E-Bike Fatalities On The Rise In Israel

[FlatSix911]

It's a shame but I've basically stopped riding my bike even though living in Florida it was a great place to ride. Regardless of how careful one is when you are on a non-protected bike lane or have to cross an intersection you're at the mercy of cars and I've had two close calls where the car driver was pecking away at their phone and totally oblivious to any traffic smaller than an suva (just saw a Harley rear-ended yesterday by someone who was on her phone). Besides phone use modern cars use touch screens which require drivers to take their eyes off the road and as more and more cars have "safety features" which drivers start to count on and which may not work well when it comes to bikers (apparently the Uber fatality in Arizona involved the attendant watching an episode of "The Voice". The town where I live has a large number of great protected lanes, such as the Venice Legacy Trail where riding is safe and fun, but as long as I fear for my life in getting to them I'll get my exercise in a gym. It's a shame but I don't care who is at fault, if I hit a car on my bike I may ding the car, but if a car hits me I'm toast.

Sad to hear that you have stopped riding due to the risk of distracted drivers in your area... I understand as I used to visit Florida regularly.

Unfortunately, there is also an increased risk of CV- 19 now in going to the gym. Have you considered riding off-road on local trails or paths?

 

[tomjasz]

I've always played is loose and free with helmets until a new drug to treat neuropathy made me dizzy and unable to dismount without falling. 5 falls one a real headbanger and guess who now ALWAYS wears a helmet. It'd be interesting to split off head injury stats!

 

[Solom01]

No, I still ride but I have to take my bike by car 1.8 miles so that I can avoid city streets, even though they have painted "bike lanes". It's a shame and ever since covid the police seem to have stopped enforcing speed limits so people are doing 50-60 mph on streets with a 30 mph limit. Guess they don't realize they're much more likely to die from a car crash than covid.

 

[harryS]

A while back, I read that Israel's ebike problem, was a rash of crazy kids buzzing up and down sidewalks on scooters, hitting pedestrians.

I don't see that issue here. Lately though, there are little kids in my neighborhood buzzing around on toy ebikes. They're not dangerous, but us adults have to watch for them. I first saw one a month ago. Now there's a half dozen 6-9 year olds riding them. Still, I have the only ebikes in the area.