Electric scooters!

[Bouba]

I beg to differ.
Who decides what is an "acceptable pace"? I suppose you drive your car at 5MPH do you? Or is an "Acceptable pace" one that only suits you.
I get considerable exercise from my e bike . My e bike requires input to make it go. One does not just turn the throttle & expect it to accelerate. That type of bike is illegal in the UK. One has to rotate the pedals & apply the power such that the motor senses the input, or cadence, which is exercise in itself. There is less weight on my legs & walking is uncomfortable on my hips but I can cycle 15 miles. That is a typical local circuit that my wife & I do. We sometimes go to Burnham & back which clocks 19 miles. The max speed of the ebike is 15.5 MPH. When it reaches that speed the motor cuts out. The beauty of the Brompton is that the motor does not cause any rolling resistence. My wife & i often return average speeds over 15 miles of just over 16MPH. That is because we beat the e bike speed on the flat & use it to get us up hills. We ( well me mostly ) often return knackered

Then can you tell me why E bikes will compound the problem of irresponsible use on pavements. If a cyclist does decide to go on a footpath I do not see how it will make the slightest difference if it is electric or not.
I might suggest that an electric user is more like to stay on the road as the assistance of the motor means that he does not need to take short cuts at junctions etc . As an example, In towns, My ebike will pull away very quickly at lights & I can get in front of cars, so the tendancy to go on the pavement to avoid being cut up by a car turning left in front of me is reduced. I can get across traffic in lanes easier as well, thus I do not have to resort to pedalling on a footpath then across a crossing to get to another side.
I find my E bike quite safe ( in relative terms) to use

E bikes are one of the truly great inventions of the modern age. I was an early adopter, and I used to receive a lot of abuse, from other cyclists and from my wife’s cycle club. Some of them wanted to hit me! Of course they were all old and proud of the fact that they could do this Herculean effort of a couple of hundred kilometers uphill. Roll on a few years, and now they are ancient and, you guessed it, on e bikes. Watching old and clearly unfit people on e bikes rather than driving, I think, is a wonderful thing

 

[Bouba]

But that's an e-bike ..... not an e-scooter.

Your e-bike is based on a conventional pedal cycle ......

This article on BBC may be of interest ....

Paris threatens e-scooter ban after woman's death

The trouble is, cities like Paris want to ban cars, but heaven forbid the alternative

 

[Daydream believer]

But that's an e-bike ..... not an e-scooter.

I was replying to a post that specifically mentioned E bikes.
Come on, we are allowed a bit of thread drift sometimes.

 

[Minerva]

Whatever happened to good old walking. It's what humans were designed to do. Keeps you fit and you see the world at an acceptable pace. E bikes provide nothing to keep you fit.

In which case I trust you do not own a car or use public transport?

 

[RumPunch]

Trial in Norwich. Wave of 5 line abrest coming at me, wrong way, down a City Centre road about 22:30 the other day.

They should be legalised as a road vehicle. If above a certain speed capability, they should require insurance

 

[Refueler]

I was replying to a post that specifically mentioned E bikes.
Come on, we are allowed a bit of thread drift sometimes.

Of course ... livens it up !

 

[Refueler]

The trouble is, cities like Paris want to ban cars, but heaven forbid the alternative

Many cities have such plans ...

How many cities have you seen main high streets paved to pedestrian ? Trouble is E-Scooters are appearing ON THOSE paved sections ...

We hear of close shaves in our town where the rule of Zebra Crossings are poorly known ... bicycles just cycling onto the crossing ignoring traffic - oblivious to the fact they are classed as a wheeled vehicle and do not have right of way as a pedestrian ... the E-Scooters have increased those events many fold and its only time before a fatality ...

 

[Daydream believer]

Trial in Norwich. Wave of 5 line abrest coming at me, wrong way, down a City Centre road about 22:30 the other day.

They should be legalised as a road vehicle. If above a certain speed capability, they should require insurance

I believe that there is already a 15.5 MPH ( 25 KPH) limit. Trouble is that suppliers ignore this as it is legal to sell on basis that they can exceed the speed off road. Then the user takes them on the road. Same happens with E bikes.
I would further agree that third party insurance should be involved, but policing it would be virtually impossible, as would any form of license, age restriction etc. The population would point out the disparity with cycling & the thought that the freedom of cyclists might be jepordised would cause uproar. Similar to further restiction on us sailors . Just more state interference. So where does one stop
E scooters are coming, like it or not. The best way is to try & educate the road user AND the pedestrian . As we move to a more green society it should be possible to persuade the population to learn to adapt over time, but it will involve some difficult decisions by LAs in how we develope town centres & how we accomodate such changes

 

[Daydream believer]

Trial in Norwich. Wave of 5 line abrest coming at me, wrong way, down a City Centre road about 22:30 the other day.

They should be legalised as a road vehicle. If above a certain speed capability, they should require insurance

In Belgium road signs will tell one when to expect a one way restriction for mororists but 2 way for cyclists. So it is quite normal in minor streets to have cyclists meeting vehicles head on. Fortunately both parties have learned to live together & motorists drive with care.. It is clear where they have to give way for cyclists- which is just about everywhere

 

[Refueler]

Belgium and Holland are two countries (we'll leave out China - Vietnam where traffic rules are ?????) ... where cyclists have preferential rules.

 

[davidpbo]

Whatever happened to good old walking. It's what humans were designed to do. Keeps you fit and you see the world at an acceptable pace. E bikes provide nothing to keep you fit.

Cycling on pavements is out of control in GB and these ebikes will only compound the problem. Because there is no licensing identification on bikes or ebikes , the innocent will continue to suffer without any comeback.?

I have an eBike and use it preference to the car for short journeys to the local shop and into town providing I am not planning a bulky or heavy shop. Those are journeys that I would never have walked.

Cyclists on busy pavements are a problem. I walk my bike when busy as I was taught to years ago. I will cycle on pavements sometimes when they are clear and cycling on the road is causing an unnecessary obstruction to others.

 

[LONG_KEELER]

I beg to differ.
Who decides what is an "acceptable pace"? I suppose you drive your car at 5MPH do you? Or is an "Acceptable pace" one that only suits you.
I get considerable exercise from my e bike . My e bike requires input to make it go. One does not just turn the throttle & expect it to accelerate. That type of bike is illegal in the UK. One has to rotate the pedals & apply the power such that the motor senses the input, or cadence, which is exercise in itself. There is less weight on my legs & walking is uncomfortable on my hips but I can cycle 15 miles. That is a typical local circuit that my wife & I do. We sometimes go to Burnham & back which clocks 19 miles. The max speed of the ebike is 15.5 MPH. When it reaches that speed the motor cuts out. The beauty of the Brompton is that the motor does not cause any rolling resistence. My wife & i often return average speeds over 15 miles of just over 16MPH. That is because we beat the e bike speed on the flat & use it to get us up hills. We ( well me mostly ) often return knackered

Then can you tell me why E bikes will compound the problem of irresponsible use on pavements. If a cyclist does decide to go on a footpath I do not see how it will make the slightest difference if it is electric or not.
I might suggest that an electric user is more like to stay on the road as the assistance of the motor means that he does not need to take short cuts at junctions etc . As an example, In towns, My ebike will pull away very quickly at lights & I can get in front of cars, so the tendancy to go on the pavement to avoid being cut up by a car turning left in front of me is reduced. I can get across traffic in lanes easier as well, thus I do not have to resort to pedalling on a footpath then across a crossing to get to another side.
I find my E bike quite safe ( in relative terms) to use. I have taken out additional third party insurance for E bike use

Sorry. I meant e scooter.

 

[LONG_KEELER]

E bikes are one of the truly great inventions of the modern age. I was an early adopter, and I used to receive a lot of abuse, from other cyclists and from my wife’s cycle club. Some of them wanted to hit me! Of course they were all old and proud of the fact that they could do this Herculean effort of a couple of hundred kilometers uphill. Roll on a few years, and now they are ancient and, you guessed it, on e bikes. Watching old and clearly unfit people on e bikes rather than driving, I think, is a wonderful thing

Sorry. I also meant e scooter.

 

[LONG_KEELER]

E scooters are understandably irresistible to young people . I would be hooked myself at their age as a form of motorised transport.

Personally, when cruising, I find it much more fun to use local transport or walk or a mixture of the two.. If it's a big shop, I use a walker which holds big loads and takes very little effort to pull. They do ones with an extra wheel now that makes it easy to mount kerbs.

I gave up cycling because of the pot holes and poor kerbs . It's easy to see why the increased gravitation to pavements. If e.scooters are allowed on roads the small wheels will make things even more dangerous so expect the pavements to take the strain.

I don't think there are any simple answers to our transport problems. Online and out of town shopping has cut down the footfall on city centres somewhat and efforts are being made to increase cycle lanes where possible. Even parks have them now . It's difficult to see where else we can free up any more room. The only way out of this is to start converting vast areas of roads to pavements/cycleways or reducing the width and make them only one way and one lane only. This is unlikely to win many votes and who is going to pay for it.


I just don't think that e scooters are going to help any and expect that lots of people are going to get hurt.

 

[Bouba]

E scooters are understandably irresistible to young people . I would be hooked myself at their age as a form of motorised transport.

Personally, when cruising, I find it much more fun to use local transport or walk or a mixture of the two.. If it's a big shop, I use a walker which holds big loads and takes very little effort to pull. They do ones with an extra wheel now that makes it easy to mount kerbs.

I gave up cycling because of the pot holes and poor kerbs . It's easy to see why the increased gravitation to pavements. If e.scooters are allowed on roads the small wheels will make things even more dangerous so expect the pavements to take the strain.

I don't think there are any simple answers to our transport problems. Online and out of town shopping has cut down the footfall on city centres somewhat and efforts are being made to increase cycle lanes where possible. Even parks have them now . It's difficult to see where else we can free up any more room. The only way out of this is to start converting vast areas of roads to pavements/cycleways or reducing the width and make them only one way and one lane only. This is unlikely to win many votes and who is going to pay for it.


I just don't think that e scooters are going to help any and expect that lots of people are going to get hurt.

Watching people on crowded buses in the Mediterranean summer all wearing face masks during a pandemic, is a good ad for e-scooters

 

[CFG98]

The law...................
I have seen so many of these e scooters being ridden irresponsibly by the yoof of today. I think you will be safe.............except Murphy's law means plod will be around for you and not the silly yoof.

 

[Bouba]

The law...................
I have seen so many of these e scooters being ridden irresponsibly by the yoof of today. I think you will be safe.............except Murphy's law means plod will be around for you and not the silly yoof.

And when these yoofs are behind the wheel of a car ? (or as I’ve seen them today, behind the wheel of a speed boat). So, yes yoofs are out of control (or rather have no self control) but please, hit me with your e-scooter, not your car

 

[prv]

If e.scooters are allowed on roads the small wheels will make things even more dangerous so expect the pavements to take the strain.

They‘re not just “allowed” on roads, they’re required to be on roads. Ideally in a cycle lane if available, but otherwise on the road rather than the pavement.

I’ve used the pink hire ones in Portsmouth and Southampton a few times now. If I hadn’t, I’d probably have been in an Uber instead.

Pete

 

[Iliade]

These take up about the same space as a folding bike and are legal pretty much everywhere. It wouldn't take much malice aforethought to fit a more powerful motor and battery

I can also see people painting their high performance e-scooters to match the local hire fleet... Even if they are pink.

Personally I think that proper mot and registration as mopeds is the way to go. Then they can have realistic performance, beat the speeds of city traffic but not run on pavement.

 

[Bouba]

These take up about the same space as a folding bike and are legal pretty much everywhere. It wouldn't take much malice aforethought to fit a more powerful motor and battery

I can also see people painting their high performance e-scooters to match the local hire fleet... Even if they are pink.

Personally I think that proper mot and registration as mopeds is the way to go. Then they can have realistic performance, beat the speeds of city traffic but not run on pavement.

Perfect for barrelling down the pavement on. Nobody will resent you, everyone will get out of your way, because they will assume you are disabled