Some worry that New York City’s crackdown on unsafe cyclists leaves them facing greater consequences than drivers, even though cars cause more fatalities.

  • @[email protected]
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    2728 days ago

    Pretty sure in the EU they are supposed to be limited to 25kmh, which is the upper speed limit for bike lanes too

    • @[email protected]
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      126 days ago

      They don’t so much have a speed limit but they’re required to stop giving you a boost at 25 km/h. Anything that uses a motor to go faster needs a license plate and everything.

      At least in Germany bike lanes don’t have a speed limit, you can drive as fast as you want as long as it’s safe, you’re in control, etc. Especially relevant when going downhill.

      Sunday or leisurely drivers will go 10 to 25km/h, when you’re fit, the road surface is good and the bike built for it sustaining 35km/h isn’t much of an issue, fastest I ever went on my mountain bike with semi-slicks (so no racing transmission but no unnecessary friction losses either), on flat ground, was 38km/h. But that’s pushing it for the sake of pushing it, my average top speed is just over 30. No lycra, no race bike.

    • @[email protected]
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      1728 days ago

      Speed-pedelecs are allowed to go 45kmh and are allowed both on bike lanes and car lanes in the Netherlands. They have a license plate as well, looks like a regular ebike.

      • @[email protected]
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        28 days ago

        In that case the Netherlands is ignoring EU law, which now very clearly defines a regular e-bike: 25km/h, 250W max output, no throttle.

        PS: clarification - if they have a license plate then obviously they’re not regular e-bikes. Seems to me crazy to just allow them in bike lanes.

        • @[email protected]
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          1128 days ago

          This is the same as in Belgium, where the faster e-bikes are counted as light mopeds. Max speed of 45km/h, and they must use the bike lane whenever the road speed limit exceeds 50km/h, and the road if not. Most of our city centers are 30km/h speed limit, which also counts for these e-bikes, just as all other motorized traffic.

            • @[email protected]
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              127 days ago

              And they are required to, depending on their motor size, following the same rules. So basically a fast e-bike (spedelec) and petrol mopeds are counted as the same type of vehicle.

              • @[email protected]
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                127 days ago

                That was a big culture shock for me, seeing motor vehicles share the same lane with bicycles… I guess nowadays with ebikes and escooters it shouldn’t be as surprising.

        • @[email protected]
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          121 days ago

          i’ve never understood the dislike for mopeds on bike paths (let’s not talk about lanes, bike lanes should not exist), it’s only a problem if they go too fast, which bikes can and will do as well.

          • @[email protected]
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            121 days ago

            Sure but you must see that speeding is far easier for a motorized vehicle than for a bicycle.