The one and only, supreme, most important, most valuable euc Safety Device of all time!!!

[The Wizard]

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[LanghamP]

Let me get this straight; a car runs a red light and then you say the most important safety factor is your brain?

Even before I read your post, I was thinking to myself, "where's the auto?" Because 99% of bicycle accidents are caused by autos.

Your first instinct of not wearing a helmet on a bicycle is the correct one because it's not the bicycle riding that is dangerous; it's the environment that is. A helmet is a highly inappropriate response to threats that are within feet (or less) of you.

If you're a swimmer and there's a shark with you, here's most to least effective responses:

--Separate the threat from the swimmer.

--Isolate the threat.

--Train the shark not to kill you.

--Train the swimmer not to be killed.

--Safety equipment.

In other words, your brain would actually be the 4th most valuable tool in your arsenal, behind protected bicycle lanes, exclusionary roads for cars, and driver training.

By the way, this is for bicycles versus cars.

With EUC's, the EUC is the threat. Don't ride the bloody things, but since you're going to be an idiot (I'm right behind you on this one) then go ahead and wear a full-face helmet.

[Glitched]

It sounds like you've basically been trying to cross a highway on an ewheel... with a vision-blocking hill to boot and few other pedestrians crossing with you normally, if any. That definitely sounds particularly risky for any wheeler to accept. I'd probably try to avoid that route, if possible.  45mph speed limit is really fast, but cars can speed to 55-60 np with that speed limit and not necessarily get in too much trouble with the police, if any are even around.  GL keeping track of all the inbound cars at any of these higher speeds. Even pedestrians have to be careful with streets with such a high speed limit, WITH the crosswalk sign on, because cars want to make a left/right turn. 

My experience so far leads me to believe ewheel commuting  is only 'reasonably' safe for commutes involving sidewalks, bike lanes, and side streets.  That basically goes the same for bikes in my mind, coincidentally. Crossing the street I tend not to bother taking right of way, like a pedestrian, because cars don't expect me to cross the street or  know what the wheel will do at all. I'll cross if there are clearly no incoming cars and/or I have other pedestrians crossing as my 'cover' (ok technically also if the driver waves me on, or if I clearly signal to the driver I'm coming through and they're not speeding up).   I guess I treat it like a hoverboard but as if no one in the general public has ever seen one before and what it does. 

I guess this is my 'wisdom' from years of living in super urban areas (DC, NY/NYC). Maybe folks in suburbia get a false sense of security because all it takes is this one incident like in OP's case to happen before they realize very similar precautions as I described above probably should be taken if you want less near misses.

[Boogieman]

18 hours ago, The Wizard said:

I have studied, I have bought, I am even gonna buy more safety padding and armor. God bless me?

It all would not have meant a god dam thing. I'm serious god dam it.

I would not have been anything but a grease mark with some pink brains scattered up the street a couple hundred feet. All that in spite of all the expense and trouble of full body pads and armor.

It's not a joke.

The most important safety equipment or device you can use is.......

YOUR BRAIN. 

I have thought of using my full motor bike gear until I find a decent "light armour" to make a high speed run. But maybe it's not a bad idea for commuting either.

Bonus possibility... If I manage to do knee scrapes on a EUC... With feets still on the pedals, I think it would be a EUC first... And the Titanium screw sparkles are so pretty at night ?

?

[Puffyzdad]

Ok, I’ll be cautious.