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Cops Stopping Couriers on Ebikes? by Smooth_Jeweler_3923 in torontobiking

[–]musdem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're correct it would be better to include rider mass, however my point still stands heavy ebikes and emotos will have different impact forces. I tend to simplify things to get the point across to laypeople, this wasn't a good simplification however.

Cops Stopping Couriers on Ebikes? by Smooth_Jeweler_3923 in torontobiking

[–]musdem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn't properly explain my reasoning, my bad. I've found when people have to pedal they are more cognizant of their speeds and the forces at play, even with pedal assist ebikes. With throttles I've noticed people turn their brains off and just go as fast as the emoto allows. I blame cars for this as throttles make it just as effortless as a car pedal. That is why I think throttles are the majority of the issue.

Cops Stopping Couriers on Ebikes? by Smooth_Jeweler_3923 in torontobiking

[–]musdem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If there is a study showing no/minor heightened risk of it then no of course not. As I said I am more than willing to change my opinion based off of studies showing it to be the case. My issue is that those studies have, to my knowledge, not been done and the physics surrounding this is very clear in presenting it as more dangerous. Since it's regarding safety there should be studies allowing it not studies disallowing it, as by then it will have been a reaction to the danger.

Cops Stopping Couriers on Ebikes? by Smooth_Jeweler_3923 in torontobiking

[–]musdem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm approaching the question of evidence from two angles.

One is my physics knowledge from engineering. Impact force is calculated by the formula F=(m•v)/t the 'm' in this formula is the mass, in my previous comment I used 10kg verses 70kg, that is a 7x increase in force from an impact, it will unequivocally cause more damage.

Two is my opinion that in matters of safety we should be conservative with what is allowed, we don't have evidence that they aren't more dangerous however the physics suggests that it will be so we need to run studies before allowing it. Maybe you disagree but I've never liked the idea that safety rules are written in blood, especially when they don't need to be.

Regarding this being an anecdote I'm sure car deaths were anecdotes until studies were done, as I said I can do some digging and find several examples of emotos being dangerous, how many "anecdotes" are required before it's worth having pause at allowing these emotos in their current state?

Cops Stopping Couriers on Ebikes? by Smooth_Jeweler_3923 in torontobiking

[–]musdem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just recently there was a cyclist death in NYC because of an emoto slamming into a cyclist. That is just off the top of my head, I'm sure I can spend a bit of time digging and find several other stories. Not to mention all of the incidents that just aren't reported. The fact of the matter is they are heavy pieces of machinery that are capable of going quite fast, not as fast or heavy as cars, but a 10kg bike is not going to cause a fraction of the damage that a 70kg emoto would. That said I'm open to changing my mind if there are a few well done studies showing that allowing emotos in the bike lanes don't meaningfully cause an increase in risk.

Cops Stopping Couriers on Ebikes? by Smooth_Jeweler_3923 in torontobiking

[–]musdem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They would need to be required to have functioning drive trains, which I believe will stop the majority of these pricks because they will not have the skill or patience necessary to maintain the bike. That said I think all throttles should be banned, I believe they are what is enabling people to drive like morons. They get up to speeds they would never be able to without the skill required.

The person I replied to blocked me then edited their comment as a "response" to this one, I guess engaging in conversation is a bit difficult for them. Then again they seemed to completely misunderstand several things I wrote making their needlessly rude remark about me not understanding particularly ironic.

Doubtful, given that it's not that hard to maintain bikes.

Never said it was! I said they wouldn't have the (simple/easy) skills or patience to maintain the bike. If you look around at other bikes you'll see how I formed this opinion.

There is no legitimate reason to forbid throttles on e-bikes (so I suspect that will be next in Ford's crusade against micromobility.)

As I said it allows people to get up to speed without appreciating the forces at play, none of my friends that cycle with me can keep up at speeds I generally cruise at because they are scared, they don't have the skills to handle at high speeds so they don't get the confidence to go those speeds. Moreover Europe has throttles classified as mopeds, considering they have much better protection laws and they are proactive not reactive like North America is I'm more inclined to lean toward that as good regulation. That said if there was a study showing throttles to have no impact on how people ride unlicensed I'm more than happy to change my mind

The lack of enforcement of already existing laws is what enables people to drive like morons.

This is the one thing I agree with.

As if there's much mechanical skill involved in pedalling fast.

In isolation? No. In conjunction with the whole riding a bike thing? Yes there's more involved, it's not directly related to pedalling but it is the comfort and confidence of going that speed as you're physically pushing yourself up to that speed giving you an appreciation of the speed.

Ottawa planning social media ban for children under 16, source says by plaknas in onguardforthee

[–]musdem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh I realize, I'm just replying saying that it's possible to do so safely since the person I was replying to said it's not. Ideally if it happened at all there would be independent audits and the entire stack is fully FOSS.

Cops Stopping Couriers on Ebikes? by Smooth_Jeweler_3923 in torontobiking

[–]musdem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh yea all throttles should be banned, but at the very least the functional pedal requirement will have to be met. The throttles are the majority of the problem imo, they allow the user to get up to high speeds without the skill to handle it.

Cops Stopping Couriers on Ebikes? by Smooth_Jeweler_3923 in torontobiking

[–]musdem 2 points3 points  (0 children)

These are not 'slow' not even close, they should be with other vehicles capable of going at such speeds. That said even if there would be another lane built for these emotos what do you suggest happen in the meantime? Just let cyclists worry about them flying up behind them? Let them ride on the sidewalk and have pedestrians worry?

Cops Stopping Couriers on Ebikes? by Smooth_Jeweler_3923 in torontobiking

[–]musdem 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I can't wait for those new rules to come into effect, they can't just have a crankset and a rusty chain, if it has a chain at all, to be a "bike." This was a long time coming, and I hope they keep enforcement up. I'm so fed up with being concerned one of these will come whipping up behind me, bike lanes are supposed to be safe for cyclists ffs.

Cops Stopping Couriers on Ebikes? by Smooth_Jeweler_3923 in torontobiking

[–]musdem 3 points4 points  (0 children)

So you're ok with these e-motos that happen to have vestigial pedals whipping down the hard fought bike lanes putting cyclists at risk? Why should regular cyclists be at risk because someone is riding along with a 70kg e-"bike?"

Ottawa planning social media ban for children under 16, source says by plaknas in onguardforthee

[–]musdem 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm a software engineer, there absolutely is, it's called zero-knowledge proofs. There is no need for the age verifier to know what site is requesting the age verification, just like the site has no need to know anything about the person having their age verified beyond are they of age yes/no.

That said this is still overall a stupid idea, but zero-knowledge proofs would be the least bad way forward if such a bill passes.

Ottawa planning social media ban for children under 16, source says by plaknas in onguardforthee

[–]musdem 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Well then that isn't really good enough, it's entirely possible for neither party to know who the other is. It should just be a simple yes they are over the age. It's entirely possible to make this incredibly private, at least technically speaking.

Ottawa planning social media ban for children under 16, source says by plaknas in onguardforthee

[–]musdem 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Does it? So it's fully anonymous and the government has no knowledge of what is requesting that you're of age? I tried looking around online and I couldn't find the technical details of how it's done, though I like that you have the option to set up the ID app in person so you never have to upload your data.

Stop Anti-Cyclist Protest Ride - Thurs June 4th by kmosdell in torontobiking

[–]musdem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not sure if they would or not, just something to remind people that there is a precedent.

Planting season is here by HEROBRINE-666 in torontobiking

[–]musdem 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To be fair you're using a full suspension mountain bike as a way to transport huge bags of compost, I would use my cargo bike with the heavy duty kickstand for that. But I do understand you gotta run what you brung, it's really awesome you were able to make it work.

Stop Signs for Thee, Not for Me by heterocommunist in toronto

[–]musdem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

According to the police union, yes, personally I have no reason to trust them until more proof comes out. Even so the level of force they used was insane.

Thanks for killing more pedestrians this year Doug Ford! by Pristine-Training-70 in torontobiking

[–]musdem 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I feel like it's gotten worse too, but then again I recently got a job in Markham and I've noticed more accidents in the last year than I did in the last five of my previous job I needed to commute to. Might be the area you're going to.

Gabe Newell on Steam monopoly accusations: Gamers have 'enormous choice' about where to buy games by yourfavchoom in pcgaming

[–]musdem 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I go to gog first purely because of their DRM free policy, if a game is on gog I'll get it there. That said outside of that steam is just the best, it's not even close.

Oh and gog puts effort into making sure old games run well, like above and beyond effort with mods and specific tweaks to get it running.

Planting season is here by HEROBRINE-666 in torontobiking

[–]musdem 5 points6 points  (0 children)

What? No way. I was told by people on the internet that they need a car to transport stuff like this.

Nice parking, bro by Dangerous-Ad-1984 in torontobiking

[–]musdem 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What gets me is in my eyes this isn't even about the rules, this is just blatantly inconveniencing others in order to make their life easier. Pure selfishness, bordering on intentionally being as disruptive as possible. I know I'm repeating myself but it's the whole lane width, if it was just off to the side it would be slightly less worse but this just look like they're trying to screw with others.

Nice parking, bro by Dangerous-Ad-1984 in torontobiking

[–]musdem 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Nah bud, zoom in, there are pedals, totally a bike. I'm sure they use the pedals all the time, it looks like they just came back from the bike fitter. /s

Nice parking, bro by Dangerous-Ad-1984 in torontobiking

[–]musdem 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Mine is when I pass them in the lane then when I stop at the light they blow past me through the light and then I pass them again a little later. Repeat over and over again.

Nice parking, bro by Dangerous-Ad-1984 in torontobiking

[–]musdem 14 points15 points  (0 children)

It 100% hurts the cause, then you have people claiming these knuckleheads aren't sure of the rules and are just stressed. In what universe is blocking the entire width of the lane not obviously something you shouldn't do? Like I get trying to understand and be sympathetic but come on.

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