Licensing of e-bike riders

[markemark]

Ideally I wish cyclists would behave better. But in terms of deaths, serious injuries, financial cost (choose your flavour), the damage by cars outweighs the damage by cyclists by a factor of thousands. Spend all energy, cost and time on reducing the 40,000 rather than the 10.

 

[AlBaker]

40,000 by cars and how much new action is being taken to tackle that?

If we had a lot more cops, a lot more action would be taken.

 

[markemark]

If we had a lot more cops, a lot more action would be taken.

But you want the less than ideal number we have now to transfer some of their time from cars onto cyclists? If enough time is spent to reduce the number of deaths by cyclists by, 5 a year, what do you think the increase in car deaths would be with less time being spent on it? It will be far more than 5. This will kill more people.

 

[nogoodnamesleft]

What is the profile of the riders suffering crashes?

I would hope that any steps to reduce number of accidents would be based on looking at the victims and causes and addressing those rather than could happen with knee-jerk reactions to "regulate".

Some years back cycling in Netherlands I met and by chance rode similar route to a dutch couple who organised group rides for retirees in the Netherlands (we just by chance ended-up at the same campsites several nights in a row and spent time drinking and chatting). They were finding difficulties with older generation getting on e-bikes without adequate/recent experience ie people who had given-up cycling some time ago but e-bikes suddenly enabled them to ride again. The problems they were finding were riders unable to properly control the bikes not through hooligan behaviour but just heavy bike, age related slower reactions and not as much familiarity and they would have accidents like cyclist approaches traffic lights, brakes too late and rides through a red (cycle) traffic light into moving traffic.

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

Apologies if already written, but it's also worth pointing out that at least some US states have a higher legal motor assist speed for ebikes than the UK, ~20mph vs 15.5mph iirc.

Like with motor vehicles, in a collision, more speed means worse injuries. Especially with increased mass.

But for example me and my GT ebike weigh ~112Kg total, that's a whole lot less than say a 2000Kg car.

 

[markemark]

Apologies if already written, but it's also worth pointing out that at least some US states have a higher legal motor assist speed for ebikes than the UK, ~20mph vs 15.5mph iirc.

Like with motor vehicles, in a collision, more speed means worse injuries. Especially with increased mass.

But for example me and my GT ebike weigh ~112Kg total, that's a whole lot less than say a 2000Kg car.

It's momentum that counts. 20 times heavier going 3 times the speed is 60 times the momentum. Add to that the car is 4 times the width making the danger zone much larger.

 

[Gwylan]

It's momentum that counts. 20 times heavier going 3 times the speed is 60 times the momentum. Add to that the car is 4 times the width making the danger zone much larger.

Sorry, I think the correct answer is x9 at 3 times the speed for the same weight
For x20 on the weight then the answer is x90
Momentum is 1/2MV².

If you take the surface area into account then things are more complicated
You have to factor in the probability factor.
You have to be a much better shot to hit somebody properly with a bike than with a car.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Momentum is 1/2MV².

Nope, that is kinetic energy. Momentum is mv.

 

[Alex321]

America is a big country, so 40,000 may seem a lot but spread across each state, it's probably about the same as the UK. There are enough e-bike crashes, and riders riding dangerously in public places, to warrant action.

The US has approximately 5 times the population of the UK. And the UK had 1,602 fatalities on the roads last year. So yes, 40K IS a lot, it would be about 8K if it was the same per capita.

 

[markemark]

The US has approximately 5 times the population of the UK. And the UK had 1,602 fatalities on the roads last year. So yes, 40K IS a lot, it would be about 8K if it was the same per capita.

But enough of those 40,00 deaths, the real problem is the 1 or 2 e-bike crashes a day that hardly ever kill anybody. That’s what we should be addressing.

 

[steveindenmark]

I cannot see how the licencing of e bikes would reduce the accident stats. In Denmark, accidents involving e bikes is increasing every year. Probably because the numbers sold are going up every year. I would think e bikes are the most sold bike in Denmark. The stats also do not differentiate from e bikes and e scooters. You can hire e scooters in every big town in Denmark. A favourite transport to use to get home from a night out. I would not try to ride one sober, never mind after a few beers.

How would registering them make any difference?

 

[Drago]

348 million is a lot of people. Probably more major highways and high speeds than the UK. I've driven a local highway at 80 mph and been passed by faster drivers. Mix e-bikes with them and it amounts to a problem. Even our local roads in town are fast. Nobody obeys speed laws, here, and the cops don't bother with speeders for the most part.

No matter which angle you view the figures from, the motor vehicle death rate disproportionately exceeds that ofnthe UK.

That is what is killing people.

Only in the US could they fiddle with an ingrowing toenail while ignoring the cancer.

 

[nellietheelephant]

If we had a lot more cops, a lot more action would be taken.

If only you could Make America Great Again.

The 'e-bikes' you describe are known as electric motor bikes in the UK, and are subject to the same laws as (petrol/2 stroke) motor bikes; number plate displayed, driving license and insurance required.

 

[cyberknight]

Thats a fair point. The sheetbags who ignore the current law are unlikely to suddenly go straight and start obeying new ones.

The death rate among motorists on Floridas roads is nearly double that of the entire UK, which has three times of population of Florida, and you'd like to think their legislators would be keen to start on reducing that butchers bill first.

Reminds me of a video I saw of an American who settled in the UK and wanted a UK license and was told by the instructor she wouldn't have a chance of passing with the standard that was acceptable for a USA license.

 

[markemark]

On the other hand, in the wrong hands, these e-bikes could be dangerous if people use them recklessly. I can see why the US might want them to be registered so only those with licenses can use them and have them taken away. I would feel much safer knowing that these controls were in place when they used their bikes to pop into a local shop and buy a machine gun. Safety first.