The New York Times published a pair of articles this weekend highlighting the rising number of deaths of cyclists riding electric bikes. However, in one of the most impressive feats of victim-blaming I’ve seen from the publication in some time, the NYT lays the onus on e-bikes instead of on the things killing their law abiding riders: cars.
Just another perspective here.
Yes, it’s cars, and yes, it’s infrastructure. However…
E-bikes have been causing a spike in cyclist crashes, even in places that is considered the safest place to cycle: The Netherlands.
The problem with e-bikes is that they are more like motorcycles and less like bikes, so you get a huge number of people under 25 and people over 55 crashing these things left and right.
This article from The Verge is worth the read to get a better idea of what’s going on.
80 yo or 14 yo on ebikes are menaces. One because they don’t have the reaction time and coordination to handle the speed. One because they don’t have a shred of situational awareness or respect for the rules of the road.
It’s honestly scary to share a bike path with both.