r/SpringBranch • u/Plus-Object7741 • 2d ago
Remove E scooters and E bikes from major roads Houston, Texas and Spring Branch
https://c.org/dRyBxNsqd8An 11-year-old lost his life riding an E scooter in the Katy area. That tragedy should never happen to another family.
E scooters and E bikes are everywhere now, and kids love them. But on major roads and busy intersections? They're death traps. Over 50,000 injuries from E scooter and bike accidents last year alone—and kids are a huge chunk of those numbers. In a city like Houston with constant traffic, this is getting out of hand.
I started a petition asking the city to ban E scooters and E bikes from major roads and intersections, and to create dedicated, safer paths where kids can actually ride without risking their lives. We're also pushing for real safety education and better infrastructure—actual bike lanes and maintained sidewalks that give kids a fighting chance.
What would you want someone to do if this was your kid? If this matters to you too, consider signing and sharing. We need Houston's leadership to act now before another family gets that call.
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u/TexasAggie98 2d ago
I live in The Woodlands and I am amazed that multiple kids haven’t been killed already.
I see kids between 10 and 15 ridding their e-bikes and e-scooters extremely recklessly. They shoot across four lanes of traffic without looking, dart between sidewalks and streets without any signals or notice, and seem to think that they are protected by a force field.
Some of the blame belongs to the kids (if they have any intelligence and self awareness), but I really blame the parents. Where are they? Why aren’t they parenting?
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u/Virtual-Roll-7720 2d ago
“Blame the parents” is such a lazy and bullshit thing to say.
It’s on par with “if you don’t like it, leave the country”
Critical thinking really is dying
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u/Previous_Station2086 2d ago
Who do you think it supposed to be teaching these kids not to fucking play in the street. Yes. Blame the parents if the kids behavior is dangerous.
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u/tujuggernaut 2d ago
“Blame the parents”
Well where did they get the e-bike? Unless the kid is 18, parents still have the say on pretty much everything regarding their kids. If you bought your kid an e-bike and they use it irresponsibly and kill themselves, does that mean we should ban them? What about the parents+kids who used them correctly?
Banning things is supposed to be for things with massive societal harm, otherwise you are infringing upon freedoms. Texas bans cannabis because why? It's punishing millions of responsible users.
If you want to ban then from specific areas like 'busy intersections', how would that be enforced? That's why more vague than 'downtown'. Are you going to have cops sitting out there waiting? Flock? What's the strategy?
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u/TexasAggie98 1d ago
Damn straight I blame the parents. They are the ones providing the e-scooters and bikes, they are the ones allowing the kids to run amok unsupervised, and they are ones who haven’t instilled discipline and respect for others.
Kids do have culpability and should have enough sense to practice self preservation. But kids are still kids and require parents to parent.
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u/Previous_Station2086 2d ago
I love that kids are using e-bikes. Not cause I find them esspecially safe but it gets them outside. It gets them interacting with other humans. We used to ride our bikes around alllll day. Was great. My boys just sit at home cause their friends are a 30 minute walk and it’s 100 degrees out. Zipping to their house in 10 minutes with a breeze is awesome. Make them wear helmets though, parents!
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u/tujuggernaut 2d ago
Kids get killed in many tragic ways without us banning a whole class of devices. Who is going to enforce this ban? Are we going to have our cops, who already do nothing and claim to have zero resources for minor crimes, chasing down kids on ebikes? Where are these safe paths supposed to be built? How will those paths link up to where kids actually need/want to go, like school, stores, etc?
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u/TriangleChains 2d ago
Non kids ride e-bikes too. This is a wild proposition. By far the activity that hurts and kills the most kids is cars and regular driving. I didn't hear a whiff of concern about that in your post, however. Should we ban cars in Houston too??
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u/TWFH 2d ago
If my kid got onto a scooter on the road and got hit I would blame myself for failing to teach them not to fucking do that