So so sorry for friends and families. L.A. Times reports Molly, the 12-year-old who died, was sitting on padded rear seat meant for a passenger. The 11-year-old (!) driver was injured. Too much motor bike for these kids IMHO on a steep, curvy quiet suburban lane. Story has link to Rad Bikes owner’s manual stating that bike is for people aged 18 and over. Again, I believe this is way too much motor bike for too little kids. Parents beware.
QR skewer & disk brakes claimed as a contributing factor in fatal accident involving a RadRunner
- Thread starter Dewey
- Start date
totally agree on both counts. Our tort system is a mess. Our courts are politicized, and a haven for pseudoscience in the form of "expert" witnessess that will take any position leading to a paycheck.
OTOH, we do have a bit of history showing how companies, in the pursuit of profits, kept harmful products on the marketplace while concealing their harms. Tobacco companies, for example...
In a past life I was part of a team that provided litigation support for our product liability attorneys (not bike related).
Over the years as products improved, cases went from "wish the product didn't do that" to "wow, another stupid human trick".
Without more details, this looks more like not a product defect issue. I'm sure "State of the art" will come into play if there are no consensus standards that cover the component.
For some fun reading, Google "Judicial Hell hole".
Over the years as products improved, cases went from "wish the product didn't do that" to "wow, another stupid human trick".
Without more details, this looks more like not a product defect issue. I'm sure "State of the art" will come into play if there are no consensus standards that cover the component.
For some fun reading, Google "Judicial Hell hole".
Dewey
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Arlington, Virginia
Cargo Bike rider Megan Ramey wrote a blog post 2 weeks ago about the increase in children riding ebikes https://bikeportland.org/2022/07/25/dawn-of-the-throttle-kids-360265
Among the proposals is ebike rider classes in High Schools funded through Safe Routes to Schools grants.
Among the proposals is ebike rider classes in High Schools funded through Safe Routes to Schools grants.
Tars Tarkas
Well-Known Member
Not a bad idea at all, but a little too much like offering beginners sex-ed classes at the grad school. The kids in this situation would have been in about 6th, maybe 7th or maybe 5th grade. If this was coupled with a prohibition that kids under 18 couldn't ride an e-bike with out a certificate of graduation from such a program it might work. Otherwise, and really, even still, it would probably come across as a class for nerds.
TT
Comfortably Numb
Well-Known Member
It’s 16 or 18 here. I don’t know if it’s enforced or not.
The other day I saw a mom and dad riding with a son that was about 10 years old. All three were on e-bikes. I resisted the urge to ask them if they knew there was a law regarding age. CN
Comfortably Numb
Well-Known Member
It would have to be enforced to hold any water at all. The Popo here can’t keep up with the gang shootings and moron drivers.
As far as education goes. By 10 years old we were all riding dirtbikes WFO. I didn’t need no edumacation! CN
metalcircles
New Member
- Region
- USA
I've been riding bicycles my whole life and never have I had a front wheel jump out of the fork on a disc brake bike. Who's to say these kids didn't remove the front wheel to put air in the tire and then forgot to re-attach it tightly? Also, what kid has enough strength to brake so hard as to make a wheel jump out of a tightly fastened fork? I'm sorry these kids died but I bet it was operator error IMO.
Sounds like just another case of user screwing up and not taking personal responsibility.
metalcircles
New Member
- Region
- USA
RPB states riders must be 16 years or older to operate. No lawsuit.
