dead teen dad wants slower speeds limits in encinitas

[CCKeith]

Encinitas declares local emergency on bike, e-bike safety after 15-year-old’s death

City Council unanimously approves declaration calling for more education and enforcement of regulations

www.sandiegouniontribune.com

 

[Muscles]

I feel for the Dad but every teenager I see on an ebike is an accident waiting to happen. They ride in and out of high traffic areas around me and I'm surprised I haven't seen more serious injuries.

Why was a teenager riding a motorized vehicle on El Camino Real is the question that needs to be asked.

 

[CCKeith]

pd says the kid changed lanes and collided with a workvan. got methinking of all the times that was almost me in my workvan. so scary and even if it was the kids fault i dont think i could live with myself

 

[Pico]

I see ebikers on sidewalks or by car doors and just basic retardoness. Its amazing that once you get on an ebike your brain disintegrates.

 

[Senor Sopa]

is this dude smoking crack or what

Encinitas declares local emergency on bike, e-bike safety after 15-year-old’s death

City Council unanimously approves declaration calling for more education and enforcement of regulations

www.sandiegouniontribune.com

LOL, which dude? The Mayor that has hasn't had a real job in decades and lives in his wife's parents house?
I have heard some rumors about this accident, many say the kid messed up bad. I dunno, he's dead and peeps are pissed.

Is the problem unsafe speeding cars? Or maybe is it the proliferation of bike lanes that encourage this sort of incident? I do know that if there are way more bikers, then there will be an increase in bike-related accidents. Pretty simple math.

So much misinformation out there. My son who lives in LA, was telling me that Encinitas just voted to outlaw all e-bikes that go over 15 mph. "It's all over the internet, dad". I go to council meetings, I speak at council meetings, they never discussed this BS.

There are older ladies who claim that kids on ebikes are harassing them while they drive around town. After listening to them speak, I can easily visualize the driving style that makes kids say chit.

You guys should see the yoga moms with 3-seater bikes, barely able to keep them upright, and the smug virtue smile they wear as they clog up traffic to drop off the kids at school. Every car is super nervous to even come close because they are so wobbly.

 

[Jack-the-Ripper]

Too much disposable income around there. Those bikes are thousands of dollars and every kid under 16 seems to have one. Where is all this money coming from?

 

[LelandCuz]

You make a left turn in front of an oncoming truck, you're gonna have a bad day, whether you're on a bike or in a car. It's suicide by inattention. Dad wishes he'd done a better job of raising his kid but doesn't know how to express that so he's blaming the world.

 

[CCKeith]

You make a left turn in front of an oncoming truck, you're gonna have a bad day, whether you're on a bike or in a car. It's suicide by inattention. Dad wishes he'd done a better job of raising his kid but doesn't know how to express that so he's blaming the world.

i was wrong. he didnt left turn. pd says changed lanes and collided with a wrokvan. my bad

Teen dies from injuries after e-bike collision in Encinitas

An Encinitas teen who was hospitalized Thursday with major injuries from a traffic collision while on an e-bike has passed away.

thecoastnews.com

 

[SurfMission]

Why E bikes are legal for children is a complete mystery to me other than lazy parenting. They go 25-30 MPH and kids ride them on surface streets. That should require some sort of license. I would think that the DMV would want a piece of that pie. Make them get (pay for) some sort of certification and make it so the E bikes have to be registered like any other motorized vehicle.

 

[kidfury]

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/these-are-the-most-dangerous-states-for-cyclists

riding bikes near cars is straight up dangerous.
Parents are in denial.

 

[enframed]

That really sucks for the dad. People are fucking crazy on e-bikes though. The ones that go fast enough should require the same license a motorcycle does, AND, not be allowed on sidewalks. They probably already aren't, but no one's gonna police that.

We need to make anything that doesn't require fossil fuels illegal.

 

[sussle]

Why E bikes are legal for children is a complete mystery to me other than lazy parenting. They go 25-30 MPH and kids ride them on surface streets. That should require some sort of license. I would think that the DMV would want a piece of that pie. Make them get (pay for) some sort of certification and make it so the E bikes have to be registered like any other motorized vehicle.

yup. they are all over my local greenway and the local police seem paralyzed on how to deal with it (which i do not understand - the signs say "no motor vehicles - wtf is the problem?). gonna have to sacrifce somebody's kid to get some coherent policy in place. good thing this is America, where we have no qualms about sacrificing children to make a point.

 

[Belchfire1]

It is certainly a problem and you guys are all right.
The fuckery I see daily is disturbing.
Kids aren't the best decision makers and at 30 MPH you gotta think fast.
No one is paying attention on the roads, cell phones in everyone's hand.
It'll take more to die until something changes, it always works that way.

I just sold my ebike and got a motorcycle.
Way safer, believe it or not.
Real gear and a good helmet on a sturdy machine vs flip flops and a hat on some overpowered wobbly bike.

 

[kidfury]

E bikes should have mirrors, lights, and turn signals, like motorcycles

where that young man was hit is extremely dangerous for a bicycle.

 

[StuAzole]

Encinitas declares local emergency on bike, e-bike safety after 15-year-old’s death

City Council unanimously approves declaration calling for more education and enforcement of regulations

www.sandiegouniontribune.com

Encinitas is notorious for dead cyclists, mainly of the non-e-bike variety. They redid pretty much the entire coastal stretch of Leucadia as a (partial) result. The complaints from these parents are probably wrongly directed but to dismiss them as bad parents or the kid as a careless teenager on an ebike misses the issue.

 

[Sharkbiscuit]

Saw a teen/20-something on an e-bike a few weeks back. Dusk hour. Had lights. Came up on a stop sign at like 25, went to blow it, car that came to a stop went to go and then hit breaks, e-bike blows stop sign and is waving arms around like WTF.

The street in question, in daylight the cyclists blow the stops and the cars expect this. On sunny weekends the cyclists rudely ride all the way abreast and the cars have to go 5mph behind idiots in beach cruisers.

But in winter, weeknights, etc. it's not so obvious, and to just be blasting a stop at 25 at dusk and then WTF-ing the law-abiding car driver seemed pretty stupid.

 

[JDJ]

Parents make the bad choice to allow minors who don’t know how to drive operate something like a motorcycle, and the city wants to make life more annoying for the average driver.

 

[$kully]

I’ve been spending a lot of time in hermosa lately doing work with my father in law. It’s pretty wild how every kid in that little town seems to have a $5k e-bike zipping around. Just driving to get lunch I’d be dodging them going every direction. Walk out of a store and a seemingly underage girl in a bikini is buzzing by on the sidewalk at 30mph. It’s not hard to do the math and see that some kids are gonna get really fvcked up on these thing.

Playing devils advocate I used to bomb hills and do plenty of fun stuff on a bike as a kid. But that was intentional and often times dumb. This is different because the average speeds on flat ground are so much higher and with ease. It’s not just the daredevils bombing around, it’s the norm.

 

[SurfMission]

A large part of the reason lil' Junior has that E bike is so Mom and Dad don't have to drive to _______ 2/3/4 times a week. Things won't change until people start losing lawsuits where their kid is at fault and they get dinged for massive hospital/pain and suffering bills.

 

[Jack-the-Ripper]

The complaints from these parents are probably wrongly directed but to dismiss them as bad parents or the kid as a careless teenager on an ebike misses the issue.

Misses the issue? There's a big difference between a human-powered bike and an ebike driven by a motor. Especially as the rider's speed increases due to the ability to sustain speed. The ebike becomes much closer to having the characteristics of a motorcycle. There's a good reason the state makes you have license to ride any motorized vehicle on a road, and a motorcycle license for any motorized vehicle that goes over 15 mph: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/vehicle-registration/new-registration/motorcycles-mopeds-and-scooters/