-bikes can exceed the 20-mile-per-hour speed limit that is legal for teenagers in most states; some can go 70 miles an hour. But even when ridden at legal speeds, there are risks, especially for young, inexperienced riders merging into traffic with cars.
“The speed they are going is too fast for sidewalks, but it’s too slow to be in traffic,” said Jeremy Collis, a sergeant at the North Coastal Station of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, which is investigating Brodee’s accident.
To some policymakers and law enforcement officials, the technology has far outpaced existing laws, regulations and safety guidelines. Police and industry officials charge that some companies appear to knowingly sell products that can easily evade speed limits and endanger young riders.

“It’s not like a bicycle,” Sergeant Collis said. “But the laws are treating it like any bicycle.”
Two federal agencies, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said they were evaluating “how best to oversee the safety of e-bikes,” according to a statement provided by the highway safety agency.


Brodee’s parents, Clarissa Champlain and Troy Kingman, with their daughter, Violet Champlain Kingman.Credit...Ariana Drehsler for The New York Times
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Medals that Brodee earned for math, chess and an egg-drop contest; his bedroom; messages written to Brodee at a recent candlelight vigil on display in Ms. Champlain's home.Credit...Ariana Drehsler for The New York Times
Communities have begun to alert their residents to the dangers of e-bikes. In June, the police department in Bend, Ore., ran a public service campaign acquainting the public with the e-bike laws that were frequently being broken there. Days later, a 15-year-old boy was killed when the e-bike he was riding was struck by a van.
Sheila Miller, who is the spokeswoman for the Bend police and helped develop the public service campaign, emphasized that not everything that calls itself an e-bike qualifies as one, or is safe or legal for minors. Under Oregon law, which is more restrictive than those in most states, a person must be at least 16 to ride an e-bike of any kind.
“Parents, please don’t buy these bikes for kids when they are not legally allowed to ride them,” Ms. Miller said. “And if you own an e-bike, make sure that everyone who is using them knows the rules of the road.”

Booming Industry, Modest Regulation​

The typical e-bike has functioning pedals as well as a motor that is recharged with an electrical cord; the pedals and the motor can be used individually or simultaneously. Unlike a combustion engine, an electric motor can accelerate instantly, which makes e-bikes appealing to ride.
E-bikes are also seen as vital in shifting the transportation system away from emission-spewing cars and the congestion they create, said Rachel Hultin, the policy and governmental affairs director for Bicycle Colorado, a nonprofit advocacy group for bicycle safety and policy. E-bikes and electric scooters are part of the so-called micromobility movement, propelling commuters and other people short distances across crowded spaces.
The number of e-bikes being sold is unclear because, like regular bikes, they do not need to be registered with the government. (Cars, motorcycles and mopeds must be registered through a state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.) Many are sold directly to consumers over the internet, rather than through physical retailers that often track sales. John MacArthur, an e-bike industry expert with the Transportation Research and Education Center at Portland State University, estimated that roughly one million e-bikes would be sold in the United States this year.

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Ashely Kingsley and her daughter, Scout, at Charlie’s Electric Bike store in Encinitas, where they were renting e-bikes for the day.Credit...Ariana Drehsler for The New York Times

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LeGrand Crewse, a co-founder and the chief executive of Super73.Credit...Alisha Jucevic for The New York Times

The minimal regulation around e-bikes is a selling point for the industry. Super73, a company in Irvine, Calif., that makes popular models, advertises on its website: “RIDE WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS. No license, registration, or insurance required.”
“It’s one of the very unique categories of vehicle that there really isn’t any kind of onerous regulation,” a company co-founder, LeGrand Crewse, said in an interview, noting that helmet requirements were also modest, depending on the state and the rider’s age.
Law enforcement officials have begun to express concerns about the minimal training required of teenage e-bike owners, and about their behavior. Car drivers ages 16 to 19 are three times as likely to be killed in a crash as drivers 20 or older, and bicyclists ages 10 to 24 have the highest rate of emergency room visits for crashes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some states have begun to raise the training requirements for young drivers, including adding graduated license programs that require extended hours of supervised driving, limit night driving or restrict the number or age of passengers.
The California Legislature is considering a bill that would prohibit e-bike use by people under 12 and “state the intent of the Legislature to create an e-bike license program with an online written test and a state-issued photo identification for those persons without a valid driver’s license.”
“I know the e-bike situation is evolving,” said Sergeant Collis of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office. “But personally, with all these bikes, you should have at least a permit or a license to ride them at the speed they’re going.”

As a transportation solution, e-bikes seem promising. “I’m really bullish about middle and high schoolers being able to use e-bikes,” said Ms. Hultin of Bicycle Colorado. She noted that e-bikes offered children and busy families more transportation options at lower cost. But she worried that the vehicles could lead to an unsafe mix of untrained e-cyclists and unaware car drivers.
That problem, Ms. Hultin said, was exacerbated by “an algae bloom of noncompliant e-bikes.” She was referring to products on the market that call themselves e-bikes but are not, either because they can go faster than allowed by law or because, once purchased, they can be modified to do so.

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An e-bike shop in Encinitas.Credit...Ariana Drehsler for The New York Times

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An intersection near the site of Brodee’s accident.Credit...Ariana Drehsler for The New York Times
One vehicle that has drawn attention for its speed is made by Sur-Ron, whose products have been involved in several recent deaths. In June in Cardiff, Wales, two boys on a Sur-ron bike died in a crash while being followed by the police; days earlier, a boy riding a Sur-ron in Greater Manchester had died after colliding with an ambulance.

In its marketing materials, Sur-ron describes one model, the Light Bee Electric Bike, as “easy to maneuver like a bicycle, with the torque and power of an off-road motorcycle.” Its operating manual cautions the owner to “please follow the traffic rules and with the safe speed (the top speed for this electric vehicle is 20 km/h).”
But the speed restraint — equivalent to about 12 m.p.h. — can be removed by simply clipping a wire, a procedure that is widely shared in online videos, and which law enforcement officials said appeared to be there by design.
“There are all kinds of videos on how to jailbreak your Sur-ron,” said Capt. Christopher McDonald of the Sheriff’s Department in Orange County, Calif., where e-bike accidents and injuries are rising. With the speed wire clipped, the vehicle can approach 70 miles per hour, he said. Several requests for comment were sent through the Sur-ron website but did not receive a response.
Matt Moore, the general counsel for PeopleForBikes, the main trade group for bicycles and e-bikes, said he worried about products like Sur-ron’s. “Some products are sold as ostensibly compliant but are easily modified by the user with the knowledge and presumably the blessing of the manufacturer,” he said. “Unfortunately, there appears to be a lack of resources at the federal level to investigate and address e-mobility products that may actually be motor vehicles.”

Tragedy in Encinitas​


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A memorial for Brodee in Ms. Champlain’s kitchen.Credit...Ariana Drehsler for The New York Times

The day after Brodee entered the hospital, his family sat at his bedside. They played his favorite music, including Kendrick Lamar and early Wu-Tang Clan. “I read to him for hours,” his mother said. “We wanted to wake up his brain.”
Three days later, as Brodee clung to life, Niko Sougias, the owner of Charlie’s Electric Bike, a popular e-bike shop in town, was driving in Encinitas on Highway 101 when he saw two teenage boys riding Sur-Rons in the opposite direction.
“They were doing wheelies,” Mr. Sougias said. He has grown concerned about the e-bike industry, he said, and does not sell many models that are popular with teenagers.
His route that Saturday followed the path of the boys on the Sur-rons. Moments later, after a turn, Mr. Sougias saw that one of the Sur-Ron riders had collided with an S.U.V., had been thrown from his bike and was under a BMW.
According to the police, the Sur-ron rider had been seen driving recklessly and was found at fault. “He was lucky to escape with his life,” Mr. Sougias said.

Ms. Champlain was at the hospital with Brodee when the boy who had been riding the Sur-ron was brought in. Paramedics stopped by Brodee’s room to check in. “I can’t believe I’m here again for this,” she said one of them had told her; the same paramedic had brought in Brodee by ambulance.
Hours later, Brodee was pronounced dead. He was a beloved young man with a bright future ahead of him. He was fluent in Spanish and had a college-level knowledge of Japanese; he could dead-lift 300 pounds and, in 2020, was named student of the year at his high school. “I had so many people call me to tell me they’d lost their best friend,” his mother said.
Ms. Champlain said witnesses had told her that her son “did everything right,” including signaling to make a left turn.
“There should be more education for drivers with the change that’s happened,” she said. “I’d never seen an e-bike on the road until three years ago. Now I see hundreds.”
“They’re treated like bicycles when they’re not. They’re not equal.”
 
I'm gonna beat @Chalo to it: the takeaway is that cars are dangerous and there needs to be better infrastructure for bikes and pedestrians.
I don't want to diminish the tragedy, but:
The e-bike, a model made by Rad Power, had a top speed of 20 miles per hour, but his route took him on a busy road with a 55-mile-per-hour limit.
He wasn't going 55mph, the cars were.
Days later, a 15-year-old boy was killed when the e-bike he was riding was struck by a van.
Struck by a van, not an ebike
Three days later, another teenage boy was taken to the same hospital after the e-bike he was riding collided with a car, leaving him sprawled beneath a BMW,
He hit the car, but also somehow ended up under it?

I get that the article is trying to make a point that ebikes can go too fast for a sidewalk but not fast enough for a road. But that just lends to the argument that better pedestrian infrastructure is needed.

It's an irresponsible article, that tries to use the dangers of 2-ton motorized vehicles everywhere as a reason for why ebikes are bad. It's even acknowledged within the article:
That serious and concerning statistic has nothing to do with bikes or ebikes.

I can almost sympathize with the "news" articles using battery fires as a reason to demonize ebikes. But this article doesn't even do that.
 
Is this going to happen? Or is it just media hype? Does it mean all e-bikes will need a driver's licence, or just those in higher classes?

 
I'm gonna beat @Chalo to it: the takeaway is that cars are dangerous and there needs to be better infrastructure for bikes and pedestrians.

As a spoiled Dutch guy who is amazed at how cyclist are treated in your country -> 'better' means separated. Traffic calming measures to allow cyclists to intermix with tin cans on wheels only work in limited scenarios and even when they work they stop working the moment either a cyclist / pedestrian or driver couldn't pass his on Darwin Award any longer.

That serious and concerning statistic has nothing to do with bikes or ebikes.

.. but think of the children .. 🤔😂 ( always will be a staple of both 'the media' and 'politics' just because both are mirror of the human condition ).

I get that the article is trying to make a point that ebikes can go too fast for a sidewalk but not fast enough for a road. But that just lends to the argument that better pedestrian infrastructure is needed.

The discussion is much broader though isn't it? There is no speed limit for cyclists ( not in my country at least, if I can pedal 100km/h nothing legally would stop me ). I could reach 40km/h on my mtb, let alone what people on roadbikes even not pro's can do.

But somehow my ebike is limited to 25km/h. So if I don't unlock it, I go slower as I did on my normal bike, and when I pedal to try and make the same speed the bike suddenly decides it needs to punish me and cut off all motor assist? Does this really add to safety? I don't think so. Unlocking a low power hub motor btw won't make it go 'dangerously fast' but it doesn't cut off the engine suddenly changing your bike into a 22kg big box sheize bike with a bad spindle and crap gearing. Now that's a dangerous moment right there, imo.

Mopeds here ( with a blue plate ). 25km/h, used to not require helmets and were allowed on cycling paths. Now in most cities at least, those moped's need to ride on the normal traffic lanes with the cars.. but they are still legally only allowed to go 25km/h.

Then we have speed pedelecs which are ebikes with a 45km/h speed limit and those require helmets and need to ride with normal traffic ( and are not allowed on bicycle lanes legally ).

Even here in the acclaimed meka of cycling, seperation of traffic based on speed seems to be the focus of politicians. While scientists have been pointing out that it's the energy in a a collision which kills, and speed is only one part which determines this energy. A speed pedelec is safer on the road, for the slower cyclists on the cycle path, but not for the person on the pedelec who know is mixed with tin can's who go 'as fast' but weigh 2 ton's as you say.

This is why almost everyone I see on a pedelec, does this on the cycling path. Heck I see many who even just 'forget' to register it as pedelec and put a plate on it, hoping to go under the radar as normal ebike. But, I also seen people get their pedelec impounded that way, and you're not getting it back once they decide you're the one they will make a public example off.

Speed matching is not the singular most important part of traffic safety, not when you're mixing pedestrians and cyclists with other traffic, mass is always the other.
 
Is this going to happen?
It will happen. If it doesn't, more kids will die, and there will be more pressure, and it will happen then.

I mean, it actually won't be needed if people start behaving more responsibly (both drivers and bikers) but of course that's _never_ going to happen.
 
It will happen. If it doesn't, more kids will die, and there will be more pressure, and it will happen then.

I mean, it actually won't be needed if people start behaving more responsibly (both drivers and bikers) but of course that's _never_ going to happen.

But will it be for all classes of e-bike, or just ones that can exceed 20 mph?
 
Slow ebike on a fast road is a death sentence. It's the big speed differential that kills.
 
The discussion is much broader though isn't it?
An understatement. You said you're Dutch, so you already know the content, but people who want to learn more should check out NotJustBikes on YouTube.
 
Slow ebike on a fast road is a death sentence. It's the big speed differential that kills.
Speed and MASS determine the energy of any impact. Speed is the thing which makes it easier for our brains to handle, with that I mean that if things are predictable for our brains we're pretty good at handling complex tasks. But motor cycle safety classes always hammer on new riders to realize that for a person in a car, their brains will see a motor cycle and not be able to gauge it's actual speed until moments later. Those first crucial moments our brain has to use assumptions for processing, and that is why speed is such a factor in accidents.

But accident rate does not correlate directly to the severity of the injuries, impact energy does.

An understatement. You said you're Dutch, so you already know the content, but people who want to learn more should check out NotJustBikes on YouTube.

I'm a sub, I love that channel it's such a weird experience to hear how amazed people are about things which seem so normal to me ;)
 
Speed and MASS determine the energy of any impact. Speed is the thing which makes it easier for our brains to handle, with that I mean that if things are predictable for our brains we're pretty good at handling complex tasks. But motor cycle safety classes always hammer on new riders to realize that for a person in a car, their brains will see a motor cycle and not be able to gauge it's actual speed until moments later. Those first crucial moments our brain has to use assumptions for processing, and that is why speed is such a factor in accidents.

But accident rate does not correlate directly to the severity of the injuries, impact energy does.

I'm talking about what happens before the speed and mass part happens.

A large differential in speed between vehicles on the road creates a number of dangerous situations where the slower vehicle is sometimes assumed to be going faster or slower than it actually is. It in itself is dangerous.

Someone with a 20mph ebike cannot really match the rules or conditions of a 55mph road; most cars take 150 ft to brake from 60mph to 0mph for example.

Low speed works against you in these kinds of situations and is extremely dangerous.

The problem here is not the ebike, it's choosing to ride it on a road inappropriate for the type of vehicle.
 
You're correct, both vastly different speeds shouldn't be mixed. But even that ebike which would keep up with traffic shouldn't be there, not unless it has components ( like those brakes you mention ) which are tested and proven to keep working at those speeds.

And if you're riding an ebike which essentially is an electric motorcycle, I don't think it's wrong to say you should have the same abilities and thus same requirements a motorcycle driver does.

I know this might not hive with everyone here lol, and I don't mean to be a buzzkill, but operating something on public roads does mean following the traffic laws. They are not there just to annoy us.
 
The problem here is not the ebike, it's choosing to ride it on a road inappropriate for the type of vehicle.
The problem is that for the most part, Americans don't get to choose an appropriate road; they're all inappropriate.
 
The problem is that for the most part, Americans don't get to choose an appropriate road; they're all inappropriate.

Vote in better politicians. Nothing else will make the changes you want. If the people who determine how our public spaces look and feel like aren't doing what they are supposed to be doing, vote them out.

But that's touching on a very broken two party system which I think falls outside the scope of the thread a bit.

Or perhaps not, as it's this 'clear two sides' issue which makes arguments as 'but think of the children' a reoccurring theme :( ( imho US politics is more about theater then about facts, thank you orange sex offender ).
 
But that's touching on a very broken two party system
Maybe part of it, but as NotJustBikes and other have properly educated me, our car-centric infrastructure has been solidified for the last 80 years, regardless of who wants what, what party is in power. Voting won't give us pedestrian and bike infrastructure for as long as both parties still answer to car lobbies. I'm not expecting anything to change anytime soon.

Just displeased at this article completely ignoring the role cars played in the kids' deaths and injuries and scapegoating ebikes.
 
You're correct, both vastly different speeds shouldn't be mixed. But even that ebike which would keep up with traffic shouldn't be there, not unless it has components ( like those brakes you mention ) which are tested and proven to keep working at those speeds.

And if you're riding an ebike which essentially is an electric motorcycle, I don't think it's wrong to say you should have the same abilities and thus same requirements a motorcycle driver does.

I know this might not hive with everyone here lol, and I don't mean to be a buzzkill, but operating something on public roads does mean following the traffic laws. They are not there just to annoy us.

Yup, i've been riding 30-60mph bikes for a while and learned that in some situations i need to go fast ( to not interrupt flow ) and in the road, and other ones i can cruise along at my preferred 20-25mph in the bike lane etc.

I am not a speed freak, i'm concerned with my safety and my area has about 15% of the infrastructure it would need. I have to pass through car-only infrastructure at times up to 45mph.

Cars see me as a motorcycle in the car lane when traveling at their speed and traffic negotiation goes a lot smoother that way.

The most dangerous situations i've been in on an ebike were all on 20mph legal bikes with poor braking and bump compliance. In these situations i always ended up walking the bike along the shoulder rather than being one minor driver error away from roadkill.
 
Also RIP these boys, this is sad.
 
The most dangerous situations i've been in on an ebike were all on 20mph legal bikes with poor braking and bump compliance. In these situations i always ended up walking the bike along the shoulder rather than being one minor driver error away from roadkill.

And yet these bricks work perfectly well when not mixed with other traffic ( designed to meet minimum requirements, it's almost mil spec ) and just left to ride alone with the other 20mph bikes...

Btw, my 'unlocked' 250w bike goes a little over that with stock battery... But again, the only accident I had on it was because of driver error ( yes.. bike driver this time ). But, because of the environment I use it in, I think it's fine. I wouldn't want it to go faster, it has a friggin 80 buck coil fork which looks like it could snap if you look at it hard enough 😂

Also RIP these boys, this is sad.

'The children' never misses

Maybe part of it, but as NotJustBikes and other have properly educated me, our car-centric infrastructure has been solidified for the last 80 years, regardless of who wants what, what party is in power. Voting won't give us pedestrian and bike infrastructure for as long as both parties still answer to car lobbies. I'm not expecting anything to change anytime soon.

Don't you have some places where local politicians are making a change? NotJustBikes has featured some cities trying to do the right thing ( or at least partially, don't know how the rest of their network looks like ). Car lobbies only have political power if they can generate votes for someone, thanks to channels like notjustbikes I hope more people will realize their vote in not only bought but based on 'the children'.

Just displeased at this article completely ignoring the role cars played in the kids' deaths and injuries and scapegoating ebikes.

.. but the children .. :(

Seriously though, the good thing is that people here actually didn't fall for it.

edit: to add though, I often seen video's from people like Surronster, and I see all those mom's and dad's telling us how the enjoy how their kids want to be 'like him'.

I'm sorry, I'm sure this is 'normal' for some, but often times I see them being used as toys in public streets. Want to do your wheelie contest, fine, take it to a parking lot. Things like that.

But this has nothing to do with ebikes. Surron's are NOT bikes they are electrical motorcycles. You wouldn't call a grom a bike, why would a Surron be a bike?
 
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Don't you have some places where local politicians are making a change?
Like, maybe, but the short answer is simply, no.
NotJustBikes has featured some cities trying to do the right thing ( or at least partially, don't know how the rest of their network looks like ).
It doesn't matter how nice that bike path is that just got made, helping suburbanites walk to starbucks.
Car lobbies only have political power if they can generate votes for someone, thanks to channels like notjustbikes I hope more people will realize their vote in not only bought but based on 'the children'.
The car lobbies don't need to do much of any work anymore, it's done. Americans are car addicted. And if you want to not use a car, you are, by lack of other option, forced to walk/ride next to cars. It sucks.

I don't mean this to be rude, really, but... You're Dutch, you're lucky, and you won't get it unless you live here.
 
Don't you have some places where local politicians are making a change? NotJustBikes has featured some cities trying to do the right thing ( or at least partially, don't know how the rest of their network looks like ). Car lobbies only have political power if they can generate votes for someone, thanks to channels like notjustbikes I hope more people will realize their vote in not only bought but based on 'the children'.

Nope, i'm in the suburbs in Utah, and nobody gives a shit about what you do/don't do on 2 wheels because this is conservative-ville.

Go to Salt Lake City and you've got liberals running the place doing their best to imitate the west coast poorly, making these bike projects all over the place that don't connect to each other, and make you pass through fast traffic quite often unless you're willing to bend around that and make your route much longer.

Over there you will likely get busted for riding too fast in the wrong situation.

Utah does have some nice trails and stuff but few of them go very far / don't intersect with fast traffic. They are for casual rides. Commuting is another story.
 
Like, maybe, but the short answer is simply, no.

It doesn't matter how nice that bike path is that just got made, helping suburbanites walk to starbucks.

The car lobbies don't need to do much of any work anymore, it's done. Americans are car addicted. And if you want to not use a car, you are, by lack of other option, forced to walk/ride next to cars. It sucks.

I don't mean this to be rude, really, but... You're Dutch, you're lucky, and you won't get it unless you live here.
Nope, i'm in the suburbs in Utah, and nobody gives a shit about what you do/don't do on 2 wheels because this is conservative-ville.

Go to Salt Lake City and you've got liberals running the place doing their best to imitate the west coast poorly, making these bike projects all over the place that don't connect to each other, and make you pass through fast traffic quite often unless you're willing to bend around that and make your route much longer.

Over there you will likely get busted for riding too fast in the wrong situation.

Utah does have some nice trails and stuff but few of them go very far / don't intersect with fast traffic. They are for casual rides. Commuting is another story.

The addiction to cars is not a natural one, it's been manipulated into your culture. And yes, I am amazed by how many people in the US still think of cycling only as a sport activity and not a valid method of personal transport.
 
making these bike projects all over the place that don't connect to each other,

bike projects all over the place that don't connect to each other,

some nice trails and stuff but few of them go very far / don't intersect with fast traffic.
This is the crux of it, my Dutch friend. People vote for local politicians because they say they want better pedestrian/bike paths. So they spend way too much money on a short little walkway less than a mile long, bordered on either side by a 40mph road. Now the politician gets to pat themselves on the back for helping pedestrians, while ignoring the fact that you can't actually use the new path for getting anywhere that you need to go.
 
I see lots of under-16 looking kids riding those Super 73 style bikes around my area. Many times two up with no helmets. Those things aren't super fast, but fast enough to really hurt if you crash. The law here states ebike riders must be at least 16 years old and wear a helmet. But the thing that's bad is that some of these kids ride like idiots blasting through intersections without slowing down and apparently not looking for other traffic, etc. I've only seen a couple of Sur-rons, but one was also a kid probably under 16, no helmet and riding wheelies in the middle of the street. Really looking for trouble. They should write tickets for reckless driving and any of the applicable regulations.
 
Are tickets the best way to change the way parents raise their children, or will those tickets just make both the kids and the parents 'begrudge authorities' more? Making them and their environment have less respect for authorities ( they just want my money )?

I can see the same kids here btw, but I think it's way less because they do get corrected by their environment ( and not 'authorities' ). It's fluctuating, I can see kids are not the same as when I was their age and I think I can tie that changing regulations ect. You're writing 'ticket them' and that's is the current ( right wing ) government's leading principle to 'correct behavior'. Because social programs to reward correct behavior and which are more effective, also cost way more money. But those social programs and regulations are the basis of how people adhere to their environment. I bet you have social workers and youth workers and programs which 'teach kids their own responsibility'.

Or in case of the behavior you're describing, they would have to attend a course where they will cover the dangers, talk about accidents which happened and from which they should take note. And maybe do some communal work related to it, like cleaning up road sides / embankments where accidents have happened.

I don't think ticketing leads to better people, not even to better behavior. Just better attempts to hide bad behavior. Yes. I admit.. I am a liberal 😂
 
I don't agree that there is any good reason a not-disabled child should have an electric vehicle.

For health, children should exercise and sleep at night.
'Adult' means able to shoulder responsibility. 'Adolescent' means not prepared to shoulder responsibility.

Mis-handled Lithium batteries explode and burn - there is no sense in giving them to children.
 
As a parent, I think the occurrences of batteries causing dangerous situations while in use on a bike are so minimal, probably less then crossing the street itself.

Since most accidents occur while charging, and charging isn't done by the child or if it is it should be under supervision, I don't see it as a health risk for children.

As to exercise, I was on the same boat for years. But now I realize, maybe I was never going to get them to ride with me for longer distances, but I could if they had some 'assistance'. Now, some years ago this meant they could hang on my arm or have me push them along gently but not only am I getting a bit older they are also getting a lot heavier.

Ofc, that doesn't mean giving them something with a throttle, or cadence sensor.. I'm leaning heavily into building them some tsdz2b's, program them with a lot less power as mine and have them try and keep up and see how long it take till they ask to switch bikes 😂

*exercise is important, more for them then for me
 
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