DGS49
Diamond Member
PA Bicyclists Could Face Significant Traffic Rule Changes
A Pennsylvania lawmaker wants to alter how bicyclists can proceed on the road. Get the details here.
patch.com
As a PA biker (and E-Biker), I'm happy to see a legislative change that makes sense to me, and is consistent with the way I ride, to wit, "we" would be allowed to treat Stop signs and Stop lights as mere suggestions when conditions warrant. Parenthetically, I cannot imagine any peace officer ticketing a biker for violating these rules now.
But the fact is that the introduction of all manner of electric bikes into the mix is creating problems for a lot of people, and bringing about new safety issues previously not addressed. Not surprisingly, most of the problems are caused by Yoots who are given powerful Ebikes by their stupid parents.
We have a big number of electric "mini-bikes" that will go at speeds up to 30mph, some even without pedaling. Some don't even have pedals. None of them have the safety features that road-going, powered bikes should have (lights and turn signals), and I suspect that the brakes might not be adequate for heavy riders traveling at speed. The ones I've seen seem to be intended as dirt bikes, but the kids are riding them everywhere, paved or not.
I don't think that there is a real issue with liability insurance because it is rare that when the things crash it injures anyone other than the rider himself (it's always a HE). Nevertheless, some states (New Jersey?) are threatening to require license, registration, and liability insurance for higher-class Ebikes.
Then you come to the issues relating to WHERE these bikes are traveling - public roads, bike paths, public sidewalks, mixed-use paths with bikers, runners, walkers, and dog-walkers presumably sharing the way. And would police be willing to waste their time regulating those uses in those venues? I suspect not.
One could start a whole 'nother thread on the various ways that Ebike riders use their motors, some of which are antagonistic to people riding "regular" bikes. I only use the motor when I encounter a hill that is too steep for me to climb without assistance (recognizing that my Ebike weighs 94 pounds and has very high rolling-resistance tires), while most seem to use the motor at all times, speeding themselves along at a rate that rivals "serious" road-bike riders. These are the people who fret about the range of their Ebikes, when fully charged - never an issue for riders like me.
Then you come to courtesies of the road. Road bikers often wave or at least nod their heads when they encounter another road-biker, but to them it seems to be a form of virtual leprosy when you are on an E-bike; they seem willing to go out of their way NOT to acknowledge an E-biker, even when it entirely appropriate. Snobs are everywhere.
I watch and post in a couple of Ebike groups - one reserved for geezers - and more than half of the postings are people who are considering the purchase of their first Ebike. My advice assumes that others like me will buy one, ride it for a while, and conclude that the type of bike purchased was not exactly what they were looking for, and buy another one. For that reason, I send them to WalMart, which is really a great place for non-serious bikers (of all types) to get a fantastic deal on a decent bike, with the knowledge that they can easily return it for a refund if they don't like it. No sense spending a couple grand on a bike that you might not like or use.
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