I hope you had a good, environmentally conscious Earth Day yesterday.
I celebrated by spending most of the day on it.
Meanwhile, today’s image is Metro’s new limited-edition Earth Day TAP card; the fully functional bamboo TAP cards are available at any Metro Customer Center until they run out.
AB 1557, which redefines an ebike as having a motor limited to maximum of 750 watts, and lowers the maximum assisted speed for Class 1 and Class 2 ebikes to 16 mph, passed out of the Assembly Transportation Committee 12-0; the purpose is to clearly distinguish ebikes from e-motos of questionable legality.
AB 2284 passed the committee with 15 votes in favor; it would require the state Attorney General to maintain a public list of electric two-wheeled devices that don’t meet the state’s legal definition of an ebike.
Now for the bad news.
AB 1942 also passed the committee, and would mandate that all Class 2 and Class 3 ebikes have to be registered with the DMV and display license plates, just like cars, trucks and SUVs. It would be one of the most effective ways to put the brakes on ebikes, limit the growth of an otherwise legal alternative to driving, and start us down the slippery slope that could lead to licensing regular bikes and their riders.
Somewhere in between good and bad, and also moving forward, are AB 1569, which requires students from kindergarten up to complete an approved electric bicycle safety training course before they could park an ebike on school grounds, and AB 2595, which creates a pilot program allowing cities in San Mateo County to ban kids under 12 from riding any form of ebike.
Mejer had been warned by deputies last year that the Surron Ultra Bee she purchased for her son was an illegal electric motorcycle capable of speeds up to 58 mph, and that her son had been riding it recklessly.
She is accused of lying to investigators about after the crash, claiming neither she nor her son owned a similar e-moto.
Meanwhile, former Marine pilot and substitute teacher Ed Ashman remains hospitalized, facing a long and costly recovery; a crowdfunding page to help pay his medical expenses has raised over $87,000 of the $90,000 goal.
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The Central Hollywood Neighborhood Council is hosting a CD13 City Council candidate forum next Thursday.
My finely honed political instincts tell me incumbent Hugo Soto-Martinez will probably cruise to re-election in the June primary. But I’m often, if not usually, wrong about such things, so take that with a bag of salt.
………
The City of LA reminds us about the first West LA CicLAvia this Sunday.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes — and pedestrians — just keeps on going.
County officials in Ireland are urging the country’s government to reconsider a plan for mandatory hi-visibility clothing at night for bicyclists and e-scooter users, even though the initial plan to require hi-viz collapsed within a day from a withering backlash; then again, they’re also calling for pedestrians to wear hi-viz when walking 24/7. Which is about the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
The Victor Valley News reports an ebike rider was hospitalized after being struck by a driver Wednesday evening — although photos of the bike make it look at lot more like a dirt bike or e-moto than anything that could be classified as an electric bicycle under current California law.
Before we get started, I hope you’ll join me in thanking Cohen Law Partners for renewing their ad and their support for another year.
Looking back, they’ve helped sponsor this site for 13 years now.
It’s their support, and that of our other sponsors, that allows me to keep bringing this site your way every day.
………
Now that’s more like it.
I saw this Tennessee license plate while riding in my wife’s car in West Hollywood on Sunday. And could only wish we had something like it in California.
A Bicycle Awareness license plate was in the works a few years back, but to the best of my knowledge, it ever got enough pre-orders to go into production, though I’d love to be corrected on that.
But even that wouldn’t directly address the three-foot passing law, or any other specific bike safety laws, like specifying our right to take the lane in most cases.
But we can hope, I guess.
………
WTF?
Patch offers a muddled, barely comprehensible look at the rise of ebikes, focusing primarily on enforcement and injuries, while not only conflating the usual ped-assist bikes and e-motorbikes, but also tossing e-scooters into the mix while they’re at it.
In fact, they offer only one sentence addressing the difference between legal ebikes and illegal e-motos.
Law enforcement and researchers alike caution that rising injury numbers mirror the explosion in ridership. Still, confusion between legal e-bikes and higher-powered “e-motos” continues to complicate enforcement and policy. That confusion has triggered a wave of legislation.
That’s it.
Then there’s this, as they loop older, helmetless e-scooter jockeys into the mix.
Because they can, I guess.
Not all accidents or scofflaws involve children or teens. On Wednesday a 61-year-old Petaluma man traveling on the wrong side of a sidewalk on an electric scooter without a helmet collided with a pedestrian. However, accidents are more common among youth. And a study by the Mineta Institute reported that existing evidence points to a wide variety of people using electric bicycles for transportation, including children, older adults, and people with disabilities. The study’s authors also noted that electric bicycle patients 65-years and older had both the highest hospitalization rate and highest head injury rate.
They also say a part of the problem is a lack of age limits, while failing to mention that California passed a law last year allowing cities to ban ebikes for younger riders, and faster e-mopeds and e-motos require a license.
And that Class 3 ebikes are limited to riders over 16 — as are e-scooters and hoverboards, for that matter.
But the last half of the piece is devoted entirely to a debate over Lamorinda Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan’s AB 1942, which would require visible licenses for all ebikes, and Encintas State Sen. Catherine Blakespear’s SB 1167, which creates a clear distinction between ebikes and e-motos, while banning deceptive advertising promoting the latter.
In case anyone needs a refresher, here is how ebikes are currently classified under California law.
Streetsblog LA’s “This Week in Livable Streets” is always a must read to keep up on all the meetings and events happening each week in safer streets and livable communities, as well as our own wonderful world of bicycles.
So apparently, the people in the big, dangerous machines don’t have to obey traffic signals or pass safely if someone on a bike isn’t in a bike lane.
Never mind all the other little things like not speeding, not driving distracted as long as you minimize the distractions, or even swigging some swill before getting behind the wheel.
And bike riders are free to do all kinds of stupid and potentially dangerous things, as long as they don’t ride salmon and stop for red lights.
Got it.
………
Gravel Bike California rides the Redlands Strada Rossa XII(4K).
………
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Police in Florida went out of their way not to blame an elderly driver for a collision that injured two triathletes, using the most passive language possible by reporting that “The driver and bicyclists ‘did not identify” each other ‘until the crash was unavoidable'” — even though the 74-year old driver right-hooked them on a lane that was supposed to be closed to traffic.
Visit California explains how to get around Los Angeles without a car, but somehow forgets to mention walking or riding a bike. Or even renting a damn scooter, for that matter.
A pair of Navy vets plan to ride from California to Shanksville, Pennsylvania and on to New York City to mark the 25th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, while benefitting the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. California is a big place, though, so maybe they should mention where they’ll be leaving from.
Heartbreaking news from Spartanburg, South Carolina, where two kids were killed by an alleged drunken, unlicensed driver violating the open container law; the victims, just 9 and 12-years old, were riding their bikes on the sidewalk when the driver jumped the curb.
Before we get started, I hope you’ll join me in thanking Cohen Law Partners for renewing their ad and their support for another year.
Looking back, they’ve helped sponsor this site for 13 years now. Their support, and that of our other sponsors, is how I can continue to keep bringing this your way every day.
………
Now that’s more like it.
I saw this Tennessee license plate while riding in my wife’s car in West Hollywood on Sunday. And could only wish we had something like this in California.
A Bicycle Awareness license plate was in the works a few years back, but I don’t think it ever got enough pre-orders to go into production, though I’d love to be corrected on that.
But even that wouldn’t directly address the three-foot passing law, or any other specific bike safety laws, like specifying the right to take the lane.
But we can hope, I guess.
………
WTF?
Patch offers a muddled, barely comprehensible look at the rise of ebikes, while focusing primarily on enforcement and injuries, and conflating not only the usual ped-assist bikes and e-motorbikes, but tossing e-scooters into the mix while they’re at it.
In fact, they offer only one sentence addressing legal ebikes and illegal e-motos.
Law enforcement and researchers alike caution that rising injury numbers mirror the explosion in ridership. Still, confusion between legal e-bikes and higher-powered “e-motos” continues to complicate enforcement and policy. That confusion has triggered a wave of legislation.
That’s it.
Then there’s this, as they loop older, helmetless e-scooter jockeys into the mix.
Because they can, I guess.
Not all accidents or scofflaws involve children or teens. On Wednesday a 61-year-old Petaluma man traveling on the wrong side of a sidewalk on an electric scooter without a helmet collided with a pedestrian. However, accidents are more common among youth. And a study by the Mineta Institute reported that existing evidence points to a wide variety of people using electric bicycles for transportation, including children, older adults, and people with disabilities. The study’s authors also noted that electric bicycle patients 65-years and older had both the highest hospitalization rate and highest head injury rate.
They also say a part of the problem is a lack of age limits, while failing to mention that California passed a law last year allowing cities to ban ebikes for younger riders, and faster ebikes require a license.
And that Class 3 ebikes are limited to riders over 16 — as are e-scooters and hoverboards, for that matter.
But the last half of the piece is devoted entirely to a debate over Lamorinda Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan’s AB 1942, which would require visible licenses for all ebikes, and Encintas State Sen. Catherine Blakespear’s SB 1167, which would create a clear distinction between ebikes and e-motos, while banning deceptive advertising regarding the latter.
In case anyone needs a refresher, here is how ebikes are currently classified under California law.
Streetsblog’s “This Week in Livable Streets” is always a must read to keep up on all the meetings and events happening each week in safer streets and livable communities, as well as our own world of bicycles.
So apparently, the people in the big, dangerous machines don’t have to obey traffic signals or pass safely if someone on a bike isn’t in a bike lane.
Never mind all the other little things like not speeding, not driving distracted as long as you minimize the distractions, and go ahead and swig a few gallons of booze before you drive.
And bike riders are free to do all kinds of stupid and potentially dangerous things, as long as they don’t ride salmon and stop for red lights.
Got it.
………
Gravel Bike California rides the Redlands Strada Rossa XII(4K).
………
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Police in Florida go out of their way not to blame an elderly driver for a collision that injured two triathletes, by using the most passive language possible, reporting that “The driver and bicyclists ‘did not identify” each other ‘until the crash was unavoidable'” — even though the 74-year old driver right hooked them on a lane that was supposed to be closed to traffic.
Visit California explains how to get around Los Angeles without a car, but only focuses on Metro, and forgets to mention you can also walk or take a bike. Or even rent a scooter, for that matter.
A pair of Navy vets plans to ride from California to Shanksville, Pennsylvania and on to New York City to mark the 25th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, while benefitting the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Although California is a big place, so they might want to mention where they’re leaving from.
Heartbreaking news from Spartanburg, South Carolina, where two kids were killed by an alleged drunken, unlicensed driver with an open container in his car; the victims, just 9 and 12-years old, were riding their bikes on the sidewalk when the driver jumped the curb.
A town in Norfolk, England is being criticized for spending nearly $700,000 to build a mile-long bike lane, which has supposedly made it less safe by narrowing the street, even though that’s been shown to slow drivers while improving safety for everyone — although bicyclists have a legitimate complaint because haven’t kept delivery drivers from blocking them.
The AP correctly notes we’re living in a golden age of cycling, with “weekly brilliance and once-in-a-lifetime rivalries,” thanks to Tadej Pogačar, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard. And you can add Demi Vollering, Lorena Wiebes, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and the incomparable Marianne Vos, as well.
Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.
A town in Norfolk, England is being criticized for spending nearly $700,000 to build a mile-long bike lane, which has supposedly made it less safe by narrowing the street, even though that’s been shown to slow drivers while improving safety for everyone; although bicyclists have a legitimate complaint because the city hasn’t kept delivery drivers from blocking the lane.
The AP correctly notes we’re living in a golden age of cycling, with “weekly brilliance and once-in-a-lifetime rivalries,” thanks to Tadej Pogačar, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard. And you can add Demi Vollering, Lorena Wiebes, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and the incomparable Marianne Vos.
