this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2023
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Parents said the same things about rollerblades, skateboards, and regular bikes.
The difference here is we already have motor vehicles, and already have 2 wheeled motor vehicles, they're called motorcycles and they're highly regulated and require a special license. Just because the motor is electric doesn't make it not a motor vehicle.
There was literally a mother in the article that helped her son remove the speed governor on the bike and allowed it to go 70mph and even admitted that she thinks these companies make them easy to remove for better sales and no liability. She said she got him the bike when he was 14.
Rollerblades, skateboards, and bikes only go so fast. Even at the regulated limit of 20 mph that is a speed kids are not hitting on their own. Have you ever tried to ride your bicycle at a sign that detects your speed? It is REALLY hard to hit 20mph let alone sustain that speed. And that's the speed these kids are going all the time if they haven't messed with the bike to make it go even faster. There needs to be better regulation with these.
20 mph (32 km/h) on a regular bike is doable, but yeah, usually that involves a very "flat" road or even a road that has a slight decline. And as you've said, maintaining it (e.g. for more than 10 seconds) is a whole different story.
Furthermore, it also requires a certain fitness level and "bodily involvement". The thing that still catches me off guard at times is how relaxed some people on ebikes look while going that fast. Whatever kind of judgement I could make in the past on how fast someone is approaching based on how much they "visually excert themselves" (e.g. hunching forward or even standing up) kind of has become meaningless with ebikes.
The most hilarious example is that 80s video about snowboards... ah, here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPZDEWBzneY