Japan cracks down on use of rideable electric suitcases amid tourist boom • Hacker News Board

Re: Japan cracks down on use of rideable electric suitcases amid tourist boom

#101

Post by margalabargala » Thu, Aug 08, 2024, 1:04 AM UTC

Johnny555 wrote: post #72

margalabargala wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMO this can be solved with education and enforcement in equal measure. This is not the first example of there being an easily-abused commons of some sort, where we all benefit from using something within reason but a few bad actors can make things radically worse for everyone. Radio comes to mind. It's very easy for anyone to prevent their neighbors from using their wifi, by trying to boost their own signal strength…

>Speed cameras everywhere, for cars and bicycles. How do speed cameras help stop speeding bikes when they don't require a license plate?

I would support legislation requiring license plates on electric bicycles, if it came alongside legislation that would make cyclists radically safer from cars, such as ubiquitous speed cameras.

Re: Japan cracks down on use of rideable electric suitcases amid tourist boom

#102

Post by makeitdouble » Thu, Aug 08, 2024, 5:24 AM UTC

nomel wrote: post #99

makeitdouble wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That could be the way. Now would these still sell if the speed limit was 2km/h ?

It seems like the average walking speed (3mph, 5km/h) would be a more reasonable limit, since all the luggage is already "zipping" around at that speed.

A key difference though: someone walking can stop in place and potentially work around a collision in a very limited time. I'm imagining someone flexing in to avoid a small kid they didn't see coming for instance.

That's pretty manageable when we're walking, but basically impossible when riding a vehicle (at best we stop within the machine's braking distance, including our reaction time until pushing the right button).

Then when a collision occurs, it will be the luggage's hard surface hitting first, compounded with the weight of the rider on it. Compared to person vs person collision, that probably hurts a lot more. Same way it's worse to get hit by a cart than by bumping into someone.

Re: Japan cracks down on use of rideable electric suitcases amid tourist boom

#103

Post by nomel » Thu, Aug 08, 2024, 6:09 PM UTC

makeitdouble wrote: post #102

nomel wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems like the average walking speed (3mph, 5km/h) would be a more reasonable limit, since all the luggage is already "zipping" around at that speed.

A key difference though: someone walking can stop in place and potentially work around a collision in a very limited time. I'm imagining someone flexing in to avoid a small kid they didn't see coming for instance. That's pretty manageable when we're walking, but basically impossible when riding a vehicle (at best we stop within the machine's braking distance, including our reaction time until pushing the right button…

You can put your feet down, since they're barely on to begin with [1]. Meh.

[1] https://www.walmart.com/ip/SE3S-Airwheel-Smart-Rideable-Suit...

Re: Japan cracks down on use of rideable electric suitcases amid tourist boom

#104

Post by ranger_danger » Fri, Aug 09, 2024, 8:18 PM UTC

Another area that I think needs big reform in Japan is legislation that allows for electric wheelchairs and similar devices for medical use (such as by elderly people or anyone with mobility problems) to be used anywhere.

There are many companies that either have such devices in Japan that they can't sell, or companies that want to sell there but can't, because there are laws against riding electric devices on the sidewalk, and it's too dangerous to ride those on the street.