Originally Posted by
Classtime
10-15 years ago, the local school board recommended that students not bike to school because—DANGEROUS.
This year they have added multiples of bike racks and 200 ebikes regularly are in the racks at the HS. My son was one of 3-4 kids back in the day who rode and locked their bikes to the fence. It’s over people
I've noticed that too. A lot more kids riding around ... and on ebikes. In fact, the pre-teen demographic is the primary ebike demographic in my hood.
I find that really odd, and a pretty good example of how humans believe what they want to believe.
It was pretty difficult to convince any parent to allow their kid to ride to school on a bicycle. Even with bike lanes and other changes, participation was damn small ... about zero, and the "reason" was always safety.
So now you have ebikes ... much easier to pedal and have the "cool factor" or an attached motor. (many are throttle controlled, BTW). And I see a lot of them on the streets.
So what happened to the "safety" concerns? How can it be that a powered ebike capable of sustaining 20MPH+ speeds is safer than a bicycle (which, lets face it, few go near that speed for extended periods of time)?
My guess is that the parents think it somewhat dangerous, but since the kids actually WANT an ebike, they convince the parents to let them go at it. And that is probably a good thing. I think it unfortunate that so many parents
chauffeur their kids to school, even in good whether and for really short distances. A little independence and freedom to make mistakes is good for a kid.