E-Scooter discussion after fatal collision

Caporegime
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I struggle to see how anybody could do an emergency stop on one of these without ending up doing a massive faceplant.

It is hard enough to do on a push bike, and that's with much bigger wheels and a much lower COG
way to many pot holes and bumpy roads for me to ever ride one of these things..

but I'd guess you just pull all your weight backwards when you stop hard?

lets say you add license plates, tests and insurance to a bicycle.

how many poor people do you think could afford it? are we trying to make some class system for the roads??? how about we add a new insurance for motorways that costs 20k a year and if your car is worth less than 100k you have to stick to the backroads.
 

Deleted member 66701

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Deleted member 66701


Ebikes are only capable of the same speeds that normal cycles are. To have ebike riders require a license, insurance and ID plates when normal cycles aren't is daft and will stop the very beneficial uptake of ebikes as a sustainable form of transport.
 
Soldato
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Ebike are only capable of the same speeds that normal cycles are. To have ebike riders required a license, insurance and ID plates is daft and will stop the very beneficial uptake of ebikes as a sustainable form of transport.

They are easier to ride though. These scooters are naturally unstable being so top heavy.
 
Transmission breaker
Don
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Anything powered on the road should need a licence, insurance and some kind of ID plate tbh.

Give it a year and helmets will be mandatory I bet, after a few people get brained.

Totally agree. The same rules should at apply as when getting a CBT at the very least if your transport has wheels and a motor. MOT and Licensing too.
 

Deleted member 66701

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Deleted member 66701

They are easier to ride though. These scooters are naturally unstable being so top heavy.

They aren't scooters and they aren't that much heavier (15% when you take into account the total weight inc rider. Many come with disc breaks that are easily capable of stopping them.

Anyway, your ******* in the wind as ebikes will never require a license, insurance or id plates in this country.
 

Deleted member 66701

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Deleted member 66701

Totally agree. The same rules should at apply as when getting a CBT at the very least if your transport has wheels and a motor. MOT and Licensing too.

For EU compliant ebikes that have speed/power limits, I disagree.

If you have unlimited power/speed (like a car or motor cycle) then fine.

I would however be perfectly ok with some kind of CBT system for high power / s-class ebikes (28pmh / 750 watts as an extra class above "legal" ebikes. I'd love to be able to ride my s-class legally in the UK but there is currently no mechanism beyond putting it in for an IVA and that's impractical.
 
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Transmission breaker
Don
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They aren't scooters and they aren't that much heavier (15% when you take into account the total weight inc rider. Many come with disc breaks that are easily capable of stopping them.

Anyway, your ******* in the wind as ebikes will never require a license, insurance or id plates in this country.

They already do require it if they are above 250w..... Isnt that accurate?

https://www.gov.uk/electric-bike-rules
 

Deleted member 66701

D

Deleted member 66701

They already do require it if they are above 250w..... Isnt that accurate?

https://www.gov.uk/electric-bike-rules

Yes, that's what I said in post 328 above.

I should have said "Anyway, your ******* in the wind as EU compliant ebikes will never require a license, insurance or id plates in this country"

To re-iterate, there is absolutely no valid reason to reason to require a license, insurance and ID plates for EU compliant 250w/25km/h limited ebikes as use case wise they are no different from normal cycles.

I would however be perfectly ok with some kind of CBT system being introduced for high power / s-class ebikes (28pmh / 750 watts as an extra class above "legal" ebikes similar to how the EU deal with them. (ID plates, minimal/limited 3rd party insurance and compulsory helmet use). FYI, I do have 3rd party insurance for my ebike - but that's obviously only applicable when using it in it's EU limited mode.
 
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Soldato
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It’s not an ebike though if it’s over 250w, its classed as a moped/motorbike.

An ebike, like a bike isn’t ever going to require a licence.

There is loads of evidence out there that escooters are fine to use on roads like a bike. These things are everywhere in Europe, they even handle the cobbles fine in Paris. They can stop as quickly as a bike and you can dismount then even easier than a bike. A sensible legal framework will put most of these issues to bed. E.g. 15mph, cycle lanes and roads only, normal traffic rules apply as they would on a bike.

The governments approach to this is bizarre, let’s take an overly careful approach to legalising something which is already happening in most cities, plenty of evidence of them working in practice, has little implications to how people give and is legal in most cities in Europe. The compare that to their approach to COVID or Brexit....

There even doing the thing which has the biggest impact on other people first. Rental scooters attract inexperienced riders who don’t know what they are doing or not used to the vehicle and they just get dumped at the end in a stupid place like rental bikes. Sure a minority of private riders are inconsiderate at best and outright dangerous at worst but that’s to different to pedestrians, cyclists and car drivers.
 
Caporegime
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how many poor people do you think could afford it? are we trying to make some class system for the roads??? how about we add a new insurance for motorways that costs 20k a year and if your car is worth less than 100k you have to stick to the backroads.

They're totally different examples and not at all comparable. If you can afford several hundred to several thousand pounds for an electric scooter, you can afford a license.
 
Soldato
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They're totally different examples and not at all comparable. If you can afford several hundred to several thousand pounds for an electric scooter, you can afford a license.

You realise an escooter is about £350 right? A driving licence will set you back a few £k after factoring in driving lessons. Having the requirement for a provisional just stops kids from legally riding them but that’s it.
 
Caporegime
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You realise an escooter is about £350 right? A driving licence will set you back a few £k after factoring in driving lessons. Having the requirement for a provisional just stops kids from legally riding them but that’s it.
yea they become pointless if it pretty much becomes as expensive as just getting a motorbike or really cheap car
 
Caporegime
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yea they become pointless if it pretty much becomes as expensive as just getting a motorbike or really cheap car

No they don't. You're completely missing the point of them. They're significantly cheaper to buy, maintain and run. They reduce traffic. Reduce emissions. Are easily stored. Take up less space. Use fewer resources to make.
 
Soldato
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No they don't. You're completely missing the point of them. They're significantly cheaper to buy, maintain and run. They reduce traffic. Reduce emissions. Are easily stored. Take up less space. Use fewer resources to make.

Those were the reasons i initially went for a PEV. Didn't have enough space for a bicycle and it was better than paying £30-40 a week for petrol
 
Caporegime
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A few £k is probally pushing it but the first link on google suggests the cost is over £1300, with an average person needing 47 hours of lessons plus 22 hours of private driving. Average driving lesson is £24 and then all the test fees etc.

https://www.uswitch.com/car-insurance/learn-to-drive/

Either way getting a driving licence isn’t cheap.

That's a significant cost reduction from a few thousand. And if you can't afford it? Well in that case buy a bike.
 
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