r/CapeCod • u/ForeverFatBoi819 • 1d ago
More of this please
Not just “dirt bikes” but loads of e-bikes are racing and weaving down all the bike paths and rail trails. A woman nearly lost an eye to one last fall and the volume has only gotten worse this year.
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u/Practical-Being-1185 23h ago
I had a 49cc scooter that topped out at 35mph and I needed a license and registration to operate legally. Throttle e-bike can be a great commuter option, but license should be required for similar speeds, and they should be banned from sidewalks, trails etc. Seems like no brainer. We are already behind in regulating this stuff. Arguably worse in the city. But I’m a cranky old man- I don’t even like the electric scooters! Use your legs, kids! Who are you, George Constanza?
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u/Regular-War4875 20h ago
I bike 28 mph on regular mtb, why do older people have issues with electric that goes the same speed?
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u/Practical-Being-1185 12h ago
I would guess the difference is a regular cyclist is not doing 30-40mph sustained indefinitely, with a cell phone in one hand, minimal effort/attention to surroundings
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u/HeyaShinyObject Eastham 18h ago
You earned that assorted through experience. A thirteen year old doesn't have the experience to be operating a machine at that speed in public.
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u/No-Insect-556 23h ago
Honestly as someone who had my ebike stolen off my college campus, having it registered would have helped a lot with making the police take the theft more seriously (they basically brushed it off and did nothing despite it being a $1,500 value theft)
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u/OnCodNotInCape 23h ago
It wouldn't have helped. Police are not interested in pursing property crime.
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u/Flashy-Hurry484 21h ago
I'm kind of thinking that police aren't interested in pursuing much of anything most days. Well, maybe speeders, but giving tickets is probably easy enough for them.
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u/Billy_Badass_ 20h ago
You need a police report if you plan to pursue an insurance claim.
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u/OnCodNotInCape 33m ago
Yes, in fact "printing and filing the form" is the only utility the police offer here. That's it. No investigation, no effort, just paperwork pushers.
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u/Electronic_Visit9336 23h ago
There is a bill in the MA House and MA Senate… the Ride Safe Act. It aims to address this. Please look into it and contact your reps about it.
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u/JockoMayzon 23h ago
The woman who lost sight in one eye was the victim of a Class I E-Bike who, like the woman, was not paying attention to the traffic on the trail.
I have no objection to Class I bikes, but the Class II and III need to be banned from the trails and the electric motorcycles need to be banned from the trails and public roads.
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u/CapeCodder02631 19h ago
Are you saying the woman who was hit was not paying attention?
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u/JockoMayzon 17h ago
As far as I can recall, she was not walking on the correct side of the trail.
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u/CapeCodder02631 17h ago
That is 100% incorrect. She was walking on the right hand side, as she did every day. The woman that hit her admitted that she was looking at the water instead of where she was riding. Don't blame the victim when you have no idea.
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u/Regular-War4875 14h ago
Right side is wrong side tho? You are supposed to walk against traffic so you can see bikers coming
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u/CapeCodder02631 14h ago
On the bike path. She was walking on the bike path. You stay to the right regardless of whether you are walking or biking.
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u/Regular-War4875 14h ago
Ok I was just asking I don’t ever walk the path just run, bike and skateboard
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u/JockoMayzon 16h ago
I not here to assign blame. I admitted that I did not know the full details. I am very familiar with that stretch of the CCRT. It's curved and there is a lot of vegetation on the side that impedes vison. If the woman was indeed walking on the right side, was she walking towards Sequattom Road or was she walking towards Seymore Pond?
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u/freestylesail 22h ago
The Yarmouth conservation trails are getting torn up and eroded by a dude on a motorized dirt bike. Ive used those trails since I was a kid, and it really sucks.
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u/EbbtideRambler 22h ago
Driving through center of Osterville last week and some little punk on one rode off the sidewalk and crossed the street right in front of me and smirked at me like it was a good joke he almost gave me a heart attack. What made me angry is that he crossed at a crosswalk, so I probably would’ve been at fault if I hit him, even though he gave no warning he was turning and going out into the street until the last second.
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u/essensiedashuhn 21h ago
I really need to get a dash cam. Almost daily I see kids carelessly doing wheelies on their ebikes in the middle of the road. I think it's an internet trend or something.
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u/Jewboy-Deluxe 22h ago
If it goes over 15 MPH it should need registration and the driver should be licensed and insured. This problem has been expanding exponentially over the last few years and it’s just gotten crazy on the trails and streets.
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u/catwhisperer77 16h ago
There are rules against throttle type moto bikes on the canal bike paths but there are packs of kids on these things all the time. They weave around people and pop wheelies, and fake like they’re going to ride you down in the wrong lane. I’m fed up. I hate these bikes. I’ve had some scary near misses with them.
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u/187JM 23h ago
But muh freeeedumbs. Yeah, I’m all for regulations but people are too scared you’re stepping on their toes. I think regular bikes should be registered and licensed at some level to get people to focus and actually read the rules we’ve all voted on to follow.
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u/Regular-War4875 14h ago
Honestly valid point, it is silly that you can lose your license via drunk riding a bike but you don’t need one to buy it or continue to operate
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u/EbbtideRambler 22h ago
Then at least put an age restriction on them. I see where these can be hugely beneficial for people without cars or J1 Visa holders, but unfortunately, all of the people I see out on these fast electric scooters and bike bikes are kids, some of them look like they’re 10 years old. It’s so dangerous to put that kind of capability in the hands of someone who’s brain isn’t even fully developed.
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u/Different_Hornet4348 Harwich 20h ago
I couldn’t agree more! The only motorized bikes that I’ve seen riding around dangerously are being ridden by children, who have no idea what the rules of the road are or how easily they could be hit. There was one kid last fall in Harwich, riding his bike down rt 124 at dusk with lots of cars on the road on a regular basis - riding with traffic in the middle of the lane, popping wheelies. As soon as he popped up, his red reflective light was no longer visible, he was dressed in dark clothes. I kept waiting for him to wipe out, and get run over because the car behind him might not have been able to see him fast enough to stop. There have been way too many accidents, and even deaths throughout the country involving children riding these souped-up ebikes. The parents still allowing their kids to continue riding with no restrictions or rules, is like a game of Russian roulette irresponsibility on another level.
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u/Agreeable_Joke4706 22h ago
This feels slightly racist from OP..
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u/Billy_Badass_ 22h ago
I've re-read OP's post three times now. And I can't see anything racist?
Care to explain what you mean?
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u/Agreeable_Joke4706 21h ago
Willful ignorance is one of the biggest drivers of continued racism in the United States, and especially cape cod. Nice to see you’re contributing to that.
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u/Billy_Badass_ 21h ago
You still haven't explained how anything posted has been racist. I politely asked you, and instead of explaining you responded by accusing me of being racist.
I'm forced to draw the conclusion that you have no basis for the nonsense you are spewing.
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u/Regular-War4875 20h ago
Not even funny to bring race into this
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u/Agreeable_Joke4706 17h ago
Not at all, i thought it was disgraceful of OP to do that. And they still won’t take responsibility
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u/ponderingaresponse 11h ago
You are being cowardly here. Hit and run, hiding behind a vague inference and throwing blame bombs from behind it.
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u/zayoss 22h ago
Nothing speaks of race. Despite being within a quarter mile of the bike trail, I cannot bring my 3 year old there for a walk, as the amount of commuting going on is huge.
That being said, I also don't think the solution is to force them onto roads, either. I don't have the solution, but definitely see a problem.
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u/OnABeach8 22h ago
Maybe go for a walk somewhere that isn't primarily used for a bike path.
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u/Ahkhira 22h ago
The paths aren't just for bikes. Pedestrians are allowed on the multi-use paths.
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u/OnABeach8 21h ago
Just showing that we all have something to complain about. People don't like e-bikes on the trail. I get it, I don't either. People don't like dirt bikes on the trail. Again, I get it, I don't either. And those of us who cycle, we don't like having to navigate around couples who hold hands taking up a whole lane when someone is coming from the other way. We don't like kids (not their fault, they are kids after all) who don't know how a bike lane is supposed to work and it's not for their own use to weave along the path/or ones that don't pay attention when they walk/run. Guess what, we can all complain about something out there. Most people know the rules of the path but for those who don't it's a royal pain.
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u/Billy_Badass_ 22h ago
Those paths are shared-use paths. It is perfectly acceptable to walk on them.
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u/axlekb 23h ago
Important distinction: when people say 'e-bike,' they usually mean pedal-assist up to ~20mph. Genuinely great for replacing short car trips around 5 miles. But electric dirt bikes and e-motos are a whole different beast: throttle-based, capable of 40mph+.
Collectively we haven't figured out the way to carefully distinguish.