A point worth considering regarding speed is closing rate speed and braking rate while on the bike path. Whether or not it is fully human-powered or assisted, the closing rate of a bicycle traveling at 10 mph approaching from the rear on a pedestrian traveling at at 3 mph is the same rate as an automobile at 35 mph approaching a cyclist at 10 mph. It's a timing issue of when to brake, pass, or react irrationally. A cyclist traveling at 20 mph is going nearly seven times the speed of a pedestrian. It's kind of like an automobile going 70 mph coming up on a 10 mph cyclist. Irrespective of the effects of less mass moving at slower speeds, a collision is still painful if one can't adjust in time. The other issue is visibility. Even at "moderate" speeds if a path user can't see an imminent collision approaching to react in time there's going to be trouble. I ride a recumbent and the bridges on John Nolan obstruct forward visibility so I have to slow downin anticipation of seeing someone approaching. I almost got rear-ended by someone on a mountain bike because he was too impatient to cross the bridge behind me. Of course it my fault that he was tailgating. My two centsDarryl
--- On Tue, 2/2/10, Scott Ellington <[email protected]> wrote: From: Scott Ellington <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Bikies] NYTimes: An Electric Boost for Bicyclists To: "bikies" <[email protected]> Date: Tuesday, February 2, 2010, 10:10 AM The article didn't really make it clear that some of them are actually electric mopeds. I think they are legal here, licensed like mopeds, for street operation only. The "Electric Assisted Bicycles" are very different, in that the operator generally HAS to pedal, and top speed is about 20 mph. There are some federal regulations designating them as "Low Speed Electric Bicycles". I believe one of the requirements is that the power assist has to cut out above 20 mph. I don't believe they are covered by any state legislation in Wisconsin, so they now exist now exist in a state legal limbo. While I believe that the 30 mph electric mopeds should certainly be banned from bike paths, I don't have a problem with their use on streets. They're quieter and less polluting than gasoline mopeds, and may get a few cars off the roads. I wouldn't have a problem sharing bike paths with electric assisted bicycles long as their maximum assisted speed is reasonable. I think 20 mph is too high; 15 mph would be more reasonable, as that's much closer to the speed of most cyclists. The last thing we need on shared paths is more high-speed bikes, in addition to the inconsiderate racer-types we already have. However, even with a lower top speed, they might get some cars off the roads and increase support for bike routes. Scott Scott Ellington Madison, Wisconsin USA _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
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