Quote:
Originally Posted by Deschodt
I didn't wanna say it, but pretty much all the arguments used by the OP against E-bikes from a bike perspective could be used.... by car drivers vs bikes (regular or electric).
And I mean that in the nicest possible tongue in cheek way, not to pick a fight with cyclists. It's basically the exact same issue, just transposed on bike trails, of dissimilar vehicles, different speeds on the same road, and not obeying rules. I don't have a solution... And to be sure there are idiots in all camps, not pointing fingers aside from the irony here.
Ebikes on roads are dangerous in the hands of some, modified, super quick, no permits, no skills / knowledge of traffic laws, and often super dangerous for pedestrians. The scariest to me are intersections where car drivers cannot be expected to monitor a silent ebike coming super fast from a sidewalk "pretending to be a 30 mph pedestrian." Bang.
I know it's not PC or inclusive but I just don't believe AT ALL in sharing the road, period, purely from a standpoint of also not allowing parachute drops on active runways. It doesn't mix well. In any contentious situation a bike in car traffic (E or not) is gonna lose by virtue of showing up to a swordfight in their underwear while the other guy is fully armored. I would like some roads to be bike only, and good bike lanes to be present on some cool roads for riding, but laws to apply to ALL (stops, red lights, not blocking roads riding side by side).
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I'm sure you will find this surprising, but I would actually agree with you. The mixed use of our
motorways is a profoundly stupid idea. The entitlement exhibited by your typical cyclist is as potentially deadly as it is ill advised. And yes, this comes from a cyclist.
My feelings on this matter are a large part why I believe that
motor vehicles should be barred from using bicycle trails. Motor vehicles have their own damn roads. Bicycle trails are supposed to be a safe haven from those motor vehicles where we can enjoy the slower pace of human power without being passed by someone doing 40 mph or more on a
motor cycle.
I only ride our local bike trails and on roads with dedicated bicycle lanes. I'm blessed in that my area has an abundance of both, and I fully realize what a blessing that is. I'm not sure what the answer is either in locales that do not enjoy a number of options for cyclists, but I'm relatively sure that allowing motor vehicles on trail systems set aside for human power is not an "answer" to anything.