Beginning of the end...

Esk8-related Politics
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Well gang, this is the beginning of the end. Locally here in the Seattle area Kirkland has already banned everything but pedal e-bikes and mobility scooters citywide and Los Angeles has now done the same:

https://ktla.com/news/california/southern-california-city-the-latest-to-announce-e-bike-crackdown/

This will prompt a flood of similar restrictions in all US cities. It’s draconian and it wasn’t even our (esk8’s onewheels and EUC’s) fault, but there it is.

And it’s not entirely unwarranted. Unfortunately those small e-motorcycles really took off with the kids (of course they did) - I was out riding on the local trail yesterday and one tore past me at probably 30 mph, driven by maybe a 14 year old.

At this point I would not recommend buying an esk8 if your intent is to ride it on paved trails.

I’m going to start converting my fleet to mountain boards since those are likely to not be as heavily regulated. We will always be able to ride forest service roads and the like but that’s not exactly close. I also think we’ll be ok in mountain bike parks and singletrack, though we might not be welcome.

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Never give up.

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I didn’t even read the whole thing because I’ve heard this all before.

Nothing will happen. These things are too popular. They can try but it won’t do shit.

All this is going to do is ruin the sport for people who can’t have fun unless they’re following every single rule they can possibly think of.

Go buy an esk8 and ride it. It’s skateboarding, we don’t need permission.

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I wish that were true but remember that song, “I fought authority, authority always wins” :slight_smile:

I do think you might be right in that there are a lot of people riding those little e-scooters, not to mention the commercial offerings like LIME). They might have to carve out an exception for those and if we were sufficiently diligent we might be able to get esk8’s and EUC;s in that carveout.

I will probably go try to talk to the Bellevue City Council and present a case where there’s an upside to PEV’s in that they get cars off the road and properly restricted they give kids an alternate mode of transit than their folk’s Expedition.

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There are a million laws that are not enforced.

This one will join them.

Police will use this law to harass black teenagers and occasionally stop a wreckless rider

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Well, maybe, but unfortunately for me I don’t enjoy an activity nearly as much when I’m under constant threat of a citation. Then I’m nervous all the time.

I’d rather ride wild and free. And, you know, legal.

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I promise you even when you think you’re being wild and free you’re probably breaking some law.

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true, but in LA they are confiscating the vehicles.

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That’s a line I’m probably not willing to cross. Not that I think that would happen here, but even the other day I ran across a guy on a dirt trail that told me I wasn’t allowed there. I was, there was no signage banning me and after a civil conversation with him he agreed, but if there is a law in place then I don’t have the chance of having a civil conversation.

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That image makes me more confident that they won’t mess with electric skateboards that are riding within reason. Their main concern seems to be things that are effectively electric dirt bikes without tags.

Idk if it’s so they can try to go on bike trails or to avoid registration or what, but I kind of don’t understand why more people don’t just register their Surrons and whatnot as motorcycles. I could be mistaken, but I looked into registering things like that in California, and I think as long as it has a headlight, turn signals, and a speedometer, you can without too much fuss. I haven’t actually done it, though, so maybe it would be a pain despite the law making it seem like you could.

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Ebikes over a certain capability are indistinguishable from a motorcycle; which is a vehicle type our society has decided needs a license and other behaviors. This is via laws and also via societal norms.

Skateboards are not there, and id argue they’re very very very far from there. Being seen as a vehicle (going to the DMV and registering and having Insurance type vehicle) is a big hurdle that esk8s won’t be overcoming any time soon.

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They’re cracking down on the teens riding emotos. A grown dude riding an eboard not like a jackass is so low on their radar you may as well be a minivan.

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Id argue they’d stop an old guy driving his minivan down the bike trail, even if he was doing it politely

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Sometimes I worry about breaking the law. But, after a few pints and some Judas Priest I forget about all that. The cops probably look up my criminal record and are greatful I’ve replaced cars with skateboards as part of growing up.

I’ve only been arrested for eskating once, and I still talked my way out of it. If you’re likely to give no fucks, doing it on a board is still a safer option than with cars.

AliExpress sells these white privilege cards pretty cheap. I’m thinking about getting one, and “accidentally” handing it over, whilst attempting to keep a straght face, instead of my license next time I get rolled on a board.

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We still have AB604 in Ca. Doubt anyone here is compliant but cops aren’t electricians. If nothing else it might let you get away with a warning instead of a citation.

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What this means is we are even more ambassadors. I do this by not exceeding 15 generally. About 7 in parking lots and sidewalks. Always chat up the grannies and gramps that take a liking to my board. And NEVER let it burn.

If I am ticketed, I will fight it with telling the judge that it is my mobility device, and I MUST have it. As I have heart failure. Even walking to a bus stop is a no go.

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Esk8 might prob still in the gray zone. But cops are definitely starting to crack down on ebikes and EUC. Couple local EUC guys got pulled over by cops.

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Couple months back, I was cruising my least favorite section of sidewalk next to a busy 4 lane, coming back from the park.

I knew an ebike was coming up behind me, but was concentrating on the expansion joints and other obstacles on the sidewalk, along the 45mph highway where most drive 60.

A young girl on the ebike, with ear buds blasting music I could hear over my urethane on rough concrete, and the fast moving vehicles 2 meters away, as she passed me, on a half meter wide piece of grass between highway and sidewalk.

Way too close. I was seriously annoyed.

Wreckless. I was doing about 10-12mph, she was doing 20.

There is an intersection coming up, and I see a car is waiting to take a left turn, and was waiting for a pause in oncoming traffic.
No way they were looking for an Ebike on the sidewalk going the wrong way, fast.

I saw the vectors and yelled. The girl on the ebike just blew through the intersection at the same time the left turning vehicle goosed it. They saw the girl at the half way point across 2 lanes and locked up the brakes. The cars doing 60mph at me, who had a green light, had to slam on their brakes to avoid hitting the turning car.

I was towing Fiona in her chariot and was not really far enough from screeching tires to feel safe by any means.

A collision was only narrowly avoided.
The girl on the Ebike seemingly had no Idea she almost got smeared. She just kept doing 20mph on the sidewalk, oblivious.

I thought I was about to witness a very gruesome death.

Kids on ebikes are menaces.

They have no idea about traffic laws or rules of the road. Their ebikes are more powerful than the moped I had i the 80’s, and I had to pass a written and drivers test, register and insure the damn thing when I was 15.

Frankly, I am surprised they didn’t crack down sooner on the ebikes.

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This is giving me New South Wales vibes…

…except most of the time, the popo use the “don’t be a dickhead” rule.

Can’t say the same of policy and rule makers but we usually get away with some stuff.

For now.

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I see it more as an infrastructure problem. Cars are the worst and, including danger to others, the most dangerous form of transportation. If we’re willing to dedicate so much infrastructure to them, we should be even more willing to dedicate the tiny fraction it costs in comparison for infrastructure for PEVs.

Really, IMO, everything should start back at square one, and we should create a system that classifies vehicles based on size/weight, speed, and maybe some other safety factors, that can accommodate practically any type of vehicle, and then ensure there is at least a somewhat reasonable way to use each type. The problem is that right now, it’s a free-for-all because we have patchwork governments mostly full of elderly people who aren’t up to date on anything new or technology-related, and so trying to make something that fits the rules is impossible. At least if there were a place for all vehicles, then things might end up in a different class based on jurisdiction, but they wouldn’t be entirely illegal.

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Yup. 90% of the crash I’ve seen on rides are teenagers on Surrons/similar style bikes. They have absolutely no situation awareness, no road courtesy and don’t know their limits. And the part that sucks is whenever they crash, it usually involves another rider.

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