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Unfortunate Fatality on an E-bike

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Unfortunate Fatality on an E-bike

Old 08-02-22, 01:12 PM
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work4bike
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Unfortunate Fatality on an E-bike

I just read this, this morning. I wonder how often this happens without being reported.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/team-moll...120953641.html

Katherine Rosman
Tue, August 2, 2022 at 8:09 AMThe parents of a girl who died after an e-bike accident filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Monday against the Seattle e-bike company Rad Power Bikes.

In the suit, Kaye and Jonathan Steinsapir, the parents of Molly Steinsapir, who died last year at age 12, claim that flaws in the bike’s design made it difficult for riders to slow down and stop as the bike gained speed while going downhill.

The suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, also argues that Rad Power Bikes engaged in “inappropriate marketing of e-bikes to children,” adding that the company failed to “adequately warn about the dangers of children operating e-bikes.”
Since I started seeing so many e-bikes in my area, I found it incredible at the speeds they go and I know the vast majority do not have the road skills necessary to ride a bike at those speeds, especially since they are in no way following rules-of-the-road. Many of them I've seen are weaving in and out of traffic and onto the sidewalk and I've even seen this as they were going against traffic. I see them blow stop signs at speed.

No wonder why there are so many stories of increasing accidents due to e-bike, but also these other battery-operated things, such as scooters...

I've heard that Europe has a speed limit on e-bikes, but according to this piece, those limits are widely ignored. https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/13/2...sk-netherlands


E-bike injuries on the rise even on well protected Dutch roads

As a resident of Amsterdam for more than two decades, I’ve seen how e-bikes have transformed dedicated cycleways, especially in the last two years. In part due to the ******* factor, there’s now a wider disparity of speeds on bicycle lanes, exacerbated by the many companies that make it trivial to bypass the EU speed limit of 25km/h (15.5mph).
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Old 08-02-22, 01:29 PM
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I'm waiting on the gummint to step in & require a bunch of safety stops in place to drastically reduce the fun factor of those E-things; because it's not outfitted with an ICE, it might not happen.
unless it's a rented E-Bicycle, chances are high that the owner had it "worked" on to bypass the limiters.
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Old 08-02-22, 01:34 PM
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The suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, also argues that Rad Power Bikes engaged in “inappropriate marketing of e-bikes to children,” adding that the company failed to “adequately warn about the dangers of children operating e-bikes.”
I see they're going for the Big Tobacco strategy.

This is the inevitable result of giving power to people who aren't used to having it and who haven't developed an appreciation for it. Traditional road cyclists spend a lot of time practicing on descents and corners, so they tend to have a better understanding of what a safe speed is. E-bikes allow any fat guy to become Bradley Wiggins with the swipe of a credit card. Gee, I wonder how that will end?
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Old 08-02-22, 02:29 PM
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This was a tragic accident. You don't need to be on an ebike to get killed. I remember Montgomery Wards paid out in the millions several times to wrongful death suits. These were not ebikes and it was about the brakes. The Rad Runner Is designed To haul a passenger. It has mechanical disk brakes on It. I am guessing that the operator of that ebike lacked the skill and experience needed to safely operate it with herself only on it. The parents lack experience and likely didn't check adjustments on the brakes and the tightness of the handlebars, stem ect. Like the ebikes I ordered the Rad Power Bikes need some assembly when delivered.
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Old 08-02-22, 03:28 PM
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I just took a look at the RAD website and didn't see any marketing to children. I wonder what kind of warning labels come on their bikes.
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Old 08-02-22, 03:39 PM
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“inappropriate marketing of e-bikes to children,”
I just checked their website. Nowhere do I see anything that even suggests they are marketing to children.
This just seems like another case of parents who buy the kid something the kid has neither the experience or know-how to properly use, and rather than admit bad parenting, sue the product.
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Old 08-02-22, 03:55 PM
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While losing the child is a tragedy (btdt), it's unfortunate that her parents weren't capable of intelligent thought. Perhaps their daughter belonged on a bicycle, with some supervision, rather than a a motorized scooter. No doubt the kid bought it from her allowance. Heaven forbid that a kid gets some exercise.

Of course it has to be someone else's fault..it's always someone else's fault.
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Old 08-02-22, 04:30 PM
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see also https://www.bikeforums.net/electric-...r-s-death.html
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Old 08-02-22, 05:42 PM
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The suit also names Vista Outdoors, parent of Giro, the brand of helmet the girl was wearing. The girl is reported to have died from a TBI.

My teen kids ride pedal bicycles and motorcycles. The helmets for each are different. There are some helmets being marketed specifically for e-bikes, but its not clear whether the differences are mostly style or substance. I suspect there are some e-bike and rider combinations that would benefit from protective equipment more similar to that for motorcycles.
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Old 08-02-22, 05:49 PM
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Originally Posted by fishboat
While losing the child is a tragedy (btdt),
I am terribly sorry to hear that. I cannot imagine anything more horrible.

it's unfortunate that her parents weren't capable of intelligent thought. Perhaps their daughter belonged on a bicycle, with some supervision, rather than a a motorized scooter. No doubt the kid bought it from her allowance. Heaven forbid that a kid gets some exercise.

Of course it has to be someone else's fault..it's always someone else's fault.
It's a bit more complicated, because the parents of the girl who died did not buy the bike, according to the New York Times article that was linked in the earlier thread on this topic. Rather, the parents of her friend bought it for her older sister. They took the bike for a joy-ride that ended tragically.

If anyone should be held responsible in this particular case, it would be the parents of the child's friend. Their irresponsibility and negligence created the opportunity for this tragedy.
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Old 08-02-22, 06:06 PM
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Originally Posted by Polaris OBark
I am terribly sorry to hear that. I cannot imagine anything more horrible.



It's a bit more complicated, because the parents of the girl who died did not buy the bike, according to the New York Times article that was linked in the earlier thread on this topic. Rather, the parents of her friend bought it for her older sister. They took the bike for a joy-ride that ended tragically.

If anyone should be held responsible in this particular case, it would be the parents of the child's friend. Their irresponsibility and negligence created the opportunity for this tragedy.
Pockets not deep enough.
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Old 08-02-22, 06:19 PM
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Rad Power ebikes come from the factory setup as a Class 2 ebike, meaning they have a throttle. The motor stops assisting just before 20mph. The children were going down a hill and lost control. My ebikes came with warnings about having a bike shop assemble them. I can change mine between Class 1 and Class 3. Parents commonly give their children department store bicycles and never take a look at them after handing them to their children. You can still coast faster down a hill than 20/28mph.
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Old 08-03-22, 12:56 AM
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Ooh they're suing Giro helmets too. Ebikers are gonna hate it when they have to start wearing DOT helmets.
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Old 08-03-22, 02:44 PM
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"I just read this, this morning. I wonder how often this happens without being reported"


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Old 08-03-22, 08:04 PM
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Keep in mind Rad Power has a throttle not an e-bike it is a crappy electric moped with really poor mechanical brakes. Rad I believe in their manuals says their "bikes" are for 18+, the "bike" was owned by a friends parents so really none of this was on Rad even if their brakes are poor. If I were having to sue someone I would probably sue the parents who allowed my daughter and a friend to ride that thing. However I think suing people over being dumb is just silly. It sucks you lost a family member that is always tough but no need to sue unless someone actually did something wrong that is suable over. Kids being kids and being given machines they should not be riding with no supervision is always a potential recipe for disaster but not really something to sue over.
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Old 08-04-22, 08:18 AM
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Old 08-05-22, 12:07 AM
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“No amount of money can bring back our daughter,” Kaye Steinsapir said.

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Old 08-05-22, 11:56 AM
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I almost hit an e-bike this morning while driving to work. I often commute by bike but I needed my Truck for work today. I was turning right onto a 2 way street (U.S) and it is a bad spot where there are trees blocking view so I have to pay special attention when pulling out. The traffic was clear so out I went. And boom! There came an e-bike on riding on the wrong side of the road, whom I did not see when I scanned to the right making sure nobody was entering the crosswalk etc. My window was down and I saw him shaking his head. I told him he was riding on the wrong side of the road and that it is illegal for a reason. This really irks me because this makes us all look bad. I only point out that this was an e-bike because of the speed he came into my path. It looked "odd" how fast he was going - let's just say that. I am all for getting more people on bikes but these things are going to become more and more a problem as they become less expensive and more powerful.
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Old 08-05-22, 12:38 PM
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saw a single vehicle accident involving an eBike in the Bronx. while I was in NY, I saw a lot of eBikes & eScooters roaming the streets. they're in the shoulder, in the lanes, not observing traditional traffic rules. the accident I saw: big city intersection, everyone was stopped due to the lights & this kid on an eBike weaves thru cars to get into the intersection while everyone is stopped. he crashed skidding near a traffic calming curb type thing, right under the light. we all watched him tumble then run to his bike & pull it off the road. also saw him spinning his mirror as it to remove it or tighten it. almost comical, cus he didn't seem like the type to use a mirror. then we had our green light & had to turn away. even with new rules there's no guarantee kids like that will follow them. no doubt there will be more injuries & deaths
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Old 08-05-22, 01:08 PM
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That is sad to hear. I remember when "mopeds" first came out. I remember thinking that they were not designed for the speeds which they can attain. Probably the same with these things.
A kid passed me going the other way, at around 20mph, as I was walking down the sidewalk, yesterday.

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Old 08-06-22, 05:14 AM
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Originally Posted by SurferRosa
“No amount of money can bring back our daughter,” Kaye Steinsapir said.

When people utter those words in situations like this, there's always an implicit "but we are going to try."
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