Reckless riding is going to get us banned

[massiestinymotors]

https://reddit.com/r/ElectricUnicycle/comments/hfh2gx/this_kind_of_reckless_riding_will_get_us_banned/

[gr8ps]

/sarcasm - the below is my poor attempt at sarcasm. 

Have you guys ever ridden in NYC? You don't understand. You have to be aggressive, all the cars and cabs are out to get you. No one follows traffic signals, everyone runs reds. Until you've lived in the city, you can't have an opinion. Go back to riding in your suburbs with perfect roads.

 

 

 

That's my guess what the responses are going to be. 

Edited June 27, 2020 by gr8ps

[null]

I don’t mind reckless driving in empty areas as you only risk yourself. Amongst traffic I guess it depends, do in Rome as romans do. We have the smaller véhicule.

Along pedestrians however it is a different question, any of them could have stepped aside, waved out an arm, changed direction.

Here in France cyclists pull that shit all the time, and it is only the historical status of bicycle that apparently give them a pass. It is very disagreeable to get zipped by like that by someone who chose to risk your safety.

Anyhow, to shorten: people racing through groups of pedestrians thing they have control; they don’t. They have no idea when the kid will jump to the side. Pedestrians aren’t static.

Edited June 25, 2020 by null

[gr8ps]

I unsubscribed from U-stride. 

I went through his replies and didn't realize he was such an utter douchebag. His replies are pissing me off. I'm glad wrongway and @Duf are calling out his bad behavior in the comments. 

[Scottie]

16 minutes ago, null said:

and it is only the historical status of bicycle that apparently give them a pass.

Could not agree more! I feel more obvious to the world on an EUC, and more anonymous on a bicycle.

[Rehab1]

I can’t sit idly by without posting my opinion on this subject! 

 

[Gasmantle]

I also agree this is stupidity that will  eventually see EUC's banned  I enjoy riding my wheel as much as the next person and I'm no way a kill joy but riding at 30+ mph in pedestrianised area is dangerous and if it continues will ultimately kill off the EUC hobby.

A few years ago when EUC's were a new thing they offered a sensible means of short commutes at modest speeds, they offered a partial solution to city centre traffic congestion and pollution. In as little as 5 years we have gone from a practical transport solution to becoming an enthusiast sport where adrenalin rush is now the primary motive for some riders.

We all want a bit of a buzz from riding at high speed / carving etc but there is a time and a place for it and that isn't on a pedestrian walkway in the height of summer. Like everyone else here I want to see EUC's legalised but riding like an idiot in public isn't going to help our cause. I can't speak for any other country but in the UK we will have an uphill struggle to get EUC's legalised, even Escooters with their modest performance are subject to regulation.

When an Inmotion V5f was seen as an urban transport solution and a V8 was regarded as high performance there was a case for lobbying government into allowing their use in public but now with 2000w machines capable of 40mph  no government in their right mind is going to legalise them. Let's not kid ourselves here, the high powered wheels of today have performance similar to a small motorcycle.

My guess is the only way governments will look at legalisation is if suddenly a significant number of new riders come along who aren't adrenalin junkies but want a practical low powered urban vehicle - the 'sensible' riders will be the key to getting governments to consider our case.

To a large extent I think the EUC manufacturers are unwittingly contributing to their own demise. Most new wheels on the market now are high powered enthusiast machines, I can understand that the makers have seen the enthusiast market is profitable but slowly the emphasis is moving away from low powered urban transport that a government may be interested in towards a high powered niche market of high speed enthusiasts than governments won't entertain on public roads.

 

[Rehab1]

5 minutes ago, Gasmantle said:

but riding at 30+ mph in pedestrianised area is dangerous

When I see these idiots bearing down on an innocent family with little kids in hand I almost threw my phone! WTF!! How can anyone  respect these guys! 

[someguy152]

4 hours ago, gr8ps said:

You have to be aggressive,

on the roads....but not sure why you would extrapolate that to riding on shared trails with 3mph peds

[GothamMike]

4 hours ago, gr8ps said:

Have you guys ever ridden in NYC? You don't understand. You have to be aggressive, all the cars and cabs are out to get you. No one follows traffic signals, everyone runs reds. Until you've lived in the city, you can't have an opinion. Go back to riding in your suburbs with perfect roads.

 

 

 

That's my guess what the responses are going to be. 

Sidewalks?

[gr8ps]

9 minutes ago, GothamMike said:

Sidewalks?

? 

It was sarcasm on my part. I've called out the NYC riders before. What I got out of it is that NYC is special and rules don't apply to them. 

 

 

[gr8ps]

31 minutes ago, someguy152 said:

on the roads....but not sure why you would extrapolate that to riding on shared trails with 3mph peds

Sorry, I was being sarcastic. 

[Michael Tucker]

Everything negative said about EUC riders can be said about scooter riders, e-bike riders, bicyclists, car drivers and motorcyclists. I drive a minivan with my family on the freeway in the slow lane at 5mph below the speed limit. The amount of cars and SUVs who speed around me or shoot across 3 lanes of traffic at 80mph to exit are too many to count. Who is banning any car that can travel above the speed limit. I walk the beautiful trails along the bay with rude cyclists moving at 22 mph next to my 1 year old. Who is banning these reckless people. Who's enforcing laws nowadays anyways?!

[Gasmantle]

13 minutes ago, Michael Tucker said:

Everything negative said about EUC riders can be said about scooter riders, e-bike riders, bicyclists, car drivers and motorcyclists. I drive a minivan with my family on the freeway in the slow lane at 5mph below the speed limit. The amount of cars and SUVs who speed around me or shoot across 3 lanes of traffic at 80mph to exit are too many to count. Who is banning any car that can travel above the speed limit. I walk the beautiful trails along the bay with rude cyclists moving at 22 mph next to my 1 year old. Who is banning these reckless people. Who's enforcing laws nowadays anyways?!

EUC's will get legalised or banned on their own merits.

Sure, there are all sorts of idiots driving all manner of vehicles but that is irrelevant, all that is of interest to any government is the case being presented in favour or against EUC's.

[.....]

33 minutes ago, Michael Tucker said:

Everything negative said about EUC riders can be said about scooter riders, e-bike riders, bicyclists, car drivers and motorcyclists. I drive a minivan with my family on the freeway in the slow lane at 5mph below the speed limit. The amount of cars and SUVs who speed around me or shoot across 3 lanes of traffic at 80mph to exit are too many to count. Who is banning any car that can travel above the speed limit. I walk the beautiful trails along the bay with rude cyclists moving at 22 mph next to my 1 year old. Who is banning these reckless people. Who's enforcing laws nowadays anyways?!

I agree. However, it magnifies the nuisance and really increases the odds for accident, when these people travel in packs. Not only does the mentality change when in groups, so does the feeling of being invincible. I have been a part of a similar phenomena . Get a bunch of rowdy people together and they feed off of each other's lawlessness. It just keeps escalating. Its not just a problem with euc riders, its in a lot of things, even in peaceful things.  One person decides to take a risk and everyone else follow suit. I enjoy most things more, when the group is limited to just a few people. Another problem with groups, if that you become guilty by association. The cities and crowded areas are the WORST! I used to get offered an insane amount of money to drive into Nyc and i always happily declined. Hell, even the city itself, is one large gang that thinks the laws on the books do not pertain to them. You hear it over and over: justification of behavior because the 'rules don't apply' when everyone else is also breaking them.  Its not just NYC, it a lot of larger areas. People endanger other people's lives all the time. Watch how tailgaters don't mind doing 70mph with 5' in front of them to the car ahead. People jaywalk, dont use signals in cars, pull out in front of people, cut you off at high speed. The list goes on and on. Its not just an euc thing, its a bigger mentality that is even common in the 16yr girl who's behind the wheel of the expensive car mommy and daddy paid for.

Edited June 26, 2020 by ShanesPlanet

[Marty Backe]

The NYC crowd is very different from every other EUC group that I see. Basically, a bunch of 20-year guys or guys acting like 20-year old's, who are totally hyped up about speed, speed, and more speed. They think they are the center of the EUC universe and routinely smear all other EUC riders, as zombie riders, slow, boring, etc. They couldn't care less about what anyone in this forum thinks or anyone outside of NYC.

Of course I'm generalizing and there are NYC riders in this forum who are not like that. I'm just so happy that I get to ride with a bunch of guys in peace-loving California where the testosterone is a couple notches lower  We're not perfect and I'm sure we have our reckless moments, but it's at a totally different level compared to NYC.

I've seen people complain about them here, in Facebook, and other places. It's wasted energy in my opinion. See first paragraph above 

That all being said, I don't think anything they do there will result in EUC's becoming illegal anywhere else. It's all too local and niche.

[Unventor]

I saw this comming. This why I have been so hard on arguing for max 50kmh on EUC.

You could hope that someone in the group would say this is over the edge. But in a group most tend to forget this and everyone keep pushing one another. 

Now you can still ride as an idiot at 50kmh...even 20kmh if you do it in the wrong place at the wrong time. It isn't just a speed issue it is a meme behaviour not active g in crowded/traffic area so anyone else can anticipate you move and also still feel safe.

But the fast these wheels go and the faster acceleration it has, it will attract people that lag common sense and normal behaviour.

I do hope this is a wakeup call to others in the community on this subject. 

If a car driver or mc driver do these stupid things. Then it is viewed as that individual driver. But if it is an PEV or EUC either way it is view as a group since we are still in a grey zone in many places and not fully accepted in traffic laws.none thought that the development would go this fast to reach the speeds GW and Veteran has achieved.

[gon2fast]

I am glad people are chiming in on this topic. I am in fear that other's reckless behavior (which is captured and posted for unknown reasons) will affect my positive standing around the areas that I enjoy riding. 

I am polite as possible and give all the right of way. The feedback has been pretty good with no fights in the streets. 

Edited June 26, 2020 by gon2fast
user error, DUH

[davinche]

4 hours ago, Rehab1 said:

When I see these idiots bearing down on an innocent family with little kids in hand I almost threw my phone! WTF!! How can anyone  respect these guys! 

I would imagine the respect comes from being able to observe their ability to tame / control the wheels at high speeds. This is something most people can't / are not willing to do. It would be the same kind of respect for anyone willing to push to be the very best at something.

That being said, the line should be drawn when it starts to endanger others. Being skilled is one thing, how you use said skill is another. This is a big disappointment for me since U-Stride initially advocated for safe riding ; to be ambassadors for the EUC community. But I guess all of that goes out the window when you end up in New York and feel the need to prove yourself to other riders.

I still have respect for the skills of the NYC riders though, and I do push myself to practice maintaining control at higher speeds. Not for ego, not to show off, but to have acquire the ability to do something if I'm ever put into a tight situation. It's just a shame that most (not all) of these NYC riders seem to have this cult mentality - that speed is everything and pushing yourself to cutout is good. I just wish there was someone skilled there who can be an advocator of wheel mastery / safety. Something akin to learning marital arts, where primarily it is an activity focused on mastery, exercise, and fun... and less on beating the crap out of others.

[Meserias]

6 hours ago, Rehab1 said:

I can’t sit idly by without posting my opinion on this subject!

I saw the video you post about and I was wondering what would happen if that 35KG (77.1 lbs) wheel flew away and hit one (or more) of those pedestrians along the way....

Edited June 26, 2020 by Meserias

[Antec]

I think it's a combination of new wheel, hype and bad location to test ride it. 

I was hyped as everyone else but upon looking back at the footage, its reckless. 

I'm also surprised U-Stride is defending his actions in his comments, yes he's a skilled rider and loves speed but the riding fast around people was a bad split decision by him. Probably not helped by 10 other riders egging him on behind him.

Kudos to WrongWay and Duf for standing up and raising their concerns in the comments.

 

[Chriull]

1 hour ago, davinche said:

I still have respect for the skills of the NYC riders though, and I do push myself to practice maintaining control at higher speeds

I could respected them if they show their high speed skills on "race tracks appropriate for EUCs"

Not with their driving on/over the edge as they show in their videos.

So they are just another bunch of youngsters applying for the darwin awards - which somehow seems to lie in human nature. Some are just a bit more prudent, some not in this age...

[davinche]

4 minutes ago, Chriull said:

I could respected them if they show their high speed skills on "race tracks appropriate for EUCs"

Not with their driving on/over the edge as they show in their videos.

So they are just another bunch of youngsters applying for the darwin awards - which somehow seems to lie in human nature. Some are just a bit more prudent, some not in this age...

I guess you and I differ in opinion. I separate the skill from the application. I can appreciate skill when it is demonstrated, but simultaneously experience disdain depending on the situation when it was applied. Hence why I made the effort to promote idea of an ideal advocator for wheel mastery without the recklessness.

[EUC Custom Power-Pads]

What can we expect when an immature and possibly stupid child with a below average IQ rides a motorized device and begs for attention? Don't know if NYC kids are double stupid, but it looks like. 

[Fahrtwind]

First words that came into my mind when I saw these Videos: „EVERY live matters“. These riders accept someone is hurt or killed. It is just a statistical question, the day of a tragic accident will dawn.

If something happens and someone is injured/killed in such a reckless situation, in germany this is willfully injuring/killing - enough to get into prison for some years. We often have had street races with bad endings. Young drivers completely destroyed their own and the live of others. 

It is not too late to change their minds - if someone is injured or killed, it is!

Edit: skills cannot compete against physical laws. Speed vs. Braking distance...with skills you can’t travel back in time to start breaking early enough

Edited June 26, 2020 by Fahrtwind