Ok, show me some traffic!
I’m in the South of Vietnam; the traffic is… wierd.
This is what Saigon looks like:
Vietnamese License Plate Decoder Ring:
OK. Here’s downtown Paris a month before les Jeux. This is looking toward la place de la Concorde where sit two “urban sports” stadiums. Not much was moving and the traffic is being redirected all over the frigg’n place in unusual ways.
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I need to concentrate on the driving, ha ha. Thank God, I do not have to commute to downtown as Toronto (or GTA) has one of if not the most congested highways (i.e., expressway, freeway) systems in North America, even without the random, unplanned 365 construction, repairs and closures.
For the past decade, another type of traffic that has been troubling me is e-bikes and scooters going at highspeed without no regard to traffic infrastructure. They would go on sidewalks, properties and intersections diagonally, clipping people.
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As a biker, I sympathize. People who don’t bike regularly just don’t realize that pedestrian infrastructure was designed for pedestrian speeds (rarely exceeds 10 km/h, except for experienced runners who know how to take care of themselves).
Going above that makes it impossible to for cars to notice you in intersections where pedestrians are expected, and is a hazard to pedestrians in shared spaces. There is a certain implicit etiquette for the latter: if you see pedestrians (especially dogs or children), you slow down to safe speeds. But I see people zipping by on scooters at 25 km/h, zigzagging around everyone.
With traditional (non-powered) bikes this used to be neatly self-limiting, as casual bikers cannot maintain high speeds. With e-bikes, anyone can do 25 km/h and be a menace. Scooters are much worse since they are not stable enough (short wheelbase, high center of mass, topple forward when breaking).
This has always been the norm in Vietnam. Walking the sidewalks in Saigon is downright hazardous. Once traffic bunches up, they just spill over. Also jostling for position by kicking other riders in the shins. Love it out in the countryside though.
To be fair, 25km/h is not a lot for a bicycle. I can maintain 15-20 on road in an entry level gravel bike, let alone a dedicated lighter road bike with road tires. I do agree that they can be a danger if they go faster than that on bike lanes or sidewalks. Afaik here in europe the “speed limit” for bike lanes is 25km/h
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I am pretty sure most of them are illegal, incompliant and limiter-less, judging by the sheer number and variety of models I have never seen before (some probably DIY). The issue with Canada in general is that we rarely ever enforce or bother to address anything.
I do not want it to be the norm here.
No spill over. It is basically the attitude where people go where they want regardless of others’, or even personal, safety and traffic situation, often ending up being the shortest possible route: could be driving the wrong way, curb/barrier hopping, going diagonally across an intersection, or some other fancy manoeuvre in busy intersections. Actually, cars and trucks often do the same thing. Hence, wrong-way highspeed police chases resulting in meaningless deaths. This one had lots of bystander footage if you do a search:
I hate to see the apparently increasing number of US states legalizing lane splitting on motorcycles. I can certainly understand the temptation, but it’s dangerous to all involved. As a latent cyclist (i.e., I’ve fallen off the cycling wagon for the past 6-7 years…) I’m all for encouraging alternate transportation, but having a motorcycle zip by you at 60MPH when you still or creeping down a freeway isn’t a good idea.
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Just to clarify, I used “casual” in the sense of “usually does not bike”. Of course 25 km/h is not a lot for a regular (non-professional) biker.
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This guy thinks he knows what’s up.
In a world full of oblivious (and possibly intoxicated) cagers, lane splitting is risky af.
Around here, with e-bikes, anyone (including the food dudes) can do 40-50 km/h, and that also goes for things like motorized skateboards/scooters/unicycles.
In my racing days, it was harder to ride under 25 km/h than over it.*
*: “The older get, the faster I used to be.” 
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1h 40m to go 25 miles to Long Beach today. 
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Judging by the intense regularity-- nay, conformity of the cars, and lack of motion blur, I think the rider was prepared to deal with it.
In California you can split lanes up to 25mph / 40 k/h. Above that is straight up suicidal behavior and nothing irks a cop more than a potential “red spray”.
Well… while I agree in principal, have you ever seen the French riders? Lane splitting is practically the only way they get down the road. When I lived in LA (I know, back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth) lane splitting was the only way to get through the intense cage congestion (cagegestion?), so I understand why.
The one time I nearly killed myself wasn’t because of lane splitting. I was being stupid riding a RD400 and keeping up with a friend on his Ducati 900SS on Ortega HWY.
Around l’isle de France I remain hyper aware of riders when making any manner of lane change. Sometimes I’m still surprised, no matter how careful I feel I’m being.
I don’t know where that is, but in most countries (EU, USA, Australia) the limit is around 25 km/h for pedelec. Going above that either means that you are prohibited from some roads, need insurance, or a licence (US, class 3 and above, legislation state dependent, speed pedelecs in Denmark, etc).
The electric scooters you see zipping around are usually not classified as bicycles, but motorcycles. They should not be in pedestrian areas at all in most countries, including the sidewalk. Of course practical enforcement varies by country, but the law and the police are catching up in most places.
I never had racing days. I have “carrying a 20kg kid and 30kg of groceries uphill and barely managing 10 km/h” days
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My six months living in Taipei, where you could step out of a shop onto the pavement and a moped might almost knock you off your feet, changed me forever. I always expect the unexpected on any road and look both ways whatever the direction of traffic. When on my bike, I’m amazed how many pedestrians step off the pavement without looking, letting their ears do the seeing without thinking a bike might be coming. The worst I had was when someone, without looking, suddenly rolled their trolley suitcase off the pavement about two feet in front of my front wheel and I had to swerve into traffic to avoid going head over tit.
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I think there are well known jailbreaks for these limiters and some of these fat tyred bikes with pedals are functionally motorbikes in all but name.
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Yes, but fortunately law enforcement is catching up, at least in many European countries.
Even if it is not illegal or checked in some area, being part of a minor accident can mean that your bike is checked and then good luck not becoming the liable party (similar to routine alcohol tests after accidents in some jurisdictions).
While there are always idiots, people are getting fed up with them. Vienna toughened up e-scooter laws last year:
Good to hear and I guess most places will converge
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