Without sounding too negative, this is a normal causalityÂ
thebigbioss on
I was going to ask why they focussed primarily on pensioners, when it was already a story that the number of incidents increased but then saw it was the telegraph.
swordoftruth1963 on
Most of the ebikes riders in my town are pensioners
PomeloTraditional971 on
As per the highway code there is a hierarchy of vulnerableness, so ultimately bike riders need to be prepared to stop, I want to make that clear. However, some of the behaviour from pedestrians when it comes to dual footpaths/bicycle lanes is reckless. Uncontrolled Dogs and Children, and a lack of awareness where they just step out onto the bicycle path. So there is definitely not just fault on the riders.
Riding e bikes at speed on single use footpaths is just selfish and illegal though.
bars_and_plates on
Around me e-bikes and scooters have gotten way way worse in the last 5ish years. Going the wrong way up one way roads, turning into side streets and going onto the pavement at lights in front of pedestrians etc.
It’s usually delivery drivers but occasionally it’ll be the odd puffer jacket balaclava scrote. There is one guy who wears a BMX helmet and has a massive e scooter that goes 50mph (thankfully on the road), no idea how he hasn’t been pulled yet, in town it’s basically a faster moped with no plates or insurance running red lights.
It’s worse with e-bikes and scooters than normal bikes because the way that the acceleration kicks in on them you get unpredictable behaviours, I’ve had idiots try to dodge me and end up going on the throttle and going straight in to me.
To me the solution is just more bobbies on the beat style stuff, if you ride on the pavement and there’s no reasonable mitigating circumstance (like say you’re teaching your 5 year old kid how to ride a bike) you should just get a 50-100 quid FPN on the spot, if it’s in a crowd double it.
I have never seen anyone get a ticket for riding a bike dangerously outside of that one bit in the City of London where they set up a sting at the lights a few times.
Quillspiracy18 on
Pensioners‽ This is an outrage! Starmer must ban all bikes and all Es at once!
Overseerer-Vault-101 on
Laws are already in place, they just need to be enforced. Best way to do that is drone officers linked with local cctv operators. No point chasing them on the street, just follow them from above and arrest them later. Seize and destroy the illegal ones.
Mobile-Stomach719 on
Is this another article conflating all e-bikes under one banner? How many of these incidents involve pedal assist bikes and how many involved those that are basically motorcycles with bicycle parts?
PolarLocalCallingSvc on
The article confuses something significant here as it talks about “illegal e-bikes”.
An illegal e-bike in this context is actually a moped, scooter, or motorcycle depending on a couple of things like engine size/power output and max speed.
It may sound pedantic but it’s actually very important in solving the root problem. If you don’t split the data between actual e-bikes and motorbikes (which I’m using for all 3 categories above), then you don’t know what the root cause is. Because if actually the legal e-bikes casualty rate is a small fraction of the total including ‘illegal e-bikes’, then the problem is enforcement of the ‘illegal e-bikes’. Loads of shops in the UK sell what they call ‘e-bikes’ but they’re not legally EAPCs, and they’re effectively selling motor vehicles which can only be used on private land (specifically private land which are not ‘public places’ for the purposes of the Road Traffic Act, which rules out a lot of land), cannot be taxed, will not pass an MOT, and can’t be insured for riding on roads, cycle lanes, bridleways, or in public places. That we allow them to be sold practically endorses their use because barely anybody is buying these to use on their own private, closed-to-the-public field.
If however the problem is hire e-bikes, then the companies operating them should be involved in discussions on improving rider safety and rider behaviour.
If the problem is people on legal e-bikes they’ve spent a grand on from Halfords, which I suspect is unlikely, then the legislation on e-bikes, infrastructure, etc needs looking at.
Until we stop describing these as ‘illegal e-bikes’ and instead refer to them as unlicensed, untested, uninsured motorbikes ridden without a driving licence, the problem will never be solved.
Early_Alternative211 on
It’s pretty simple. Compare the stopped distance of a car and an ebike from 30mph.
Now compare the training required before using each.
Ebikes have a longer stopping distance and operated by people with lower levels of training and education.
Gone_4_Tea on
Try being visually impaired. Electric cars are scary too.
But really, get off the fucking pavements all cyclists and scooters
Cielo11 on
My aunt was a high level Polis.
I remember 10 years ago she was laughing about the crime with the biggest increase in incidents was involving Mobility Scooters. People being hit, run over, damaging others property, losing control, riding on roads they shouldn’t be.
I’m pretty sure it’s mostly Pensioners using Mobility scooters… Don’t remember the Telegraph having an anti-Mobility scooter campaign.
If you give people anything like cars, scooters, mobility scooters etc etc accidents will happen. Some people will be dicks, sometimes mistakes happen, sometimes genuine accidents. Shit happened sadly.
This story is just about Torygraph doing its usual ragebaiting. Focusing on e scooters and the victims being pensioners and infants… Because they know it clicks with their older readership.
west0ne on
It doesn’t really distinguish between e-bikes and illegally modified/used e-bikes (motorbikes). With that said, walking around London and seeing the way some people use the legal rental e-bikes it’s hardly surprising that more pedestrians are being injured, some people have no clue at all.
Popular-Jury7272 on
I know I’m pissing into the wind here but almost all these injuries are caused by illegal electric motorbikes, not ebikes. A legal ebike doesn’t go any faster than a person of middling fitness could pedal it and isn’t going to cause injuries at a higher rate. Yes they’re heavier but compared to the weight of the rider that difference is negligible.
Billy_Rizzle on
I ride an e-bike and one of the most concerning things I keep seeing is pedestrians walking into the road without looking first. I don’t want to become or accidentally cause someone else to become one of these statistics.
Reformotron on
My 10kg dog got mowed down by a teenage ebike rider that was clearly going faster than the limit for electric motors!
Positive_Passion4817 on
Not at all surprised, I have had to jump out of the way at least 3 times and you can’t hear them until they are right on you. They have to be treated like mopeds meaning plates, insurance, MOT, CBT, provisional and strictly road only. Police need to be stopping every one they see as half of them are drug runners and immediately confiscate any riding on the pavement.
17 commenti
Without sounding too negative, this is a normal causalityÂ
I was going to ask why they focussed primarily on pensioners, when it was already a story that the number of incidents increased but then saw it was the telegraph.
Most of the ebikes riders in my town are pensioners
As per the highway code there is a hierarchy of vulnerableness, so ultimately bike riders need to be prepared to stop, I want to make that clear. However, some of the behaviour from pedestrians when it comes to dual footpaths/bicycle lanes is reckless. Uncontrolled Dogs and Children, and a lack of awareness where they just step out onto the bicycle path. So there is definitely not just fault on the riders.
Riding e bikes at speed on single use footpaths is just selfish and illegal though.
Around me e-bikes and scooters have gotten way way worse in the last 5ish years. Going the wrong way up one way roads, turning into side streets and going onto the pavement at lights in front of pedestrians etc.
It’s usually delivery drivers but occasionally it’ll be the odd puffer jacket balaclava scrote. There is one guy who wears a BMX helmet and has a massive e scooter that goes 50mph (thankfully on the road), no idea how he hasn’t been pulled yet, in town it’s basically a faster moped with no plates or insurance running red lights.
It’s worse with e-bikes and scooters than normal bikes because the way that the acceleration kicks in on them you get unpredictable behaviours, I’ve had idiots try to dodge me and end up going on the throttle and going straight in to me.
To me the solution is just more bobbies on the beat style stuff, if you ride on the pavement and there’s no reasonable mitigating circumstance (like say you’re teaching your 5 year old kid how to ride a bike) you should just get a 50-100 quid FPN on the spot, if it’s in a crowd double it.
I have never seen anyone get a ticket for riding a bike dangerously outside of that one bit in the City of London where they set up a sting at the lights a few times.
Pensioners‽ This is an outrage! Starmer must ban all bikes and all Es at once!
Laws are already in place, they just need to be enforced. Best way to do that is drone officers linked with local cctv operators. No point chasing them on the street, just follow them from above and arrest them later. Seize and destroy the illegal ones.
Is this another article conflating all e-bikes under one banner? How many of these incidents involve pedal assist bikes and how many involved those that are basically motorcycles with bicycle parts?
The article confuses something significant here as it talks about “illegal e-bikes”.
An illegal e-bike in this context is actually a moped, scooter, or motorcycle depending on a couple of things like engine size/power output and max speed.
It may sound pedantic but it’s actually very important in solving the root problem. If you don’t split the data between actual e-bikes and motorbikes (which I’m using for all 3 categories above), then you don’t know what the root cause is. Because if actually the legal e-bikes casualty rate is a small fraction of the total including ‘illegal e-bikes’, then the problem is enforcement of the ‘illegal e-bikes’. Loads of shops in the UK sell what they call ‘e-bikes’ but they’re not legally EAPCs, and they’re effectively selling motor vehicles which can only be used on private land (specifically private land which are not ‘public places’ for the purposes of the Road Traffic Act, which rules out a lot of land), cannot be taxed, will not pass an MOT, and can’t be insured for riding on roads, cycle lanes, bridleways, or in public places. That we allow them to be sold practically endorses their use because barely anybody is buying these to use on their own private, closed-to-the-public field.
If however the problem is hire e-bikes, then the companies operating them should be involved in discussions on improving rider safety and rider behaviour.
If the problem is people on legal e-bikes they’ve spent a grand on from Halfords, which I suspect is unlikely, then the legislation on e-bikes, infrastructure, etc needs looking at.
Until we stop describing these as ‘illegal e-bikes’ and instead refer to them as unlicensed, untested, uninsured motorbikes ridden without a driving licence, the problem will never be solved.
It’s pretty simple. Compare the stopped distance of a car and an ebike from 30mph.
Now compare the training required before using each.
Ebikes have a longer stopping distance and operated by people with lower levels of training and education.
Try being visually impaired. Electric cars are scary too.
But really, get off the fucking pavements all cyclists and scooters
My aunt was a high level Polis.
I remember 10 years ago she was laughing about the crime with the biggest increase in incidents was involving Mobility Scooters. People being hit, run over, damaging others property, losing control, riding on roads they shouldn’t be.
I’m pretty sure it’s mostly Pensioners using Mobility scooters… Don’t remember the Telegraph having an anti-Mobility scooter campaign.
If you give people anything like cars, scooters, mobility scooters etc etc accidents will happen. Some people will be dicks, sometimes mistakes happen, sometimes genuine accidents. Shit happened sadly.
This story is just about Torygraph doing its usual ragebaiting. Focusing on e scooters and the victims being pensioners and infants… Because they know it clicks with their older readership.
It doesn’t really distinguish between e-bikes and illegally modified/used e-bikes (motorbikes). With that said, walking around London and seeing the way some people use the legal rental e-bikes it’s hardly surprising that more pedestrians are being injured, some people have no clue at all.
I know I’m pissing into the wind here but almost all these injuries are caused by illegal electric motorbikes, not ebikes. A legal ebike doesn’t go any faster than a person of middling fitness could pedal it and isn’t going to cause injuries at a higher rate. Yes they’re heavier but compared to the weight of the rider that difference is negligible.
I ride an e-bike and one of the most concerning things I keep seeing is pedestrians walking into the road without looking first. I don’t want to become or accidentally cause someone else to become one of these statistics.
My 10kg dog got mowed down by a teenage ebike rider that was clearly going faster than the limit for electric motors!
Not at all surprised, I have had to jump out of the way at least 3 times and you can’t hear them until they are right on you. They have to be treated like mopeds meaning plates, insurance, MOT, CBT, provisional and strictly road only. Police need to be stopping every one they see as half of them are drug runners and immediately confiscate any riding on the pavement.