Nice one @newy, congratulations!
Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin
91–100 of 328 posts
Re: Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin
#92All of the commenters saying e-scooters shouldn't be allowed on sidewalks are right. Sidewalks in most densely populated US cities are too narrow and busy to safely allow a human gliding along at 15 mph within ~2 ft of a doorway where another human may be exiting, or past blind corners.
The bigger issue is that e-scooter parking is fundamentally broken right now. Despite being told not to, users still park them in the middle of a pedestrian walkway. Even if the user parks them correctly, they get knocked over or blow over into the walkway. This product is broken until these companies do what Jump did, and INTEGRATE A LOCK INTO THE PRODUCT, and make users lock it to something at the end of their ride. This almost entirely eliminates the problem of blocking a walkway, and also reduces the loss of product to theft, accidental damage, etc.
Since they're required by law in California, I'd also like helmets to be integrated into the locking mechanism, but that's a nice-to-have.
E-scooter companies: Build locks into your products. It fixes many of your problems.
Re: Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
Cyclists constantly break the law in literally every city I’ve ever seen cyclists in. As long as they’re being safe, I don’t really blame them either - very few cities are designed with cyclists in mind and the letter of the law is usually hugely inconvenient.
Seriously, I have been a cyclist for a decade. Saying things like "blowing through a stop sign" is stupid in the vast majority of cases, as stopping can actually be more unsafe. Also, its so freaking tiresome to assume that every single human being is a fucking moron. Cyclists have all their faculties, they can see, hear, move, discern. Thus, they are making a judgement to "blow through" a stop-sign in the same way a…
Should cars follow the same logic?
Re: Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
Personal anecdote, cyclists blow through stop signs because the infrastructure isn't built for bicycles. Having to come to a stop and then start up on a bicycle is the hardest part and cyclists hate it. Source: Commuting to work on a bicycle for years.
Exactly. People who don't bike don't understand. Imagine having to effectively park you car every single time a stop was legally required. All moving vehicles should be operated safely, but obeying a stop sign, just because its a stop sign isnt always safe, or efficient. @drRogers below me... To anyone bitching about stop signs, they should be bitching about the lack of roundabouts. There are myriad ways to design in…
I don't think anybody's saying you can't make a California stop as a bicyclist, when I say "blow through a red" or "blow through a stopsign," I'm talking about the bicyclists I see (every day) that disrupt the actual order of expected operation of the stop sign. I.e., moving out of turn, because they were unwilling to slow down.
And I get dinged at because I let cars (who have missed MULTIPLE of "their turns") go. I don't get it.
Re: Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
Start doing dumb shit? I've been seeing cyclist blow through stop signs for 30 years.
> I've been seeing cyclist blow through stop signs for 30 years. One reason cyclists don’t stop at stop signs is because it’s the biggest energy drain to have to come to a full stop, killing all momentum, and then pick up speed again from zero. If a cyclist approaching a stop sign sees that there is no traffic, and it’s not even a busy street, then that cyclist will likely just keep going. I’m not saying whether that…
I'm on my bicycle nearly every day and I "get it," I just don't think it's a valid excuse. Oh no, eat another banana. Whatever. I'm on my bike to get exercise anyway.
Re: Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
Seriously, I have been a cyclist for a decade. Saying things like "blowing through a stop sign" is stupid in the vast majority of cases, as stopping can actually be more unsafe. Also, its so freaking tiresome to assume that every single human being is a fucking moron. Cyclists have all their faculties, they can see, hear, move, discern. Thus, they are making a judgement to "blow through" a stop-sign in the same way a…
The issue with this is that, on my motorcycle, I nearly take out (especially on left turns) bicyclists blowing through reds that don't see me. I can't stop midturn without high risk of going down and taking out the cyclist (and pedestrians) with my sliding motorcycle, it's a risky situation all around. The laws like "just stop at red" don't care about your perceptive ability, they care about everyone's perceptive abi…
I don't disagree with you, and as you clerly point out - its not a level playing field.
I just cant agree with saying that the lowest common denominator is correct in all cases, and thus, people should have personal responsibility for personal risk, and thats just how the world needs to be.
Shaking fists be damned.
Re: Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin
#97>They belong in the bike lane (which should exist in the first place) the problem is the existence of bike lanes. If public officials start saying "scooters belong in the bike lane", then they have to confront the fact that their cities have no cohesive network of bike lanes that can actually support a real journey. This has been acceptable up until now, because cyclists are weird and it's okay to tell them to just r…
> because cyclists are weird and it's okay to tell them to just ride in amongst trucks travelling 40mph when a bike lane abruptly ends
No, they are not weird! They do it because that's the only way to ride a bike in most of todays cities. Weird are general the car drivers who get upset every time they see a bike, and can't wait to overtake them with far less than a minimal safety distance.
Re: Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
Start doing dumb shit? I've been seeing cyclist blow through stop signs for 30 years.
> I've been seeing cyclist blow through stop signs for 30 years. One reason cyclists don’t stop at stop signs is because it’s the biggest energy drain to have to come to a full stop, killing all momentum, and then pick up speed again from zero. If a cyclist approaching a stop sign sees that there is no traffic, and it’s not even a busy street, then that cyclist will likely just keep going. I’m not saying whether that…
Well, why can't a car do the same thing?
Replace all the stop signs with yield signs.
Re: Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin
#99These e-scooters could be a really great way for many cities to decrease short-haul car dependency, but they really need to be off the sidewalks. A motor-propelled machine going 15 mph doesn't belong on the same surface as a baby stroller, a senior citizen, or a person with a disability. They belong in the bike lane (which should exist in the first place), and their speed should be capped in areas of dense foot traff…
They are parked so haphazardly as well. Years long fight for the physically changed to have any mobility is being undone by these scooters blocking the sidewalks. I can walk around them but what will a person in a wheelchair do? The feature that makes them the most convenient and why people use this over bikesharing is the fact that they can be dropped of anywhere and that's exactly what the major problem with it as well.
Re: Ford Buying San Francisco-Area E-Scooter Startup Spin
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
Seriously, I have been a cyclist for a decade. Saying things like "blowing through a stop sign" is stupid in the vast majority of cases, as stopping can actually be more unsafe. Also, its so freaking tiresome to assume that every single human being is a fucking moron. Cyclists have all their faculties, they can see, hear, move, discern. Thus, they are making a judgement to "blow through" a stop-sign in the same way a…
Should cars follow the same logic?
In rural or non-traffic-laden areas, yes.
If you can see a mile in any direction when in a car, and there is nothing coming, why stop?
(also, anecdotally - this is in my DNA, my great grand-father was driving in San Francisco when they were installing stop-lights. He refused to have a machine tell him what to do and would run all lights.)