I wonder how often cars injure people i-love-not-thinking

  • regul [any]@hexbear.net
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    1 month ago

    London is actually rolling out speed cameras for 20/30mph zones.

    And these e-motos are affordable, but an e-bike with a 250, 500, or 750W motor is also affordable. I think a lot of people just have speed/power brain and are trying to maximize the wrong thing when they transition to electric mobility devices. And I think this is partially out of ignorance, but also driven by some anti-social tendencies.

    • AstroStelar [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      1 month ago

      The affordability argument falls flat here in the Netherlands, where bikes, e-bikes and mopeds are widespread, and where most trips can be easily done with a regular bicycle.

      But e-bikes tend to be more expensive and have a reputation as something for well-off working adults or pensioners. For youth, these “fatbikes” as we call them are mainly status symbols and I suspect they’re viewed as a stepping stone to a full car, which makes me worry that we’ll see the SUV-ification of bicycles getting bigger and more car-like.

      I haven’t had bad experiences with the drivers of these, but because they’re trending and mostly owned by naive/reckless youngsters, they get stolen so often that insurers won’t cover them. There’s also the usual “Chinese quality” talking points.