E-bikes, get off the roads, or better yet, why don't we license them???
A few weeks ago some of you messaged me via twitter, and my “Contact Us” page, asking why don’t I go into politics. I told you it’s because I have a colorful past, which I happen to think I do, I mean nothing too outrageous, but definitely the sort of shit I prefer to decide whether or not you, or anybody else for that matter knows about.
That is reason number one.
The second, and probably most powerful reason why nobody would ever want me to run the city, the province or the country is because I have a lot of big ideas, huge “it’s enough already” ideas, that I don’t believe anybody would like me. I’m no Donald Trump, but there are things that need a good stiff kick in the ass out the door in my country. I do believe that our welfare system is bullshit, how can people be allowed/enabled to just sit there and collect money, month after month, year after year, generation after generation (in some cases)?? It is maddening. It is wrong. I believe that welfare should be a helping hand, a leg up, an opportunity to “regroup” after life has dealt you a shitty blow. It should not be a lifestyle. It should not be a never ending source of revenue. I have lots of ideas about how to get people off welfare, and working, but I doubt I’d ever get to the point of actually being elected, and therefore implementing these grand ideas of mine. Which means Yannick gets to listen to them over, and over, and over again.
Dear patient husband of mine. Thank you.
Today’s post isn’t about welfare, although it could be, so maybe tomorrow’s will be. No, today’s musing has to do with E-bikes and how are they allowed to be a “thing.” As you know, I’m in Costa Rica for the week. Last night, after discovering that one of my fellow Yoga retreat guests is also from Toronto, we got to discussing our city with a New Yorker, and another woman from San Francisco. You also know that I live in LA part of the year, and if you’ve been paying attention to my daily musings, you’ll remember me talking about E-bikes, and scooters fairly early on. Well, here we are, almost done August and I’m still on fire about them, so much so that we talked about them last night with the group, and I’m carrying it on into today with you.
California doesn’t have E-bikes, or scooters; confirmed because the woman from San Francisco had no idea what I, and my fellow Torontoian were talking about last night. And guess what? New York doesn’t have them either. But Toronto does, by hundreds, maybe even thousands by now, who knows. Does anybody have a stat on that?? If you do please tweet it, or email it to me. When we told them how these E-bike riders use the roads they were floored. Stunned. Shocked. What was the most surprising to them is that they’re allowed to be on the roads, in whatever capactity they choose to be. If they want to ride on the sidewalk to get out of traffic and pretend they’re pedestrians, they do it. If there’s a long line of cars at a red light, and they don’t want to wait, they go into bike lanes and “jump” in front of the cars, if there is no bike lane, and there are many parked cars, they will go in front of the cars, UNDER THE SPEED limit and just cruise along. It’s not cool. It’s dangerous, and it’s stupid.
And what is our government doing about them?
Sweet fuck all.
They aren’t bikes, they aren’t pedestrians, they aren’t motorcycles, or Vespas, and they aren’t cars. So what are they? God only knows. Since nobody knows, somebody needs to decide.
I declare we decide that they are Vespas. I also declare that like other people operating a vehicle, they should have to go to the licensing office, write the drivers test, take the road test, pass it, pay a licensing fee, and be licensed so that drivers and pedestrians who come into “contact” with them have not only confidence that these people know what the laws of the roads are, but also recourse should they run into you. While we’re on the subject, why don’t we also make road cyclists have to write and drive the tests? Doesn’t it just seem logical that everybody who is ON the roads, USING the roads, COMMUTING on the roads all be on the same page??? I mean honestly. I see more cyclists run red lights than cars, and stop signs? I can count on two hands the number of times I’ve actually witnessed a cyclist STOP at one. Why are drivers/cars expected to be on the look out for EVERYBODY? Why are drivers paying the price via licensing fees and taxes so cyclists can have their own bike lanes? Why aren’t the costs shared? I mean seriously. If E-bike riders, and cyclists all had to go write the road test, take the road test, have little license plates on their modes of transportation, I bet you would see more harmony on the roads.
Because let’s be honest, if E-bike riders and cyclists were at the risk of getting tickets for not using bike lanes, or not stopping at red lights, or not using their hand signals while out on the road, I can assure you, they would all start taking more responsibility for themselves, instead of leaving it all on the shoulders of the licensed insured people out there on the roads.
It doesn’t seem like rocket science to me…but then again, maybe I’m too logical for politics??? And maybe that’s the real reason as to why I’ll never run…
Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm
