E-Bikes: More dangerous than regular bikes

Letter to the editor in today's New York Times:

Re “Teenagers’ Accidents Expose the Risks of E-Bikes” (front page, July 31):

While it is clear that stronger regulation around the speeds of e-bikes is needed, roadway design determines the safety of our communities.

What we are seeing is the deadly consequences of a system built for cars and cars only. As one of the people quoted in the article notes, the bikes’ speed is “too fast for sidewalks, but it’s too slow to be in traffic.”

In a better system, bikes and cars would not have to share the road, and our roads would be designed to accommodate the reality that people get around in different ways, and everyone deserves to get around safely.

Bikes are not motorcycles, and they should not be treated as if they were. These crashes are happening because people on bikes are forced to use unsafe roadways around cars that are often going too fast.

Earl Blumenauer

Portland, Ore.

The writer, a member of Congress, is the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Bicycle Caucus.

Rob's comment:

Regular readers of this blog know I take a dim view of bike riding in general because of the dangers: Riding a bike is dangerous: Don't do it.

Blumenauer's assumption about e-bikes is that speed and motor vehicles are the primary dangers for cyclists. In fact most cycling accidents are "solo falls" that have nothing to do with other vehicles: Solo falls: Only half the problem.

Click on "Solo Falls" below for more on the issue.