the Crazy eDevice rider thread

[vbplease]

vbplease - one of the hire scooter vendors does include insurance, and one doesn't. I don't recall which is which. I would have got details and reported it to the police anyway.

Yeah, when I asked the question I was thinking the only insurance could have been through the hire company.. oh well, hopefully it doesn't happen again. If reporting to the police, I imagine they'd need me to have a copy of the e-scooter driver's ID?

[jasonc]

vbplease - one of the hire scooter vendors does include insurance, and one doesn't. I don't recall which is which. I would have got details and reported it to the police anyway.

Yeah, when I asked the question I was thinking the only insurance could have been through the hire company.. oh well, hopefully it doesn't happen again. If reporting to the police, I imagine they'd need me to have a copy of the e-scooter driver's ID?

or at least name and address

[uart]

Wow.. the cynic in me thinks its more about turning people into motionless blobs than ergonomics etc..

LOL yes. I asked "but why do you need it" to the e-scooter rider who was telling me about their cruise control, and their reply was: "Cos holding the throttle in the one position for a long time can get really tiring on your hand", oh sob sob.

[antigee]

vbplease - one of the hire scooter vendors does include insurance, and one doesn't. I don't recall which is which. I would have got details and reported it to the police anyway.

Yeah, when I asked the question I was thinking the only insurance could have been through the hire company.. oh well, hopefully it doesn't happen again. If reporting to the police, I imagine they'd need me to have a copy of the e-scooter driver's ID?

probably not directly relevant but I noticed the other day that the orange coloured Neuron scooters in Melbourne have a prominently displayed unique number on the front

[Mr Purple]

Had three KOMs knocked off yesterday by a larger, older gentleman on a ride marked 'Scooter Squad' with a photo of him and his five mates all dressed in full leather with their oversized e-scooters parked outside a cafe.

His 'ride' was 62.7km at an average speed of 25.2km/hr and maximum of 68.6km/hr. 25km/hr limit hey?

Same guy has a total of 163km on Strava, all on his e-scooter, all uploaded as 'ride'. Apparently anything counts as exercise these days. Apparently riding around with your e-scooter mates pretending to be a bikie gang is a thing now.

[jasonc]

Had three KOMs knocked off yesterday by a larger, older gentleman on a ride marked 'Scooter Squad' with a photo of him and his five mates all dressed in full leather with their oversized e-scooters parked outside a cafe.

His 'ride' was 62.7km at an average speed of 25.2km/hr and maximum of 68.6km/hr. 25km/hr limit hey?

Same guy has a total of 163km on Strava, all on his e-scooter, all uploaded as 'ride'. Apparently anything counts as exercise these days. Apparently riding around with your e-scooter mates pretending to be a bikie gang is a thing now.

Worst of all, they think it's exercise

[Anrai]

Finally spotted some local e-device illegalities yesterday
Started out with a guy on a MTB no-pedaling up a hill, ended on a private scooter doing about double the speed traffic was through the local restaurant strip.

[jasonc]

reddit has a thread stating there was some enforcement yesterday speed/helmets. I'm crying on the inside.

[elantra]

reddit has a thread stating there was some enforcement yesterday speed/helmets. I'm crying on the inside.

The “show of enforcement” might have been brought on by the start of the Queensland school holidays.
(Less time at school = more time on wheels)
Perhaps.

There appears to be more kids on fat tyred e-bikes around in Kingscliff (NSW) this week.
Maybe some of them are from over the border in Qld.

This morning at Kingscliff I saw - for the first time ever- a tripler (that’s 3 people on an e-thingo) Teenagers.
They weren’t doing anything crazy but this is the sort of thing that should not be considered acceptable.
There is a disconnect in the way that our bureaucrats are directing our enforcement priorities.
I saw a Post on Social Media from Tone’s (a Trucking celebrity) who got a NHVRA infringement for having a stonechip on the passenger-side windscreen. Not affecting vision.
Perhaps it’s just crappy times that we live in.

[Andy01]

There is no real enforcement to speak of. This is evidenced by the flagrant disregard for laws.

On Tuesday I was at my GP - at a small local suburban centre. There was two electric motorbikes (proper off-road looking motorbikes, not over-powered ebikes, no pedals) parked on the walkway right outside Subway (like up against the glass window), blocking about 2/3 of the "footpath" / walkway, motorbike helmets hanging on the handlebars, no number plates. I looked inside and there was only two customers in the shop - two teenage boys, one might have been 16 (at a stretch) and the other looked like he was nearer 12.

They were obviously riding around the neighbourhood on these electric trail bikes and though it was a good idea to park them against the shop window instead of using a designated carpark 3m away, obviously neither bikes nor riders licensed. Right across the road is the local police station.

So, clearly they were not too worried about enforcement.

Unfortunately I was in a rush (doctor was running late), so I didn't have time to walk across the street to report it to police - not sure that they would have done anything anyway.

[Mr Purple]

Up at Noosa this week and seeing loads of young teenagers on what seem to be full size electric trail bikes without plates.

They’re going to have to start enforcement at some stage. Hopefully before too many dead teenagers.

[elantra]

Up at Noosa this week and seeing loads of young teenagers on what seem to be full size electric trail bikes without plates.

They’re going to have to start enforcement at some stage. Hopefully before too many dead teenagers.

Yes that’s the problem isn’t it.

The bureaucracy responds to most evolving issues that involve health and safety at a very glacial pace.
Like maybe 10 or 20 years too late, by which time the proverbial horse has bolted.
Depends on how many lives are at stake of course.

The only fast-tracked public health intervention that I can think of in my memory would be the gun buy-back scheme that was in response to the Port Arthur disaster.

Everything else takes years of meetings, reports, consultations of “key stakeholders”, a Royal commission or 2, the correct stage of the lunar cycle and the electoral cycle. Etc.
And no other distracting crisis.

They used to talk about Academics living in Ivory towers.
These days it’s the state bureaucrats that live in a parallel universe where they are still working on agendas that were important 10 years ago, and haven’t noticed what is happening out on the streets right now.

[jasonc]

the best example right now is ecigarettes/vapes
they are outlawed*. but it can't be enforced by the police. so shops are still selling them

*to be sold through chemists

[Andy01]

Oh dear, it looks like e-devices are about to "explode" in Qld. I just saw this on OzBargain.

https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/867434

A govt rebate of $500 on e-bikes and $200 on e-scooters starts in 3 days apparently - Giggles trying to buy more votes ?

Hopefully they will check and apply one of their eligibility rules for bicycles - "be fitted with 1 or more electric auxiliary motors with a maximum power output, or combined maximum power output of not more than 200 watts". Govt have never been too good at that though.

No power limitation mentioned for escooters though So be prepared for an uptick in these in coming months. Comforting that an eligibility limitation is "not more than 60kg in weight, when not carrying a person or other load"

[skyblot]

Hopefully they will check and apply one of their eligibility rules for bicycles - "be fitted with 1 or more electric auxiliary motors with a maximum power output, or combined maximum power output of not more than 200 watts". Govt have never been too good at that though.

Full details :https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/projec ... fc_AT0nwYw
"or: be an electrically power-assisted cycle (EPAC) with a maximum continuous rated power of 250 watt, of which the output is....."

[jasonc]

Great

[Andy01]

Hopefully they will check and apply one of their eligibility rules for bicycles - "be fitted with 1 or more electric auxiliary motors with a maximum power output, or combined maximum power output of not more than 200 watts". Govt have never been too good at that though.

Full details :https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/projec ... fc_AT0nwYw
"or: be an electrically power-assisted cycle (EPAC) with a maximum continuous rated power of 250 watt, of which the output is....."

And no restriction on power for e-scooters

[Mr Purple]

Hopefully they will check and apply one of their eligibility rules for bicycles - "be fitted with 1 or more electric auxiliary motors with a maximum power output, or combined maximum power output of not more than 200 watts". Govt have never been too good at that though.

Full details :https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/projec ... fc_AT0nwYw
"or: be an electrically power-assisted cycle (EPAC) with a maximum continuous rated power of 250 watt, of which the output is....."

And no restriction on power for e-scooters

Well the full rules are this:

To be eligible, an e-scooter must:

be designed for use by 1 person
have 1 wheel at the front and 1 or 2 wheels at the back; or 1 or 2 wheels at the front and 1 wheel at the back
be propelled by an electric motor that is not capable of operating when the device is going faster than 25km/h
be steered by handlebars
have a footboard supported by the wheels
be no more than:
1,250mm in length
700mm in width
1,350mm in height
60kg in mass, when not carrying a person or other load.

If they're strict on that third bit (motor not capable of working over 25km/hr) precisely bugger all e-scooters will actually qualify. I just hope the manufacturers/retailers aren't able to sidestep that one by having a switch that limits it to 25km/hr (which is immediately and permanently turned off).

[CmdrBiggles]

If they're strict on that third bit (motor not capable of working over 25km/hr) precisely bugger all e-scooters will actually qualify. I just hope the manufacturers/retailers aren't able to sidestep that one by having a switch that limits it to 25km/hr (which is immediately and permanently turned off).

The "switch" you speak of is not physical, but software-based, within the controller/power management. It can be complicated/confusing to "knock-out" the speed limit restriction, and incorrect operation can lead, in the end, to the controller tripping, unable to determine the lower and upper speed limits, resulting in an absolutely lethal abomination caused by the incompetence of the person fiddling with the software. e-scooters do come with warnings that this restrictive control should never be tampered with by the owners. But you can't legislate on stupidity. Retailers are not doing enough about this, but neither are manufacturers to make the modification not just more difficult, but impossible.

[Mr Purple]

The "switch" you speak of is not physical, but software-based, within the controller/power management. It can be complicated/confusing to "knock-out" the speed limit restriction, and incorrect operation can lead, in the end, to the controller tripping, unable to determine the lower and upper speed limits, resulting in an absolutely lethal abomination caused by the incompetence of the person fiddling with the software. e-scooters do come with warnings that this restrictive control should never be tampered with by the owners. But you can't legislate on stupidity. Retailers are not doing enough about this, but neither are manufacturers to make the modification not just more difficult, but impossible.

No, in quite a few cases now it's just a simple switch.

Take this for example:

https://iscoot.com.au/collections/elect ... lfwarriorx

With a MiniMotors controller, you get the ability to choose your own settings, refining the ride to suit your style: At the touch of a button, you can choose from gentle acceleration for everyday commuting (prevents throttle jumpiness) to neck-bending, hair-raising acceleration that will blow you away when on open roads. The Wolf Warrior X Plus features a finger throttle and a choice of three power modes in either single or dual motor, allowing you to conserve the battery on flat terrain or effortlessly pull you up a steep hill when required

And the stupid thing is in Queensland they're completely legal with the switch in any one of those three positions. E-scooter riders are just 'trusted' (where e-bike riders are not) to stay below the 25km/hr limit. I can't think of a worse group of people to trust...

[Andy01]

Well, I saw a real cracker today.

Driving out of our estate to the "main" road at 10am, just ahead was an electric motorbike (trail bike style, unregistered, no number plate, rider wearing a trail bike style full face helmet) riding on the footpath. Then he swings up into a park (which on the corner of the road I was on and the "main" road I was turning into) and guns it across the grass towards the kid's playground, up a bank, gets it airborne briefly, across the edge of the playground, and towards the footpath along the "main" road.

I turn into that road not far behind him, and catch him, and match his speed - AT 55km/h He was riding along the 1m wide suburban (25+ yo) footpath (not a shared path) at 55km/h

He was crossing multiple driveways (there would be at least 30 houses along that stretch), a road off to our left and a shopping centre entrance, pretty much without slowing from 55km/h - I could not believe the sheer stupidity of it. The road I was on has a 60km/h limit and he was keeping up with me easily (on the footpath).

If anyone had either walked or driven out of the those house driveways it would have been REALLY BAD !!!! Death or serious injury. He slowed to cross a bigger road and ramped back up to around 50km/h again, and then turned a corner to the left (after slowing somewhat, but still very fast) - it is a blind corner with a house timber paling fence right next to the footpath (on both sides of the corner), so again, if anyone was approaching the corner on the footpath - DEAD. I continued straight and didn't see him again.

What an absolute moron

If I had had a dashcam I would have taken the footage to police (not that they could do much due to the unregistered motorbike).

This was, without a doubt, THE most dangerous thing I have seen in a very long time.

[jasonc]

This was, without a doubt, THE most dangerous thing I have seen in a very long time.

But you sped once on a bicycle. So it's all you're fault going by some people in here. Yep. They are a menace. School holidays are great

[jasonc]

oh look. the dutch can do it
https://ebiketips.road.cc/content/news/ ... opeds-5573

[Mr Purple]

oh look. the dutch can do it
https://ebiketips.road.cc/content/news/ ... opeds-5573

So pretty much exactly the same looking devices as I saw doing 50-70km/hr everywhere around Noosa last week?



Not hard, is it?

[jasonc]

oh look. the dutch can do it
https://ebiketips.road.cc/content/news/ ... opeds-5573

So pretty much exactly the same looking devices as I saw doing 50-70km/hr everywhere around Noosa last week?



Not hard, is it?

yep. the same devices