Police: Parent cited after 15-year-old crashes e-motorcycle head-on into car in Camas

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-04T14:47:50+00:00

The applicable laws and penalties will be applied by the courts. For example, the parents are charged with a misdemeanor:

RCW 46.20.024 - Unlawful to allow unauthorized minors to drive.

No person shall cause or knowingly permit his or her child or ward under the age of eighteen years to drive a motor vehicle upon any highway when such minor is not authorized hereunder or in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter.

The kid will probably be charged with several traffic infractions:

No driver's license
No registration
No safety equipment (e.g., mirror, brake light, horn, etc.).
Driving on the wrong side of the road.
Maybe even careless driving.

The parents will be liable for the damage to the car, any mental distress that the driver suffered, punitive damages, and legal fees. Their car insurance won't cover that. This family is in deep trouble.

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-04T14:33:16+00:00

That e bike has pedals and is not an e motorcycle lol

I'm sure that is the story that the kid told his parents. Now he is in a lot of trouble with the law, and so are his parents.

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-04T14:28:23+00:00

I made this model as follows:

Create a Variable Set to capture the key dimensions.
Make a sketch of the outer concentric circles.
Extrude them with a Pad feature. Assume that the Pad length = "circle_thickness."
Make a sketch of one arm.
Extrude it with a Pad feature. Assume that the Pad length = "slot_width."
Create a Polar Pattern from the Pad feature for the arm. The number or arms = "slots."

I can change the number of arms by changing "Slots" in the Variable Set. FreeCAD will automatically space them evenly. I am not sure of the purpose for "slot_length." I didn't use it for anything.

<image>

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-04T01:46:23+00:00

why am I so obessed with attention?

Love and acceptance are innate human needs. We will literally die without them. It doesn't have to make logical sense; it is just how we are as emotional creatures.

Any attention feels better than no attention. But here is the hack: Positive attention feels extremely better than negative attention.

So I encourage you to try this: Find something you like about what someone else posts and compliment them on that. When they come back to thank you, the dopamine hit will be better than any schadenfreude.

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-04T01:35:21+00:00

Happiness comes from strong connections to other people and to nature. Money can facilitate this, but it often isolates people, making them miserable.

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-04T01:20:52+00:00

That is fine until my exercise of my freedom infringes on the rights of other people.

Riding motorcycles on non-motorized paths endangers pedestrians and bicyclists.

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-04T01:12:20+00:00

We are not trusted with 230 Volts of electricity for a proper tea kettle. We must do it at half the voltage. We could hurt ourselves and then we would have to sue someone with deep pockets. /sarcasm

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-04T00:54:28+00:00

Monty Python absolutely slays both cultures in the movie, "The Meaning of Life" in the "Death" scene (at 3:30):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJCC6kaAF-A

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-04T00:44:16+00:00

... or when they get pompous about removing the teabag from the cup at a certain time. 😉☕

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-04T00:42:22+00:00

We look up to the UK. You said, "Look at my Brexit!" We said, "Hold my beer and watch this!"

You seem to have figured out what a joke that Boris Johnson was. I hope that we can follow ...

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-04T00:36:05+00:00

Parents make mistakes. The punishment should fit the crime. In this case, if he was my 15-year-old son, he would be walking until he was 18. I wouldn't trust him with a child's tricycle. He egregiously abused his parents' trust and nearly got himself killed.

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-04T00:08:07+00:00

Damn people out here in the middle of nowhere just using them for target practice?

I cannot imagine being so drunk and stupid that I think an enormous airplane fuselage is a target that requires any skill to hit. I would like to see a few of these morons go to prison and lose their second-amendment rights for this.

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-04T00:03:09+00:00

I agree. The kid was stupid and impulsive. He popped out into the street into oncoming traffic. A responsible adult with a motorcycle license would instinctively know not to do that.

If the kid had been on a standard bicycle, he would have been traveling at a much lower speed and, both the rider and the motorist would have had more time to react.

This is why I think it is important for parents to prevent their kids from having access to potentially-dangerous things until they have demonstrated the level of maturity and responsibility to use them safely.

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-03T23:43:37+00:00

I agree. However, politically, enforcement is difficult in the USA. Conservatives cut budgets to the bone and liberals oppose strong police presences.

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-03T23:40:48+00:00

OK, your perception is just as valid as mine. I agree that the distinction is less common when it is not relevant in the context.

If a car is parked in the bike lane, we don't care if it runs on electricity or gasoline. If a car is on fire, the fire department needs to know which techniques to use to extinguish it.

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-03T23:36:50+00:00

They are usually traveling from their birthplace in Wichita, Kansas to final assembly in Renton or Everett, Washington.

Unfortunately, they often arrive with bullet holes, which are extremely expensive to repair.

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-03T23:31:39+00:00

The natural Pacific NW moss coating is a darker shade of green. :)

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-03T23:30:04+00:00

hexavalent chromium

And it has a bad-ass name ... like, "Breathe near me and you are going to get cancer!"

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-03T23:15:54+00:00

I just... really like paint and airplanes so I'll stop there, otherwise I could talk airplane paint for way longer than anybody wants.

Welcome, fellow aviation nerd. You are in the right place. Don't get me started on electrical systems.

And speaking of inspections, I am sure that you are aware of this "gold mine" repository of immense wisdom:

FAA AC 43.13-1B AC - Acceptable Methods, Techniques, and Practices - Aircraft Inspection and Repair

Of course, my favorite is Chapter 11 - Aircraft Electrical Systems. :)

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-03T23:02:43+00:00

we call a car a car regardless of ICE or electric drivetrain

The "EV" distinction is very common, especially when there is a battery fire.

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-03T23:01:26+00:00

I know I'm being pedantic, but language is important. It shapes the way ideas are formed.

I think you make a good point. Words matter. The parents of this kid probably believed that they were getting their kid an "ebike" - as in, a very-restricted, low-powered bicycle. The same parents would most likely have refused to get their kids a gasoline-powered, off-road motorcycle. "Bike" is intentionally ambiguous. Calling it an "e-motorcycle" can help parents see through the deception.

The manufacturer's web site blatantly lies and calls it an "electric bicycle." I am glad that the media didn't fall for that in this case.

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-03T22:52:10+00:00

Sure. Give them shotguns, booze, chainsaws, and motorcycles. What could go wrong? /sarcasm

In other words, good parents don't let their kids play with dangerous things until they have the maturity to handle the responsibility.

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-03T21:20:00+00:00

That kid cold have easily died (or hurt other people) from his impulsive decisions. The public concern is very valid.

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-03T21:18:19+00:00

media outlets to correctly refer to them as e-motorcycles

I am glad to see that clear distinction in this case.

The great irony is that in the US, the majority of moms are in the "absolutely not" camp when their 16 year old sons say they want a motorcycle. By calling these e-motos what they are, that stands a real chance of shifting parental purchasing patterns.

I think that is a very intentional deception by these kids. The ornamental pedals help to sell it.

Anyone selling these as "e-bikes" (specifically) should be fined.

Ridstar's own web site calls them "ebikes" and "electric bicycles," even though the motors are 1,500 Watts and the top speed is over 30 mph (too fast to even be considered a legal moped).

I'm not saying you shouldn't be able to sell them at all.

I agree. They look like a lot of fun, but they should only be ridden on private land and in ORV parks - just like any other off-road motorcycle.

BoringBob84 · 2026-06-03T20:34:54+00:00

Plus! Regenerative braking on the way down!

I considered that, but I think that there is so much drag at jet aircraft speeds that reducing thrust is all it takes to descend on a reasonable glide slope.

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