The 'New York Times' attacks e-bikes while ignoring the real danger all around us
The 'New York Times' attacks e-bikes while ignoring the real danger all around us
Recent articles in the 'New York Times' about e-bike safety have been largely absent of analysis on the things killing e-bike riders: cars.
The New York Times published a pair of articles this weekend highlighting the rising number of deaths of cyclists riding electric bikes. However, in one of the most impressive feats of victim-blaming I’ve seen from the publication in some time, the NYT lays the onus on e-bikes instead of on the things killing their law abiding riders: cars.
When I’m driving, and a cyclist is “in my way”, I don’t blame the cyclist. I blame the shitty infrastructure. I’d love to ride a bike more often, but the roads and laws are just too hostile.
So you don't live in NYC where cyclists ignore red lights, cross walks, stop signs, etc...and just expect you to jump out of their way.
I live in NY. As a pedestrian, cars are way more annoying than bicycles.
that doesn't show why ebikes are bad, it just shows the rider is bad
Man's gotta avoid getting run over somehow.
Just another perspective here.
Yes, it's cars, and yes, it's infrastructure. However.....
E-bikes have been causing a spike in cyclist crashes, even in places that is considered the safest place to cycle: The Netherlands.
The problem with e-bikes is that they are more like motorcycles and less like bikes, so you get a huge number of people under 25 and people over 55 crashing these things left and right.
This article from The Verge is worth the read to get a better idea of what's going on.
I'd say two bikes crashing would be a hell of a lot better than a car crashing with a bike. No need to demonize the better option.
80 yo or 14 yo on ebikes are menaces. One because they don't have the reaction time and coordination to handle the speed. One because they don't have a shred of situational awareness or respect for the rules of the road.
It's honestly scary to share a bike path with both.
The problem isn't 14 or 80 year olds. The problem is pretending motorbikes are bicycles because they have accessory pedals.
A bicycle as a class of vehicle moves at about 25km/h on average, doesn't accelerate very fast and is a bit slower after hills or corners. An ebike is a bicycle that you pedal a bit less, not a vehicle that moves at at least 32km/h any time it is moving.
250W 25km/h limits are about the highest you want for the default vehicle type. And a real 250W max, not the corrupted testing process currently used for euro standards designed to test a lower bound.
New day same bullshit
I feel like the NYTimes is everyone's well meaning out-of-touch neoliberal poly sci professor dad.
Like... they usually get to the right answer, but they're always 3 - 10 years behind.
Well, they come to the neoliberal answer at any rate. NYT still asserts that privacy and encryption should be sacrificed so the nice law enforcement can take care of us.
yeesh. i had seen the first one but not the second. i love the heck out of my e-bike.
Not going to read the article so in response to the comment, electric bicycles put people in a strange place in terms of safety. You've got the speeds of a motorcycle without the ability to flow with traffic. In the presence of high density traffic I'd say an e-bike is more dangerous than a motorcycle.
I've been a motorcyclist most of my life and I can say you have to be super vigilant about situational awareness and ready to evade at all times. People driving in cars are not programmed to notice motorcycles. They're always looking for cars and sometimes don't register other hazards. It shouldn't be that way, but nothing is going to change that as long as human beings are driving.
My recommendation to anyone who wants to use an e-bike for regular transportation is just go to a motorcycle, it's going to be much safer in traffic. There's some really nice electric motorcycles now. For e-bike users you have to be extra careful. Drivers don't see bicyclists anyway and you're going a lot faster most of the time. A head injury at 10 mph can be fatal.
Speeds of a motorcycle?? Most ebikes top out at 28mph. You can go that fast on a normal road bike if you're in shape too.
@rm_dash_r_star @bumble you're so close to getting the point, it's a bit painful.
Just getting a motorcycle doesn’t work in NYC. There’s no place to keep that many motorcycles.
Getting a motorcycle license, or taking a rider safety course might help, but changing the e-bike and traffic laws to make room for them (and reduce room for cars) is what’s going to save most lives.
For context I bicycle commuted in Boston for 18 years, motorcycled in the country for a bit, and restore classic cars for a semi-living now. I watched smartphones make it riskier and riskier to ride in traffic, then saw the pandemic magnify the issue, and largely avoid doing it at this point.
You're so close, bud.
Most ebikes have a top speed of 20mph and weigh less than a motorcycle (and MUCH LESS than a car,) so your first paragraph is BS.
2nd paragraph - right on. It's almost like cars are big heavy death machines that are dangerous, even FATAL, at high speeds.
Motorcycles cost more, are heavier, and move much faster than ebikes. They're absolutely more dangerous than an ebike.
Give ebikes their own infrastructure and do urban planning that reduces the speed and danger levels of large, fast-moving vehicles.
I don't think it's e-bikes, it's just cyclists vs traffic in general. And I say that as a cyclist and occasional e-bike user in NYC. 30-second example of what is causing crashes:
https://youtube.com/shorts/mrBXpw9iqDU?feature=share.A video of some dipshit hooligans proves nothing.
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If you lived in NYC you’d understand the danger these things present. They’re silent, they zip left and right around traffic, go the wrong way down one way streets and run red lights. They need to ban the fuck outta them if they can’t reel them in, in terms of safety enforcement
@ME5SENGER_24 @bumble these behaviours in themselves don't cause injuries...are you sure you're not thinking about some other thing that is dangerous? Perhaps something that causes so much carnage that one way streets and red lights had to be invented?
You just described bicycles. Bicycles do those things.
I'm not going to go all in and blame cars either. The problem is infrastructure. Change will come when enough people riding bikes vote. It's like how smoking bans were a referendum on whether you smoke. Bike infrastructure is a referendum on whether you ride a bike.
The headline is a bit sensational but the main point of the article is it's absurd to blame the bike/biker and that the main issue is the infrastructure. The last section is all about how safe infrastructure is better for everyone, drivers included.
I'd say it's not just bikers who need to vote. We should all want better infrastructure that saves lives.
@cantstopthesignal @bumble does that work for people walking? If enough people walk in New York then they'll get walking infrastructure? Or does it only work for car drivers?
A city is considered to have banned cars if there are any areas anywhere that pedestrians can walk without having to be hyper-vigilant against them, or if cars have less than 90% of public space dedicated to them.