Regulate Jerks not E bikes

Posted by Any-Foundation5983@reddit | ebikes | View on Reddit | 134 comments

I've been so frustrated with the discussion on regulating e-bikes/ e-motos because there's something I haven't seen addressed much. No matter what e bike regs you put in place, the same jerks who are zipping by at 35mph on the bike path are just going to break the law and do it anyway, e-moto or no. I really got thinking about this when I saw this guy and presumably his son riding dirt bikes on the bike path in broad daylight. I saw mopeds and small motorcycles on the bike path back home as well. The problem isn't throttles, or being capable of going 30mph, or anything to do with the bikes themselves. You don't need to tell an e-bike from an e-moto to know it's wrong to blow by someone too close going super fast. Or that you should not be going more than 15-20 mph AT ABSOLUTE MOST through shared spaces with bikes and pedestrians. Honestly we could probably get more safe spaces for bikes and other non car transport if spaces were built to include things like mopeds, light motorcycles and golf carts as well. More users, more dollars and vested interest to enforce things like speeding, recklessness operation, etc. You could even restrict the noise level or weight class on particular trail ways based on things like its location and width. I think it'd be easy if you just had the funding and political will to enforce it. It's hard to get that enforcement with the narrow base of just bike and e bike users. If we opened the types of vehicles we're allowing in these spaces instead of restricting it, we could widen the user base and actually police people who're being reckless and dangerous. Let's not alienate responsible people who want to get away from cars but need the ability to keep up with them in some cases. OK rant over.