E-bikes under fire as fatalities climb in NYC

[ActionJackson]

If a detail of police such as the mounted police were on eBikes they would be in the mix and flow at street level.

Honolulu Police has been doing this for over 25 years now that I know of. I’m pretty sure they’re electric by now too. They mostly patrol in the Waikiki tourist area, not specific to bikers, but effective for general law enforcement. They’d chase the hookers off the street in front of our condo building. On the other hand I got flagged for a ticket in my car by one as well. But Hawaii has a biking culture, beautiful climate, and quite a few younger ppl interested in law enforcement. Police Department leadership is crooked as anywhere though - at least 2 of the Police Chiefs sent to prison that I can recall.

NYC could do it too.

 

[Dave Rocks]

Has there ever been a Police EBike EBiker EBike chase? Does the Police EBiker do the pit maneuver?

That should be in a movie.

 

[PedalUma]

Has there ever been a Police EBike EBiker EBike chase? Does the Police EBiker do the pit maneuver?

That should be in a movie.

It is easy to imagine a heist with the getaway being eBikes. The stunt thieves could easily disperse and blend during rush hour. So who could catch them?

 

[Dallant]

It is easy to imagine a heist with the getaway being eBikes. The stunt thieves could easily disperse and blend during rush hour. So who could catch them?

Depends on if they could get a clean shot off.

 

[Ebiker01]

This click bait post....at least change the title , this is EBR , not some sinking newspaper. And now is just full of negativity, political diatribes and casualties counter...
Not sure why anyone would continue feeding this post , democracy yes , but a common sense measuring ruler first.

The only "positive" i see is that non Us folks get to read and have a sense of the very aggressive and dangerous nature of being on a bike, ebike, or scooter. But they should now that by now from all the "movies".

 

[ActionJackson]

This click bait post....at least change the title , this is EBR , not some sinking newspaper. And now is just full of negativity, political diatribes and casualties counter...
Not sure why anyone would continue feeding this post , democracy yes , but a common sense measuring ruler first.

The only "positive" i see is that non Us folks get to read and have a sense of the very aggressive and dangerous nature of being on a bike, ebike, or scooter. But they should now that by now from all the "movies".

I dunno about others but honestly it’s a topic bound to wander in and out as well as bring in politics and other not so relevant matters. It closely resembles what happens in a friendly community meeting. If it were simply a business meeting I’d think otherwise, but I’ve come here for the community, even if all of its hairy parts are exposed.

 

[Manu]

Google "stealth ebike" y luego echa un vistazo a las otras personas de bricolaje que ponen 35 mph más motores en bicicletas Walfart de $ 250. Me alegro de estar satisfecho con un máximo de 15-20 MPH. The Shite golpeará el ventilador. Registros que vienen en todos nuestros patios traseros. OSHA nunca hubiera sobrevivido sin las malas decisiones que tomaron los trabajadores y empleadores.

tiene pedales ...


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the moto...in Europe this is moto,no pedelec ....more 25km/h motor more 250W....

 

[Dallant]

Bike speed record is 167 mph set in 1995. Pulled behind a dragster, of course.

 

[PedalUma]

Depends on if they could get a clean shot off.

I was hoping someone else would mention that neither police nor bystanders can just shoot someone they suspect of a property crime in the back of the head when they are running away! Have we learned anything in the last 18-months? One person took it upon herself to be helpfully deputize herself as judge, juror, and executioner of the death penalty and pull a gun and start shooting at people she thought might have been shoplifters of a Home Depot store as they were driving away from her.

Woman Who Shot at Home Depot Shoplifters Sentenced to 18 mos

"I learned my lesson that I will never help anybody again"

time.com

 

[Dallant]

I was hoping someone else would mention that neither police nor bystanders can just shoot someone they suspect of a property crime in the back of the head when they are running away! Have we learned anything in the last 18-months? One person took it upon herself to be helpfully deputize herself as judge, juror, and executioner of the death penalty and pull a gun and start shooting at people she thought might have been shoplifters of a Home Depot store as they were driving away from her.

Woman Who Shot at Home Depot Shoplifters Sentenced to 18 mos

"I learned my lesson that I will never help anybody again"

time.com

Only if you miss the back tire.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Thank you for all the interesting brought up in this thread. I have been reading every comment.

As E-bikes grow in popularity, things can get out of control. As it is, the state of biking infrastructure in US cities is a far cry compared to countries like the Netherlands. Compounded by the presence of unregulated E-scooters and E-bikes, it can lead to catastrophic accidents. It is something that should be on everyone's mind. We sometimes think we are invincible and fatal accidents don't happen to us but it could be anyone.

Just two days ago, the wife of Tesla's co-founder J.B Straubel, Boryana Straubel was killed in a bike accident. She was just 38 and had two young kids!

"NHP officials said that a 2015 Ford Edge was heading south on U.S. 395A north and crossed the center lane before hitting the bicyclist heading north in a designated bike lane just north of Eastlake Boulevard near Franktown Road. The crash took place around 7:44 a.m., and the bicyclist, Boryana Straubel, 38, of Washoe Valley, died at the scene."


It is a devastating blow to JB, who was the mastermind behind the Tesla Supercharger network and the Giga Factory. The pain inflicted by one careless driver will change JB's life forever.

Duo Arrested in Connection With Crash That Killed Bicyclist in Washoe Valley

The investigation will be submitted to the Washoe County District Attorney's Office for review.

www.ktvn.com

 

[ActionJackson]

"NHP officials said that a 2015 Ford Edge was heading south on U.S. 395A north and crossed the center lane before hitting the bicyclist heading north in a designated bike lane just north of Eastlake Boulevard near Franktown Road. The crash took place around 7:44 a.m., and the bicyclist, Boryana Straubel, 38, of Washoe Valley, died at the scene."

Duo Arrested in Connection With Crash That Killed Bicyclist in Washoe Valley

The investigation will be submitted to the Washoe County District Attorney's Office for review.

www.ktvn.com

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View attachment 90988

Actually looking over the situation described in the news report and Google maps there is nothing specific to cycling or E-Bikes. It says she was in a “designated bike lane” but that whole stretch of road has none that are marked - perhaps Nevada just designates the gravel shoulder to be a bike lane. Sure the driver appears to be at fault, but the other vehicle he collided into could’ve been a busload of children, a tractor- ltrailer, car, or a motorcycle as well. Actually I don’t think her bike was an E bike either because it doesn’t look to have a motor hub or crankset. Regardless if you look at the road conditions people should think twice before riding a bike on it. It’s her right to be in the bike lane on that road, but that doesn’t mean it’s common sense. Perhaps she wasn’t a long-term open country resident so she didn’t know what really goes on along those stretches. Especially with the speeds today. Sh*t happens ya know?

 

[kmccune]

Only if you miss the back tire.

That has to be the "Wet Dream" of some concealed carry holders, using their "equalizer" to save the day, thus proving the infallibility of their interpretation of the 2nd Amendment" Here in the "Grand-Old Dominion" legislation was passed to allow "concealed carry" in bars.
If wounding or killing other Human Beings whom she has perceived as breaking the law is the only way she can help, then she needs not try to help out.
In these parts for a small rural( fairly large land wise) county, we have 17 paid deputies with full benefits, etc,as far as I know, the real vital services "firefighters , paramedics, helpers for the infirm are all volunteer services.
I would almost wager that if a volunteer Police service was founded you would have plenty of applicants.
I am not sure if the Deputies will even do a "lockout" service these days( plenty of speeding tickets and other minor infractions handed out though) I am not an "anarchist" on the other hand sometimes it seems some of these laws are a bit much.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

I ride on roads with shoulders like that (US 395 Alt) all the time and I'd consider it a relatively safe road, especially in the area of the intersection where the accident appeared to happen. The shoulders are reasonably wide and there are good sight lines. Also, the speed limit appears to be 45mph, as much as that is relevant.

My guess from the contradictory and confusing location description and the pictured vehicle damage is that the car and driver made a left turn into the cyclist.

 

[ActionJackson]

My guess from the contradictory and confusing location description and the pictured vehicle damage is that the car and driver made a left turn into the cyclist.

I’d agree with that. If he was headed south in the morning he would have a mid rising sun in his eyes too. The bike doesn’t look like it was meant for visibility either. I still wouldn’t drive on those roads though - in areas like that people do 50mph in their driveway!

 

[EMGX]

The bike doesn’t look like it was meant for visibility either.

I thought the same thing. I have 5 bikes that are black, three of them are matte black. That is the color that the bikes I wanted came in, not a color specifically chosen by me. Motorcyclists and bicyclists often wear dark clothing and helmets that limit their visibility to motorists. When driving my car/truck I'm impressed by how much riders wearing high visibility yellow stand out even in lower light situations. Not sure how much difference it makes but given the choice of the same bike with a high visibility color vs a matte black/dark color one, I would choose the high viz.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

My own personal opinion about how we solve problems like this and make roads safer for humans is that we need to change liability rules.

Like some European countries, I'd like to see a situation where motorists who hit cyclists are automatically considered at fault unless they can prove gross negligence by the cyclist. And also motorists who hit cyclists automatically lose their drivers license, again unless they can prove gross negligence by the cyclist.

Driving on that highway shoulder, no matter the color of the bike, was not grossly negligent. And what is with all of the victim blaming here?

Back to the accident: that driver had to hit the left turn at 40+mph to do that much damage to his SUV. Compare the damage to the F150 in the recent cyclist mass murder in Show Low and the Edge.

Crybaby right-wingers complain about the "war on cars". It is a funny war when the casualties are all on one side. If it really becomes a war I'll be carrying a grenade launcher.

 

[EMGX]

Calm down. I don't see anyone "victim blaming", just making a general observation about rider visibility and rider safety. Not that it would have made any difference in this sad case. Accidents happen, would you support license revocation for anyone involved in a multi vehicle accident unless the other party was proven to be grossly negligent? How about bicyclists who hit pedestrians or otherwise cause an accident unless the pedestrian or other party was proven to have been "grossly negligent", what would you take away from them? Your comment about the grenade launcher is juvenile and stupid.

 

[ActionJackson]

I have 5 bikes that are black, three of them are matte black.

I don’t know what’s up with matte black but my neighbor just had his new Benz wrapped in it. And a few months back I saw an older classic Bentley (when they were squarish) wrapped in a really nice antifreeze yellowish green metallic - that thing just oozed hip to me. You could see it for a few kilometers to probably.

 

[EMGX]

I don’t know what’s up with matte black but my neighbor just had his new Benz wrapped in it. And a few months back I saw an older classic Bentley (when they were squarish) wrapped in a really nice antifreeze yellowish green metallic - that thing just oozed hip to me. You could see it for a few kilometers to probably.

My son no longer rides motorcycles but when he did he wore a flat black helmet and no high viz clothing. A popular look. I'm not so particular about how I look and chose white and high viz yellow helmet and clothing. I don't ride a motorcycle anymore (much), it is just too inherently unsafe no matter what the colors.