Commuting to school by e-bike?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a huge e-bike proponent (the real e-bikes and not the electric motorcycles pretending to be e-bikes). I’ve ridden thousands of miles on DC city streets sometimes with my child on the back, sometimes alone, and increasingly now accompanied by my elementary aged child riding their own bike just in front of me. I accept that biking in the city is likely the highest risk activity we partake in. I still think it is worth it. I will say in 8 years of daily riding I’ve never been hit or even had a significant close call. I am cautious and pick my route carefully. I follow the rules of the road (not riding through lights etc) and when not in a bike lane I take the lane (meaning I ride in the middle of the lane so cars can’t miss seeing me or sideswipe me).

I fully understand people who don’t feel comfortable doing it but if you are interested in it I also recommend joining the dc family biking group and testing it out.

And yes my bike was expensive but I we still spend less money on it than our car (even though my bike gets more mileage a year than the car).

I sometimes seeing people doing this when I'm driving and the first thing I do is find another route. I am terrified about driving by an elementary school student on a bike. They don't have the skills or reaction time or the presence of mind to deal with unexpected situations and, as a driver, I want no part of that. I am baffled as to why parents think this is a good idea. It seems spectacularly dangerous. I also don't know what the parent trailing behind them thinks they're going to do. If there's an accident, it will be over before you even know what happened.

So let me get this right. You see a kid riding a bike and you are terrified that you are not a skilled enough driver not to slow down, give them space, and not hit them? I’m glad you pick a different route to avoid riding by kids on bikes but I seriously think you should maybe consider giving up driving,

Is it really that hard to imagine a child on a bike on a busy street who suddenly decides to do a U-turn, despite all traffic around them, because they saw a $10 bill on the ground and wanted to pick it up? Kids do crazy, unexpected things and they don't think about the consequences of their actions because, you know, they're kids. It's funny you think the driver who is worried about that is the one here who is the danger. I'd say it's the parent who put their child in that situation who is the problem.

There was that poor Mundo Verde kid who died a few years ago in a crosswalk in a 20 mile an hour collision where the driver just could see them. Terrifying.

[Anonymous]

^ Just couldn’t see them!

[Anonymous]

To be clear, I’m on Team Garrison. Better school in my mind (though both are good) and easier commute.

But…are there enough Columbia Heights kids at ITDS that you could all pool together and pay for a shuttle bus? Parents do this with other schools. (There’s a DuPont shuttle to SELA for example). Apologies if someone else floated this already and I missed it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a huge e-bike proponent (the real e-bikes and not the electric motorcycles pretending to be e-bikes). I’ve ridden thousands of miles on DC city streets sometimes with my child on the back, sometimes alone, and increasingly now accompanied by my elementary aged child riding their own bike just in front of me. I accept that biking in the city is likely the highest risk activity we partake in. I still think it is worth it. I will say in 8 years of daily riding I’ve never been hit or even had a significant close call. I am cautious and pick my route carefully. I follow the rules of the road (not riding through lights etc) and when not in a bike lane I take the lane (meaning I ride in the middle of the lane so cars can’t miss seeing me or sideswipe me).

I fully understand people who don’t feel comfortable doing it but if you are interested in it I also recommend joining the dc family biking group and testing it out.

And yes my bike was expensive but I we still spend less money on it than our car (even though my bike gets more mileage a year than the car).

I sometimes seeing people doing this when I'm driving and the first thing I do is find another route. I am terrified about driving by an elementary school student on a bike. They don't have the skills or reaction time or the presence of mind to deal with unexpected situations and, as a driver, I want no part of that. I am baffled as to why parents think this is a good idea. It seems spectacularly dangerous. I also don't know what the parent trailing behind them thinks they're going to do. If there's an accident, it will be over before you even know what happened.

So let me get this right. You see a kid riding a bike and you are terrified that you are not a skilled enough driver not to slow down, give them space, and not hit them? I’m glad you pick a different route to avoid riding by kids on bikes but I seriously think you should maybe consider giving up driving,

Is it really that hard to imagine a child on a bike on a busy street who suddenly decides to do a U-turn, despite all traffic around them, because they saw a $10 bill on the ground and wanted to pick it up? Kids do crazy, unexpected things and they don't think about the consequences of their actions because, you know, they're kids. It's funny you think the driver who is worried about that is the one here who is the danger. I'd say it's the parent who put their child in that situation who is the problem.

There was that poor Mundo Verde kid who died a few years ago in a crosswalk in a 20 mile an hour collision where the driver just could see them. Terrifying.

Her name was Allie. She was biking on her own bike on the sidewalk, not in the road. Her parents became national advocates for safer streets.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/allison-hart-obituary?id=6544562

Since this day, I've always had my kids cross the street side by side with me, rather than ahead or behind, no matter our mode of transport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a huge e-bike proponent (the real e-bikes and not the electric motorcycles pretending to be e-bikes). I’ve ridden thousands of miles on DC city streets sometimes with my child on the back, sometimes alone, and increasingly now accompanied by my elementary aged child riding their own bike just in front of me. I accept that biking in the city is likely the highest risk activity we partake in. I still think it is worth it. I will say in 8 years of daily riding I’ve never been hit or even had a significant close call. I am cautious and pick my route carefully. I follow the rules of the road (not riding through lights etc) and when not in a bike lane I take the lane (meaning I ride in the middle of the lane so cars can’t miss seeing me or sideswipe me).

I fully understand people who don’t feel comfortable doing it but if you are interested in it I also recommend joining the dc family biking group and testing it out.

And yes my bike was expensive but I we still spend less money on it than our car (even though my bike gets more mileage a year than the car).

I sometimes seeing people doing this when I'm driving and the first thing I do is find another route. I am terrified about driving by an elementary school student on a bike. They don't have the skills or reaction time or the presence of mind to deal with unexpected situations and, as a driver, I want no part of that. I am baffled as to why parents think this is a good idea. It seems spectacularly dangerous. I also don't know what the parent trailing behind them thinks they're going to do. If there's an accident, it will be over before you even know what happened.

So let me get this right. You see a kid riding a bike and you are terrified that you are not a skilled enough driver not to slow down, give them space, and not hit them? I’m glad you pick a different route to avoid riding by kids on bikes but I seriously think you should maybe consider giving up driving,

Is it really that hard to imagine a child on a bike on a busy street who suddenly decides to do a U-turn, despite all traffic around them, because they saw a $10 bill on the ground and wanted to pick it up? Kids do crazy, unexpected things and they don't think about the consequences of their actions because, you know, they're kids. It's funny you think the driver who is worried about that is the one here who is the danger. I'd say it's the parent who put their child in that situation who is the problem.

There was that poor Mundo Verde kid who died a few years ago in a crosswalk in a 20 mile an hour collision where the driver just could see them. Terrifying.

Her name was Allie. She was biking on her own bike on the sidewalk, not in the road. Her parents became national advocates for safer streets.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/allison-hart-obituary?id=6544562

Since this day, I've always had my kids cross the street side by side with me, rather than ahead or behind, no matter our mode of transport.

Yes, was crossing in a crosswalk where the van had a stop sign. Being on a bike not really the issue- if had been on foot would have been same issue- driver not stopping at a stop sign.

This isn't really an on-topic discussion at this point. But if OP is close to Kenyon/11th, can be in protected lanes the vast majority of the way, this will be a perfectly fine ride if both kids are on the bike that OP controls. Depending on weight limits, can certainly take kids up through say 5th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a huge e-bike proponent (the real e-bikes and not the electric motorcycles pretending to be e-bikes). I’ve ridden thousands of miles on DC city streets sometimes with my child on the back, sometimes alone, and increasingly now accompanied by my elementary aged child riding their own bike just in front of me. I accept that biking in the city is likely the highest risk activity we partake in. I still think it is worth it. I will say in 8 years of daily riding I’ve never been hit or even had a significant close call. I am cautious and pick my route carefully. I follow the rules of the road (not riding through lights etc) and when not in a bike lane I take the lane (meaning I ride in the middle of the lane so cars can’t miss seeing me or sideswipe me).

I fully understand people who don’t feel comfortable doing it but if you are interested in it I also recommend joining the dc family biking group and testing it out.

And yes my bike was expensive but I we still spend less money on it than our car (even though my bike gets more mileage a year than the car).

I sometimes seeing people doing this when I'm driving and the first thing I do is find another route. I am terrified about driving by an elementary school student on a bike. They don't have the skills or reaction time or the presence of mind to deal with unexpected situations and, as a driver, I want no part of that. I am baffled as to why parents think this is a good idea. It seems spectacularly dangerous. I also don't know what the parent trailing behind them thinks they're going to do. If there's an accident, it will be over before you even know what happened.

So let me get this right. You see a kid riding a bike and you are terrified that you are not a skilled enough driver not to slow down, give them space, and not hit them? I’m glad you pick a different route to avoid riding by kids on bikes but I seriously think you should maybe consider giving up driving,

Is it really that hard to imagine a child on a bike on a busy street who suddenly decides to do a U-turn, despite all traffic around them, because they saw a $10 bill on the ground and wanted to pick it up? Kids do crazy, unexpected things and they don't think about the consequences of their actions because, you know, they're kids. It's funny you think the driver who is worried about that is the one here who is the danger. I'd say it's the parent who put their child in that situation who is the problem.

There was that poor Mundo Verde kid who died a few years ago in a crosswalk in a 20 mile an hour collision where the driver just could see them. Terrifying.

Her name was Allie. She was biking on her own bike on the sidewalk, not in the road. Her parents became national advocates for safer streets.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/allison-hart-obituary?id=6544562

Since this day, I've always had my kids cross the street side by side with me, rather than ahead or behind, no matter our mode of transport.

Yes, was crossing in a crosswalk where the van had a stop sign. Being on a bike not really the issue- if had been on foot would have been same issue- driver not stopping at a stop sign.

This isn't really an on-topic discussion at this point. But if OP is close to Kenyon/11th, can be in protected lanes the vast majority of the way, this will be a perfectly fine ride if both kids are on the bike that OP controls. Depending on weight limits, can certainly take kids up through say 5th grade.

It’s even worse. It was an on duty city employee, and they should be in real prison but got sheltered by our anti cyclist city government

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a huge e-bike proponent (the real e-bikes and not the electric motorcycles pretending to be e-bikes). I’ve ridden thousands of miles on DC city streets sometimes with my child on the back, sometimes alone, and increasingly now accompanied by my elementary aged child riding their own bike just in front of me. I accept that biking in the city is likely the highest risk activity we partake in. I still think it is worth it. I will say in 8 years of daily riding I’ve never been hit or even had a significant close call. I am cautious and pick my route carefully. I follow the rules of the road (not riding through lights etc) and when not in a bike lane I take the lane (meaning I ride in the middle of the lane so cars can’t miss seeing me or sideswipe me).

I fully understand people who don’t feel comfortable doing it but if you are interested in it I also recommend joining the dc family biking group and testing it out.

And yes my bike was expensive but I we still spend less money on it than our car (even though my bike gets more mileage a year than the car).

I sometimes seeing people doing this when I'm driving and the first thing I do is find another route. I am terrified about driving by an elementary school student on a bike. They don't have the skills or reaction time or the presence of mind to deal with unexpected situations and, as a driver, I want no part of that. I am baffled as to why parents think this is a good idea. It seems spectacularly dangerous. I also don't know what the parent trailing behind them thinks they're going to do. If there's an accident, it will be over before you even know what happened.

So let me get this right. You see a kid riding a bike and you are terrified that you are not a skilled enough driver not to slow down, give them space, and not hit them? I’m glad you pick a different route to avoid riding by kids on bikes but I seriously think you should maybe consider giving up driving,

Is it really that hard to imagine a child on a bike on a busy street who suddenly decides to do a U-turn, despite all traffic around them, because they saw a $10 bill on the ground and wanted to pick it up? Kids do crazy, unexpected things and they don't think about the consequences of their actions because, you know, they're kids. It's funny you think the driver who is worried about that is the one here who is the danger. I'd say it's the parent who put their child in that situation who is the problem.

There was that poor Mundo Verde kid who died a few years ago in a crosswalk in a 20 mile an hour collision where the driver just could see them. Terrifying.

Her name was Allie. She was biking on her own bike on the sidewalk, not in the road. Her parents became national advocates for safer streets.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/allison-hart-obituary?id=6544562

Since this day, I've always had my kids cross the street side by side with me, rather than ahead or behind, no matter our mode of transport.

Yes, was crossing in a crosswalk where the van had a stop sign. Being on a bike not really the issue- if had been on foot would have been same issue- driver not stopping at a stop sign.

This isn't really an on-topic discussion at this point. But if OP is close to Kenyon/11th, can be in protected lanes the vast majority of the way, this will be a perfectly fine ride if both kids are on the bike that OP controls. Depending on weight limits, can certainly take kids up through say 5th grade.

It’s even worse. It was an on duty city employee, and they should be in real prison but got sheltered by our anti cyclist city government

Our anti cyclist city government? You mean the one that has spent billions of dollars on a bike infrastructure that hardly anyone even uses?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cars are dangerous too. So is walking in the city especially some intersections. You have to take some risks

Kids in cars are strapped in and surrounded by air bags and a two ton steel cage. Kids on bikes have nothing except their crappy little plastic helmets (and sometimes not even that).

I don't think there is enough data to really know what the odds are at this point. You have to consider the behavior in the whole context. With an ebike I am probably living a less vehicle centered life, traveling at much lower speeds, on much less busy streets. I am an adult experienced rider, not a child. And I am using a well maintained ebike that I am not modifying to go higher speeds. The odds being quoted in those sensationalist articles are not considering the use case we are discussing here.

Nonetheless, I do think it carries increased risks compared to other transit methods. I wish there was better data to know what those odds are.

As a driver, I expect that sooner or later, I will be in a crash, regardless of how safely I drive because there's a lot of people moving around and people make bad decisions. Those on two wheels should assume the same.

+1 and I say this as a huge cycling advocate who does most of my travel around town on bike or on foot. My spouse is an excellent cyclist who is very careful, always wears a helmet, and very used to riding in DC. He was once T-boned by a vehicle making an illegal left turn and wound up in the ER. There was no way for him to prevent the accident unless he literally stopped and looked for people making illegal left turns at every intersection. That driver wasn't even moving that fast -- estimated at 10 miles an hour. But because of the angle at which they hit DH, he was thrown over the hood of their car. He was injured but luckily his helmet protected his head and he didn't need major surgery.

But the thought of that happening to one of our kids? I don't even want to think about it. If I'm walking with them on foot, I can easily check for cars doing that kind of thing at every intersection without it slowing us down. If we're driving, I have more confidence other cars can see me plus the car has enough built-in protection that an accident occurring at 10 miles an hour would likely result in no injuries at all. On a bike? People need to be realistic about what risks they are taking putting their kids in that situation.

Children don't belong on motorcycles or mopeds or e-bikes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have to be insane to put a child on an e-bike. Do you let them play with guns too?

the OP meant the parents are on the e-bike hauling kids, not the kids themselves.

All of it seems incredibly dangerous. As a parent it really bothers me that people do this with their kids.

"e-bike injuries were far more serious than those sustained on conventional bikes. Maa says they were more like what’s seen in motorcycle crashes. A pelvic fracture, for example, was uncommon on a pedal bicycle — only about 6 percent of conventional cycling injuries. For e-bike crashes, though, it was 25 percent.

The most alarming difference was the fatality rate. “On a pedal bike, the chance of dying from an injury is about three-tenths of 1 percent,” Alfrey says. On an e-bike, the data indicated, it was 11 percent."

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/magazine/e-bikes-accidents-safety-legislation-california.html

“e-bikes” = a broad category. I won’t argue that biking is the safest mode of transport in this city — not by a long shot. But the majority of e-bikes that parents are using to tote their kids around town are on the safer, lower-speed end of the e-bike spectrum. Most of the horror stories cited in that article are concerning e-motos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have to be insane to put a child on an e-bike. Do you let them play with guns too?

the OP meant the parents are on the e-bike hauling kids, not the kids themselves.

All of it seems incredibly dangerous. As a parent it really bothers me that people do this with their kids.

"e-bike injuries were far more serious than those sustained on conventional bikes. Maa says they were more like what’s seen in motorcycle crashes. A pelvic fracture, for example, was uncommon on a pedal bicycle — only about 6 percent of conventional cycling injuries. For e-bike crashes, though, it was 25 percent.

The most alarming difference was the fatality rate. “On a pedal bike, the chance of dying from an injury is about three-tenths of 1 percent,” Alfrey says. On an e-bike, the data indicated, it was 11 percent."

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/magazine/e-bikes-accidents-safety-legislation-california.html

“e-bikes” = a broad category. I won’t argue that biking is the safest mode of transport in this city — not by a long shot. But the majority of e-bikes that parents are using to tote their kids around town are on the safer, lower-speed end of the e-bike spectrum. Most of the horror stories cited in that article are concerning e-motos.

I don't disagree with you but would still die a outage the kind of longer daily commute in cross town traffic OP is suggesting. I *love* my e-bike and it's great for my solo trips and short trips with my kid on the back. But contrary to another poster on here, I have had experiences on my bike that made me nervous about it. There are two major streets near me that I will not take my kid with me on my bike because of the behavior of drivers I've witnessed. I avoid them when I'm on my own too, but will make a judgment call based on time of day.

I actually think OP should get the ebike regardless, and use it for Garrison or John Lewis. Short, close commutes and she'll be able to combine those school runs with other errands, plus the e-assist will be especially useful for the uphill climb back from garrison. I'd just put my foot down to the DH about ITDS -- he's getting pie in the sky about school choice because it's not real to him yet but they have much better options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have to be insane to put a child on an e-bike. Do you let them play with guns too?

the OP meant the parents are on the e-bike hauling kids, not the kids themselves.

All of it seems incredibly dangerous. As a parent it really bothers me that people do this with their kids.

"e-bike injuries were far more serious than those sustained on conventional bikes. Maa says they were more like what’s seen in motorcycle crashes. A pelvic fracture, for example, was uncommon on a pedal bicycle — only about 6 percent of conventional cycling injuries. For e-bike crashes, though, it was 25 percent.

The most alarming difference was the fatality rate. “On a pedal bike, the chance of dying from an injury is about three-tenths of 1 percent,” Alfrey says. On an e-bike, the data indicated, it was 11 percent."

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/magazine/e-bikes-accidents-safety-legislation-california.html

“e-bikes” = a broad category. I won’t argue that biking is the safest mode of transport in this city — not by a long shot. But the majority of e-bikes that parents are using to tote their kids around town are on the safer, lower-speed end of the e-bike spectrum. Most of the horror stories cited in that article are concerning e-motos.

I'm not searching for reasons why the emergency room doctor who says keep kids the hell away from e-bikes could possibly be wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, there’s also a guy who rides a fixie up the catholic hill to YY pulling a trailer, which is just impressive.

It's impressive but also very extra in a way that annoys me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have to be insane to put a child on an e-bike. Do you let them play with guns too?

the OP meant the parents are on the e-bike hauling kids, not the kids themselves.

All of it seems incredibly dangerous. As a parent it really bothers me that people do this with their kids.

"e-bike injuries were far more serious than those sustained on conventional bikes. Maa says they were more like what’s seen in motorcycle crashes. A pelvic fracture, for example, was uncommon on a pedal bicycle — only about 6 percent of conventional cycling injuries. For e-bike crashes, though, it was 25 percent.

The most alarming difference was the fatality rate. “On a pedal bike, the chance of dying from an injury is about three-tenths of 1 percent,” Alfrey says. On an e-bike, the data indicated, it was 11 percent."

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/magazine/e-bikes-accidents-safety-legislation-california.html

“e-bikes” = a broad category. I won’t argue that biking is the safest mode of transport in this city — not by a long shot. But the majority of e-bikes that parents are using to tote their kids around town are on the safer, lower-speed end of the e-bike spectrum. Most of the horror stories cited in that article are concerning e-motos.

I'm not searching for reasons why the emergency room doctor who says keep kids the hell away from e-bikes could possibly be wrong.

Fair enough! I’m just pointing out that citing that article without the full context is a bit misleading.