Reply to Commuting to school by e-bike?

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "Commuting to school by e-bike?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Cars are dangerous too. So is walking in the city especially some intersections. You have to take some risks [/quote]

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). [/quote]

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.[/quote]

TBH, I don't think we need detailed stats to understand the compatible risk. It's going to be person-dependent because there are many variables. You have to be able to evaluate your own variables.

A daily car commute on freeways is very risky. A daily car commute through Capitol Hill streets is not.

An e-bike commute with an experienced cyclist on protected bike lanes and paths where kids are wearing helmets is pretty darn safe. A daily e-bike commute along a 4-lane road with a novice cyclist is not.

People have to look at their situation and make the best choice for them. For some reason people who use e-bikes can be very pushy that it's the right solution for everyone. It's not. My family, for instance, commutes on foot about 60% of the time, and by car 40% of the time. This is the best combo of speed, convenience, expense, safety, environmentalism, and lifestyle for us. I have no doubts about our choices. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics