RenaissanceMan Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 In many countries there are no laws concering the use of EUCs, and even in those that have them, they may not be optimal. So I suggest to involve the EUC community into agreeing on a minimal common subset of sensible rules for the use of EUCs on public grounds. By giving it the official approval of this great EUC Forum's community it could also be cited to our politicians struggling to come up with reasonable rules themselves. It would also show to other road users that we are aware of the many issues and attempt to respond and act in a reasonable manner. So first, I'd like to find out the main categories involved (eg. technical requirements, rules of conduct, right of way, protection), then converge to a minimal consensus of only the most essential topics. It should be not longer than one page (letter or A4). An "official EUC charta" of this forum's community would inform the general public what to expect from us strange EUC riders and how to interact with us on public roads. It could also serve to teach politicians what we regard as desirable relations with our environment. I don't expect everybody to agree on such EUC Code of Honour, nor do I dream of permanent or strict adherence to any such rules (which to certain extend will have to be country specifc), but if we generally advocate an explicitly documented, agreed on and approved minimal set of rules, that might make us more understood and hopefully better respected by the general public. All right, enough for the opening rant ... So I'll start off with a list of suggested topics/categories. short introduction on the general characteristics and essential mode of operation of EUCs behavioral rules like max. speeds, right of way, road usage priorities, weather conditions? technical requirements as eg. lights, horn/bell, strap, safe minimal battery charge, maintenance legal aspects (most likely country dependant to a large extent) liabilty of EUC riders, including insurance What do you feel should be our essential recommendations to each of these (or any other) categories and topics? Again, all these individual items themselves are not spectacular news to us. However, a consolidated, approved collection of them could help outsiders to better understand and relate to us. The important part would be that we as a community speak with one voice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 I know, it's not nice to be the spoilsport, but it's hard to see how there will be any even close consensus of opinions on points 2.-4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenaissanceMan Posted March 5, 2017 Author Share Posted March 5, 2017 1 hour ago, Mono said: I know, it's not nice to be the spoilsport, but it's hard to see how there will be any even close consensus of opinions on points 2.-4. No offence taken, but would you prefer politicians setting it up for us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 On 05/03/2017 at 10:24 PM, RenaissanceMan said: No offence taken, but would you prefer politicians setting it up for us? No. Two additional points come in my mind concerning your question: First, regulation (of EUCs or anything else for that matter) is setup for the entire population, not only for a small group of people, like us. Second, politicians don't set up this kind of thing anyways. Politicians have an opinion and a vote whether a legislation is enacted, but the specific settings are rarely figured out by politicians themselves. My point was that to find a consensus of opinions here will be difficult, to say the least. This we can somewhat safely conclude from the discussion we already had in this forum. The reason is to some extend that we live in very different places and cultures, and that we use EUCs for a variety of reasons. I have a personal opinion on which opinions are reasonable and which are not, but that remains to be an opinion... So, this is what I would like to see. A category for "moderate speed" EUCs with an effective speed limit of 24km/h, e.g. implemented via tilt back a weight limit of 20kg a certificate that the model can decelerate a 100kg driver with at least 2.5m/s^2 no need for type approval, insurance, driver license, safety gear allowed on the sidewalk to go at most 8km/h but have to give way to pedestrians at all times allowed on bicycles paths and on the street just as bicycles, during the night only with light (light doesn't need to be builtin). A category for "toy speed" EUCs, mainly for children, with 16km/h speed limit, 12kg weight limit, 60kg deceleration test payload, which are allowed on sidewalks and on bicycle paths but not on the street. A category for "high speed" EUC with a speed limit of 40km/h and with type approval, which in particular gives guaranties on the reliability of the model. Allowed to operate on bicycle paths and on the street but not on sidewalks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenaissanceMan Posted March 6, 2017 Author Share Posted March 6, 2017 21 hours ago, Mono said: No. Two additional points come in my mind concerning your question: First, regulation (of EUCs or anything else for that matter) is setup for the entire population, not only for a small group of people, like us. Second, politicians don't set up this kind of thing anyways. Politicians have an opinion and a vote whether a legislation is enacted, but the specific settings are rarely figured out by politicians themselves. My point was that to find a consensus of opinions here will be difficult, to say the least. This we can somewhat safely conclude from the discussion we already had in this forum. The reason is to some extend that we live in very different places and cultures, and that we use EUCs for a variety of reasons. I have a personal opinion on which opinions are reasonable and which are not, but that remains to be an opinion... So, this is what I would like to see. A category for "moderate speed" EUCs with an effective speed limit of 24km/h, e.g. implemented via tilt back a weight limit of 20kg a certificate that the model can decelerate a 100kg driver with at least 2.5m/s^2 no need for type approval, insurance, driver license, safety gear allowed on the sidewalk to go at most 8km/h but have to give way to pedestrians allowed on bicycles paths and on the street just as bicycles, during the night only with light (light doesn't need to be builtin). A category for "toy speed" EUCs, mainly for children, with 16km/h speed limit, 12kg weight limit, 60kg deceleration test payload, which are allowed on sidewalks and on bicycle paths but not on the street. A category for "high speed" EUC with a speed limit of 40km/h and with type approval, which in particular gives guaranties on the reliability of the model. Allowed to operate on bicycle paths and on the street but not on sidewalks. Thanks a lot, @Mono, for your input - despite of initially being critical to the idea! Can we please hear from other seasoned veterans of this forum as well? - I think it would matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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