So some people have fired the first shot in banning e-bikes and scooters by defining them as a public health menace. This tactic is all about keeping working-class people reliant on the government for transportation. We wouldn’t want them to have any autonomy, would we? That doesn’t fit the Utopian vision where working-class people are forced to ride public transportation.
A recent Review-Journal article portrays these vehicles as a unique danger, highlighted by a firsthand account from a doctor who was hit by a child on an e-scooter. However, traditional bicycles easily travel 15 mph, and any crash will injure a helmet-less rider. Furthermore, a child on a human-powered scooter could just as easily collide with someone in a park. The logic doesn’t hold up. This is alarmist thinking that never moves past step one.
Why isn’t there a movement to regulate road bikes? We all see cyclists ignoring traffic laws and endangering themselves and others. Yet, we never see this issue tackled because it happens in affluent areas on $8,000 carbon road bikes ridden by doctors and lawyers. Where are the articles about that menace? No, poor people just need to know their place. On the bus.
