Why Electric Bikes are More Dangerous than Motorcycles

More fun, more speed and less effort. E-bikes seem like a no-brainer. But not so fast. These innocent little electric bicycles are a lot closer to motorcycles than pedal bikes when it comes to injury rates.

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[notaname]

Best piece of advice I ever heard - when you're on 2 wheels, assume that everyone else is a moron until they prove otherwise

[treeguyable]

Been bicycling 56 yrs, motorcycling 47 yrs. Just act like they are out to kill you. Keeps you safe.

[thomasplooij]

Good bicycle infrastructure makes the world of difference. Here in the Netherlands cars and bicycles are often completely seperated. In big cities the route you can take with the bicycle is often shorter then by car, which in turn makes people use more bicycles and clearing the roads, so that the people driving dont get stuck in trafic

[SuperSpruce]

As someone who loves feeling the speed travelling around the city via pedal bike and e-bike, I've recently realized that I really want to own and drive a motorcycle. It seems so fun.

And the reason why it's "dangerous" for both cyclists and motorcyclists to commute are the big metal cages (cars), which are an order of magnitude or two heavier and usually don't provide much engagement with the surroundings.

[cquilty]

Safest attitude possible: Whatever two-wheeler you're riding, assume everything, including pedestrians, I mean everything on the road or sidewalks is out to get you. Just you. Nobody else.

[somekid]

As a cyclist, I've learned to never expect a driver to be paying attention or following rules. The risk is too high and the power is too imbalanced.

[BrandG.]

Long time bicycle commuter, who took a break after knee pain on an e-bike here. It took me one month to realize I'm older now, and the danger of riding in my simi-urban town is too dang high. Got my first motorcycle last week, feeling much more stable, and seen.

[coreygolpheneee]

One of the biggest differences on a bicycle especially one with disc brakes is how quickly you can come to a dead stop you have to be very conscious about it in my experience

[psiefer]

Humans: quick to innovate, slow to learn.

[Ididathing]

But my mum wont let me ride a motorcycle

[dinobebo]

This is yet another great example of giving cyclists more roads undisturbed by motorists. Since North America for that matter is extremely car dependent, it's basically a death sentence for inexperienced cyclists merging with high speed traffic. This of course applies to basically all places that are car dependent. Definitely a great idea on paper, but without way more city planning to keep not only cyclists, but general motor traffic as safe as possible, this will sadly end in fatalities. Great video! I never actually knew how well bike gear protects us. It's crazy to see what the can take! Stay safe out there, pal!

[nightxiv]

Around the time this video came out I was actually looking for an electric bike cause my commute to work was too much in Arizona heat for a traditional pedal bike. After seeing the price tags (3-6k) and licensing if you wanna go over 35mph, I decided to just buy a motorcycle.

I’m now a daily motorcyclist and I love every day

[JCintheBCC]

I have been road cycling my entire adult life, and I never fully understood how batshit crazy it was until I started riding a motorcycle again. I found myself riding my motorcycle down a canyon rode at 45mph, and I realized that I was traveling at the same speed I do on my road bike. Except I had big disc brakes... and a full face helmet... and an armored jacket, pants, boots, and gloves... and lights and turn signals... and a suspension, and tires that have larger contact patches, which weren't traveling through the gravel on or near the shoulder. Meanwhile, when I'm on my 16 lb carbon road bike, I wear spandex and a styrofoam hat. The motorcycle seemed safe AF.

[AngelGarcia-joss]

With gas at $5.50 in California currently, I looked at bicycling to work. My only problem was that the only 2 roads that go to my work, have a speed limit of 50 mph, those 2 roads do not have bike lanes, and are 2 lane roads, 1 lane in each direction. I could not see myself riding a bicycle on those roads with cars whizzing by at 50+. 3 days ago, I got my M1 permit and am in the process of becoming a motorcycle owner.

[hananas]

Here in Belgium (and even more so in the Netherlands) it's a very different story.
The first major difference is that E-assist on bikes is limited by law to 25 km/h, not 32 like in North America.
The second part is infrastructure and mindset. Much more separated bike lanes, and drivers are more used to looking for bikes. In the 5-10.000 km I do every year by bike (non-E but I ride on the faster side) I've only been hit once in the past 5 or so years.

We do have 45 km/h E-bikes called speed pedelecs, but those require a drivers license (equivalent to moped, but car is also good) and registration. They are also a bit more regulated when it comes to equipment.

[adam]

This is an excellent video. I'm a cyclist and I see people on ebikes and escooters riding faster and more recklessly than they really ought to be. When you're 100% riding under your own steam you have (IMHO) a far greater feel for the conditions around you and the responsiveness of the bike. The electric varieties have the ability to make you go quicker than you'd be able to yourself (unless you're an elite level cyclist and at that point your bike control would also be elite) and I've seen quite a few close calls. People need to be way more careful on those things.

[kekchup]

The thing which makes cycling safer and more attractive is good infrastructure like separated bike lanes etc.

[seattlegrrlie]

I've been a cyclist in Seattle since 1999. When I talk about motorcycles, people immediately worry about my safety. Yesterday, I did 30mph downhill on a narrow shoulder in basically my underwear. And y'all think motorcycles are unsafe?

[scotkamimae]

I'm an avid pedal cyclist (road bike) and have been riding since I was 6 years old. I'm very good as controlling my bike in all types of situations. In 45 years of cycling I have only had one accident involving a car and two crashes from inattentive cyclists.

With e-bikes, those people that ride them typically have not ridden pedal bikes and don't not have the experience of handling a pedal bike, let alone an e-bike that can go 35 mph.

I've had several near misses with e-bike riders due to their poor handling skills and speed that is beyond their abilities.

Numerous times I have been passed by e-bike riders where they are traveling at over 25 mph on a street with heavy auto traffic.

As the number of e-bikes increase you will see a substantial increase in serious injuries and deaths as these cyclists don't have the requisite ability to handle the e-bike.

[kevinwhited]

Thanks for the video. I'm a bike/ped planner, for a municipality in the US, and I found it very enlightening. The concepts you point out will help me to do my job better as we plan for more ebikes on the road, trails and sidepaths.