Ebikes, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, longboards, eboards, motorcycles, skates, unicycles: Whatever floats your goat, this is all things micromobility!
"Transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service rental program in which people rent vehicles for short-term use within a town or city.
micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"
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It's a little sad that we need to actually say this, but:
Don't be an asshole or you will be permanently banned.
Respectful debate is totally OK, criticizing a product is fine, but being verbally abusive will not be tolerated.
Focus on discussing the idea, not attacking the person.
Link to original Tweet: https://x.com/DavidZipper/status/1795048724021862898
E-bikes are great, the issue is the morons using them.
How’s that different than anything else that someone operates?
People are the problem, you say?
Exactly. As I think I've said it before, there are a lot of numbskulls who think the PEVs work just like manual powered ones. But, with the increased speed, faster acceleration, and the general less work it takes to use one can make them take stupid risks that normally they wouldn't otherwise.
For instance, they may be cruising down a road at 30mph. Coming to an intersection, they see the light is red, but since they aren't in a car, they think it shouldn't apply to them as they think that's only for cars. What they didn't realize is there is a tanker truck coming down the cross-street. The truck isn't able to stop in time to avoid the guy on a e-bike who just darted out. The truck driver still tries to futilly veer away while slamming on the brakes causing the truck to jack knife and rollover. Smashing and killing the driver of a car that driving along next to it along with spilling whatever was in the tanks.
The end of it now is the e-bike rider and the driver in the car are dead, quite possibly the truck driver too. There is also a toxic spill that requires everyone in the immediate area to evacuate to a safe area until it is cleaned up. The roadway is closed for multiple hours, causing major delays and loss of business/service to the shops in the area. (hopefully no medical facilities) All this because the idiot on the e-bike didn't bother to stop like they should have.
While there are some laws and rules in regards to PEVs, they are generally far and away from being complete or enacted/enforced in all areas. This in my opinion needs to be made a priority to achieve at least some semblance of safety and responsibility of all parties.
“Everyone is a moron but me!”
No I think I’m a moron too
Yes we are morons too, but we are superior morons. Smart morons you might say.
This is how I feel about cars, except for the "cars are great" part.
Yeah... Excluding moron drivers you have:
I'm probably still forgetting something important...
Microplastics. Apparently tire wear is a major cause
Water pollution from oil of gas spills or improper disposal
Is this an American thing? In Australia the leading cause is suicide, with auto accidents a distant second. However, it is the leading cause for 1-14 year olds.
It is at world level, according to WHO
https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/topics/topic-details/GHO/road-traffic-mortality
In the linked page the same WHO states that road fatalities are the leading cause of death "for children and young adults aged 5–29 years":
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/road-traffic-injuries
Ah yeah, based off what I read that makes sense with that wider age range.
Yup.
Remember the headlines about the massive pollution drop that occurred in Spring 2020 after most workplaces went remote?
Cars and planes are the problem. Unfortunately, cars and planes make the billionaires a lot of money, so there won't be any meaningful change to our transportation systems.
Isn’t there a billionaire who wishes to make tons of money on railroads and railroad construction? Please, bribe our politicians to spend the hundreds of billions a we need to spend
Interestingly the COVID lockdowns might be what launched the 15min city conspiracy into the mainstream. Climate deniers saw articles about how the covid lockdowns reduced emissions and warped that into the theory that 15 min cities are a plot to restrict personal movement.
Source: climate deniers playbook podcast aka the climate town peeps
cars deteriorate air quality and are a leading cause of lifelong chronic injuries