Teen on e-bike dies after colliding with ambulance

jimriley

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 17, 2020
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Sience direct, thats the link, or did you miss it :rolleyes:

Clearly you didn't read it before commenting or you would have seen its about how drivers see cyclists, in light of the negative press about them.

How many times have we heard the morons use the phrase 'lycra clad' ?
However, if a crash is more likely, It is better to be wearing a helmet. Catch 22. You are in effect justifying the bad attitude of car drivers and reporters at the Dully Fail.

Would you let one of your kids ride about without a helmet?

Could it be the lycra, not the helmet? I don't wear lycra.
 

chris_n

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 29, 2016
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Niedeau, Austria
the bike has foot pegs thus no peddles and looks like a surron
Confirmed as a Sur-Ron in the BBC article now.
"The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said an investigation into the collision.
It said Saul had been riding a black off-road Sur-Ron e-bike and was followed by officers along Fitzwarren Street and on to Lower Seedley Road at about 14:00 BST before the crash on Langworthy Road."
 
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jimriley

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Jun 17, 2020
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Just heard a local youth on the radio, along the lines of "we just like to cruise up and down, we don't harm anyone". It's not legal ya numpty, came the shout at the radio!
 

portals

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jul 15, 2022
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You haven't answered the simple question I posed to you in the other thread, how would you deal with underage riders on illegal machines putting themselves and others at risk.
I'd let them go and use old school police work and techniques to track them and the parents down...
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
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Just heard a local youth on the radio, along the lines of "we just like to cruise up and down, we don't harm anyone". It's not legal ya numpty, came the shout at the radio!
Trouble is that the law is actually causing the problem, and by that I don't mean the police. I mean our government through having unnecessary laws. If it was legal for these 15 year olds to ride a moped, and it should be, they'd be doing just what that lad said, cruising and not bothering anyone.

Just across the channel in France kids can ride 45 kph (28 mph) mopeds at 14, and in six other European countries as well. So the police don't have to chase after them or even follow them, since they are doing nothing wrong.

Those same 14 year olds in France can even drive low powered cars with passengers, limited to 45 kph, and all without a driving licence or driving test. They just need a safety certificate, and they behave since they don't want to lose their safety certificate.

It works for them so it can work for us. If we had that law the three teenagers we are commenting on would be alive today.

The real trouble that I'm illustrating is our nanny state, obsessed with safety perfection, for ever trying to have no accidents at all. To the point of the stupidity of cyclists under 14 unable to even ride a legally restricted pedelec, though they can ride a normal bicycle at any younger age, at any speed, anywhere on the roads.
.
 
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chris_n

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Apr 29, 2016
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Niedeau, Austria
Trouble is that the law is actually causing the problem, and by that I don't mean the police. I mean our government through having unnecessary laws. If it was legal for these 15 year olds to ride a moped, and it should be, they'd be doing just what that lad said, cruising and not bothering anyone.

Just across the channel in France kids can ride 45 kph (28 mph) mopeds at 14, and in six other European countries as well. So the police don't have to chase after them or even follow them, since they are doing nothing wrong.

Those same 14 year olds in France can even drive low powered cars with passengers, limited to 45 kph, and all without a driving licence or driving test. They just need a safety certificate, and they behave since they don't want to lose their safety certificate.

It works for them so it can work for us. If we had that law the three teenagers we are commenting on would be alive today.

The real trouble that I'm illustrating is our nanny state, obsessed with safety perfection, for ever trying to have no accidents at all. To the point of the stupidity of cyclists under 14 unable to even ride a legally restricted pedelec, though they can ride a normal bicycle at any younger age, at any speed, anywhere on the roads.
.
That's how it is here in Austria (not sure about the car / Quadricycle thing but only because I haven't looked). Where I live it is in a valley with about 3500 inhabitants across 5 villages and many outlying farms. Lots of local kids ride mopeds with very few problems though the law does allow them to drink beer too I haven't heard of any being done for drink driving (they leave that to their parents).
I have seen a kid from down our private road riding one of these electric motocross bikes up our road (after repair / adjustments) but he never went onto the main road and would undoubtedly have been courteous to any traffic or pedestrians he came across. He normally rides it at a relatively local motocross track that appears to have financial support from KTM.
I have never seen the type of behaviour that I have seen in UK where kids are doing wheelies / tearing up grassed areas in the town and spraying houses with dirt. This sort of behaviour eventually led to someone challenging/ reporting them having his house burned down while his family were inside.
 

flecc

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Oct 25, 2006
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I have never seen the type of behaviour that I have seen in UK where kids are doing wheelies / tearing up grassed areas in the town and spraying houses with dirt.
And that of course is the point, that being too restrictive leads to rebellious behaviour, which is by its nature anti-social.

Many of the attitudes of those in power in Britain date back to the restrictive nature of the Victorians and we still see them in the tut, tutting nature of many of the posts in these threads. We need those attitudes to change to be more tolerant, allowing far more freedoms, not just for the kids but for all of us.
.
 

Chainmale

Pedelecer
May 13, 2020
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Trouble is that the law is actually causing the problem, and by that I don't mean the police. I mean our government through having unnecessary laws. If it was legal for these 15 year olds to ride a moped, and it should be, they'd be doing just what that lad said, cruising and not bothering anyone.
But many of the young people riding unlicensed off road motorcycles on our streets are 16 years old and could ride 50cc mopeds legally if they chose to do so. They prefer the "illegal" bikes to give them more street cred and not to appear uncool amongst their mates.
Very much a problem of social environment I think and that's a difficult one to address.
 
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soundwave

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May 23, 2015
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4 those two bits on the road looks like the bottom part of the fork where the thru axle goes both torn off.

the arch of the fork is also bent and torn in half also the upper and lower part of the forks is bent and twisted he must have been flying to do that sort of damage but i think that is the back wheel in the pic.?

yet not a scratch on the ambulance bar the wind screen o_O
 

AndyBike

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Nov 8, 2020
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If anything comes from this hopefully it will be more stringent regulation on the sellers of these electric motorbikes.
No purchase unless you can produce a driving license, and have been pre insured.
 
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guerney

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Sep 7, 2021
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Zooming in with the browser (imagezoom addon Firefox) seems the bike's front wheel smashed into the ambulance near the right hand side front small bumper inset light of the ambulance, breaking the light, the impact also deformed the bumper, breaking the right side front plastic wheel arch and crumpling the adjoining body panel.

 
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flecc

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But many of the young people riding unlicensed off road motorcycles on our streets are 16 years old and could ride 50cc mopeds legally if they chose to do so.
That isn't an answer to what I posted.

In both of the current cases the riders were 15 so that option not open to them. Nor is it that easy at 16, since first there is the need to pass CBT with all that entails. Then there is our two part driving test, the theory side especially difficult to learn.

As other countries show these are not necessary, all that oppressive British procedure is no comparison with simply collecting a safety certificate and riding or driving off at 14 years old.

You appear to think our laws are ok as they stand. They are not, and the proof is the completely avoidable problem we have created with all these illegal young riders. All due to our totally unnecessary, excessively restrictive laws.

Of course now that we've made the mess we have, it will be difficult to undo the harm caused, but change course is what we need to do if ever we are going to get back to an acceptable civilised society with young people who consistently behave responsibly and more like their adults.
.
 
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soundwave

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May 23, 2015
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looks like that bike went under the ambulance to mangle and damage a fork like that.

could i go to a motor bike shop and just buy a 1000cc super bike and take it home ?
 

portals

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jul 15, 2022
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If anything comes from this hopefully it will be more stringent regulation on the sellers of these electric motorbikes.
No purchase unless you can produce a driving license, and have been pre insured.
That won't stop kids getting their hand on them and impossible to implement

I agree with this comment
As other countries show these are not necessary, all that oppressive British procedure is no comparison with simply collecting a safety certificate and riding or driving off at 14 years old.

You appear to think our laws are ok as they stand. They are not, and the proof is the completely avoidable problem we have created with all these illegal young riders. All due to our totally unnecessary, excessively restrictive laws.
We need a paradigm shift in the UK at how we look at licensing 'ebikes' of all descriptions.
 
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guerney

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I was pondering the other day as the law is written, Ebikes - "must have a maximum power output of 250 watts" could this be used in a worse case, to remove all ebikes from the UK shops & roads?
" We would also urge media reporting such incidents to clarify that these vehicles are illegal e-motorcycles and not e-bikes. "


 
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soundwave

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May 23, 2015
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one of the first bikes i looked at getting was a stealth bomber as it does have peddles but given the waight pretty useless but if you tried to go down hill on that at the forest of dean you will just die on a red or black trail and every one wears a helmet and most bike parks wont even let you ride unless you wear one.


i could build one for 3k ;) or 5k with a 20kw hub motor :p
 

portals

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Jul 15, 2022
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" We would also urge media reporting such incidents to clarify that these vehicles are illegal e-motorcycles and not e-bikes. "
The main distinction between an ebike and electric motorbike appears to be power and pedals or no pedals?

Good luck the the BA trying to educate the media, they don't care and would never let a fact get in the way of another ebike death/fire story...
 
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