Scooters go where people walk... trucks usually don't
Whew! It’s a good thing trucks never go through cross walks or across curb cuts to get into parking lots and drive throughs.
The only reason people ride scooters on the sidewalks is because our infrastructure is severely lacking and you get stuck “sharing” a lane with a 6000+lb truck.
You aren’t wrong and neither are they.
Not in my city. It is illegal for motorized vehicles of any kind to travel on sidewalks.
It's illegal here as well, they just do it anyways
Is it just me, or does this thread feel unusually hostile towards scooters for being in fuckcars?
Right? The scooters are only in the sidewalks because the cars actively make the roads dangerous for them. But here we are in a place that supposedly hates cars defending them against a very useful replacement for a huge amount of people.
My city has a pretty good protected bike lane network, and a result is you rarely see scooters or bikes on the sidewalks (at least in the parts of town with good protected bike lanes). Instead, you get lots of scooters and bikes zipping safely by without endangering pedestrians. At least on my route to work, I'm about 90% sure there are more commuters in the bike lanes than cars on the road, despite the cars getting 90+% of the road space.
They need the same infrastructure that bicycles and have gotten popular really fast. Since the infrastructure cannot accomodate them (no bike lane), the scotters become a nuisance for everyone.
With proper infrastructure though (cycling lanes and parking spots) they are fine. (Some might argue about users not following the rules, I'd say, sometimes you can't respect the rules because the street is shit).
Also private companies monopolising public space, not cool. (that one I still stand by, and I hope they pay "rent" that goes towards maintaining the roads.)
it's so fascinating how people absolutely lose their minds over e-scooters, and these are people who shit on drivers for doing the exact same thing to cyclists!
Sorry about your circle jerk
One of these share footpaths with pedestrians. The other two have to use their own dedicated pathways.
One of these
Oh, really?
Yeah, in general. Cars are not allowed to drive on sidewalks under most if not all circumstances. The point is that e-scooters have their restrictions for a reason, regardless of any whataboutism relating to cars. We want walkable cites, not e-scootable.
No clue what that street sigh means, but I guess it's supposed to signify a shared space?
Speak for yourself. I want cities that are not dependent on cars. Walkable is the ideal, but cycling and scooting is an upgrade from cars.
Only one of these is often ridden on footpaths and walking areas.
The limit makes sense.
Another bullshit cars are evil post that just ignore facts and reality.
Cars can somewhat be evil but if you want to capture the attention of people you've go to post well considered arguments.
Not crap like this.
These devices probably cause < .1% of fatal pedestrian accidents and are electronically speed-limited, meanwhile for the device that causes 99% you put the responsibility of keeping speeds safe in the hands of individuals ranging from considerate over careless to outright methheads.
is often ridden on footpaths and walking areas
Why could that be? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that those are the only places where said 99% mode of transport responsible for 7,500 pedestrian deaths a year is banned and streets, where e-scooters should normally a go in cities, are designed for 2.5 tonne cars going 40?
The limit makes sense.
I mean yea, it does, but it is in essence just another concession to car dependency. Can't curb pedestrian deaths because infrastructure is dogshit, drivers are careless and cars become more and more unsafe? Just regulate the hell out of every means of transport other than the one causing all the deaths and make getting from a to b as hard as possible for everyone not driving. Helps to a) blur the blame and cause some infighting (for instance, this post) and b) getting more people in cars must mean fewer pedestrian deaths right?? also more cars sold and no expensive infrastructure changes. Phew.
So how is it not a valid argument? It's blatantly obvious that if cars were invented right now, with models as they are right now, safety concerns would be through the roof and they'd be regulated to hell and back with electronical speed-limits just like e-scooters are right now. The only reason cars are not limited in such a way is because they are a legacy device, part of America's cultural identity and with a uncontrollably powerful lobby behind it so any attempt in that regard would immediately lose you public support. You're asking for more well considered arguments, but I'm wondering what your argument is that cars should not be speed limited, other than that's just the way it is, let everything concede to the status quo?
Note that cars are heavily regulated, have speed limits, collision regulations, are required to only operate on designated paths and require training to operate.
Meanwhile the scooters can be used by anyone without licensing, have no speedometer, and can go anywhere without a pedestrian even having a clue a scooter might be coming.
Things could be better, but in these areas frankly an even lower speed limit would not make cars that much safer, and you'd be better off without roads in some areas and poof, cars would be gone. However electric scooters would still be zipping around.
I couldn't care less if e-scooters gain more traction but I do care if a completely unprotected vehicle can go at speeds where either the driver/rider or a pedestrian can get killed or seriously injured in the event of an accident and those have already happened where I live, with a large proportion going towards recklessness of the driver/rider.
These vehicles have been recorded travelling down highways, criss-crossing traffic, cutting in front of busses, etc, often with very gory results for every part involved.
We do not need more blood on the streets.
In Germany they're limited to bicycle infrastructure and neither sidewalks nor highways are that, 20km/h (hardware limit, 12.4274mph in colonial units), no license but minimum age is 14, same DUI laws as for cars, and you need insurance. Which, granted, is quite cheap at 30-60 Euro a year and comes with a cute little license plate in fashionable colours (as in: changes every year). There's also some signalling requirements mostly mirroring bikes, minimum standards for brakes, such stuff. No regular technical inspection, though.
The morale? If you want to go fast get a bike 30km/h aren't that hard.
I drive a scooter and don't own a car. But this is the sort of braindead post that will likely drive me to block this community. It's an embarrassment to anybody who can think logically.
Then use a fucking ebike? Motorized vehicles dont belong on sidewalks, period. How the fuck are people gonna walk to work in a BUSINESS DISTRICT if there's scooters saturating the sidewalk?
By banning cars in the city and rallocating freed space to ebikes. Oh, sorry, this is harder than rocket science for you.
I don't know if you really want a "swap" here, so much as a "speed limit all of these, or maybe ban two of them." If you get on a scooter with a max speed of 118MPH what you're actually doing is committing suicide.
You are derailing. This post is not about faster scooters. This post is a about absurdly overpowered tanks that can (and do) wreck havoc without being limited in any considerate way.
This post is literally titled "Swap these please".
Swap which one is GPS limited, not their stat block
Please at least try to participate in good faith
I've been hit by people on Escooters 3 times in the last 4 years.
If you wanna add speed controls to cars fine, but I think the ones that cohabit the sidewalk that people are routinely driving drunk as fuck can absolutely stay speed locked.
Where’s the guy that got hit by the vehicles on the right? Maybe there’s a reason that perspective isn’t being heard.
if you want to add speed control to cars fine
I'm literally not arguing against speed controls on cars. You can tell that by reading.
I'm saying I ALSO appreciate the mechanisms on scooters helping to keep me, as a pedestrian safe.
What is wrong with your brain that makes these mutually exclusive propositions?
I never said they were mutually exclusive. I’m just saying everyone is sharing some bad experience with scooters but the other side of the coin has been silenced.
Though I will say that I live in a city with plenty of scooter use and I can’t think of a time it’s been a major issue. Meanwhile cars and trucks threaten my life on a daily basis.
The other side of this conversation has been "silenced"?
This is literally the fuckcars community.
There aren't two "sides". That's my point. Considering them as opposing positions is what demonstrates that you and others are considering them as somehow related, somehow in conflict. It's you seeing an argument where none need exist.
You don't have to un-govern scooters to govern cars.
You can say "I think we should limit the velocity of any vehicle that operates in proximity to pedestrians to a degree to keep them safe".
That's what I want. Where is the argument? Are we on different "sides"??
They're implying that people who got hit by one of the other two vehicles in the image are not alive anymore to comment about getting hit by it, hence they got silenced.
Not to detract from the idea that trucks are dangerous (they most definitely are) but I’m not sure this is the best argument for this. An asshole in a truck doesn’t mean they necessarily will drive their truck down the sidewalk like what is common with assholes on two wheels. 4 wheels will do many other dangerous things. but assholes who ride their two wheels on sidewalks going top speed even at 15 without making room for pedestrians is a valid concern.
It's also primarily an issue of lacking infrastructure. Two wheeled assholes wouldn't be on the sidewalk if there was a bike lane, unless they're huge two wheeled assholes.
100% this, the only time I ride my ebike on the sidewalk is when there is no bike lane or separate bike path. Cause if I have to choose between riding on a 45 mph road or the sidewalk I'm gonna pick the sidewalk and just go slower when pedestrians are around.
Wankpanzers vs actually suitable last-mile vehicles.
Bunch of crabs arguing against other crabs in the comments rather than reclaiming the seas for ourselves.
it's gonna be hilarious in a decade when all these trucknuts types have to give up their giant jacked up shitmobiles. vroom vroom while you can children.
ah yes, time to build scooter lanes in pedestrian districts that pedestrians aren't allowed on and make it a crime to cross them when there's traffic. great idea.
Cars rarley drive on the sidewalk though.
Just wait for the EV Escalade where the fucking thing weighs in at 9000lbs....
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