E-Bikes

[RockRaven]

9. Yes, e-bikes are becoming a bit of a menace in my neighborhood (in SF Bay Area).

All of the typical bad bicycling behaviors on display -- no lights at night, no hand signals, blowing through stop signs without slowing never mind stopping, weaving in and out of traffic, phone distraction, extra riders, no helmets, up on sidewalks, too close to pedestrians, wrong side of street, etc.

So on one hand there is nothing unique there. And the cops can and sometimes do enforce traffic rules/laws on poorly behaved cyclists, e-bike or not.

The difference, though, is that e-bikes allow all of those behaviors at speeds which are conventionally quite effortful (if not impossible for the individuals in question) for little to no physical effort. It sure seems like that changes the odds of otherwise avoidable and avoidably bad accidents happening.

By a wide margin most of the e-bike users I see are adolescents; however, I live near a middle school and a high school. But that experience has led me to posit this: when e-bikes can reach or exceed posted speed limits with no propulsion from the rider, they are functionally just motorcycles with a regulatory loophole.