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0 pointsehnto3y ago0 comments

It's going to be significantly less tire dust, they weigh a 100th the weight.

Ebikes won't be mainstream in a typical American city though, the distances between home, goods and services and work are usually too great and cars are basically baked into the culture. Better mass transit and bikes for those living in denser cities, is likely America's only good option.

I don't think e-bikes are unsafe though, their lack of safety is dominantly because of cars, and infrastructure not being set up for cycling.

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rmbyrro3y ago· 3 in thread

If you use an ebike, wait until you go down by yourself and tell me what you think again. No cars needed. On a cyclist lane. Just you and your bike. If you use it for everyday commute, it's a matter of time. When it happens, it will be no fun.

ehntoOP3y ago

I have been in one commuting accident, plenty of non-commuting accidents though (mountain biking etc.), but you can also fall down stairs while walking or slip up in the rain. We can't be shrinkwrapped everywhere we go. I just picked up my bike, said bummer that hurt, and kept going.

Compare that painful inconvenience to a car accident and it's just silly to call an e-bike dangerous.

I have been in 4 car accidents, and am lucky to be here. You step out from a totalled car, and see the carnage, distress and mess that everyone is now subject to. Traffic has to be redirected, cops show up to take down details of those still alive, EMTs try to find the ways you've been contorted, firemen have to disable the vehicle and clear any fuel and fire risk, the tow trucks scrape the husks of twisted metal off the street so people can use the road again. It's a whole ordeal, and regularly fatal.

Although there are exceptions, usually bike accidents are only fatal when a car was involved. Cars are not safe and never have been, we just accept the risk for the convenience.

otterley3y ago

I just fell a few weeks ago. Some ripped jeans and road rash but I'm ok. No doctor visit required. Low-speed accidents are far less injurious than the sort of high-speed ones you can get into with automobiles, and by far less fatal.

According to WSDOT, there were 2 bicycle-related fatalities in Washington state in all of 2023, vs. 218 automobile-related fatalities. So a 100x difference. The data is there if you care to look for it.

rmbyrro3y ago

If you care, you'd extrapolate the 2 fatalities to how many would be if bikes were adopted in mass as a means of transport in the Washington state (comparably to cars).

The number of bike trips will not increase by 100x only, certainly by orders of magnitude more than that.

Now multiply the 2 fatalities considering 10K, 100K or even more bike trips.

Ebikes can reach and sustain higher velocities much more easily than normal bikes as well. If they were to be adopted in mass, I'd expect crash severity to worsen in general and fatality rates/trip to go up.

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