Cars and bikes need each other: car drivers profit especially from ebike riders to deminish traffic jams and air pollution, not to talk about climate change. Bike and ebike riders need cars, because without cars our economy and society would have malfunctions, at least for the time being.
Ebikes, bikes and cars in Europe
In Europe, some 97% of ebikes have their assistance limited to 25 km/h, in order to be allowed to circulate without license, plates and insurance. Moreover, roads tend to be narrower and more crowded than in most of the United States.
The controversial 25 km/h speed limit can be a problem
On city roads, the general speed limits is 50 km/h. Ebikes weigh an average 20 kg, so when motor assistance automatically switches off at 26 km/h, we mainly slow down to 25 km/h to enjoy it again. Even those who are willing to go faster only on their pedalling, can barely average 28-30 km/h, provided the road is flat. Anyway, ebikers have two choices:
- Riding quite close to the right edge of the road
This behavior allows cars to easily overtake our ebikes. What spares us being mentally or even verbally cursed, and prevents us from hearing the frightening roar of upset drivers, getting nearer and nearer our rear wheel. The backlash risk of it, is that drivers could almost brush against our bike when they overtake us, especially if the road is narrow. - Riding in the middle-of-the-road
We could well ride our ebike right in the middle-of-the-road, effectively preventing car drivers from overtaking us. This way, we wouldn’t risk being hit and hurt by cars who would drive too close to our legs, making the slightest deviation to our left tragically dangerous. That notwithstanding, this behavior can be harmful too. Car drivers would become increasingly nervous, and could overtake us even with little visibility. They could then be compelled to pull to the right, violently hitting us. Moreover, how would we like to be slowed down by cyclist for kilometers, especially if we’re driving our car with a certain hurry? Do we think it’s fair to compel somebody to drive at 25 km/h, whenever the speed limit is 50 or even 90 km/h? At very low speed, cars consume more fuel, since they have to use the lowest gears. Besides, we put our life at stake: if we are in the middle of the road after a curve, at 25km/h, and a car arrives at 90kmh, once it has noticed us, it’s too late to avoid an accident. Anyway, what scares cyclists the most, is the risk of being hitted from behind.
What car drivers could blame cyclists for
- Most of all, obstructing the roads, thus slowing down cars and traffic, is probably the worst nuisance cyclists can cause. Besides that, disorderly parking our bikes on parking places and sidewalks can also irritate car drivers.
- Those who are politically divisive, sometimes consider cyclists as woks, ecological fanatics or whatever, no matter if the latter may work for an oil company. This phenomenon of hating or despising people having different opinions and habits is despicable, and social network algorithms amplify it, feeding people almost exclusively with information that support their beliefs, no matter how partisan or even biased they are.
- Municipalities and governments that tend to exaggeratedly favor bikes at the expenses of cars. Just look at the picture below, wouldn’t a single bike lane instead of two be enough, instead of preventing two-way crossing of cars? What understandably can irritate car drivers, who in the end could start hating cyclists.
Car transit restricting bike lanes in France, Ardèche
What cyclists could blame car drivers for
- To start with, car drivers frequently cause casualties among cyclists. Some get injured, some get killed, or experience stress and fear of cars whenever they ride. Sometimes we get honked, yelled at or even insulted just because we slow down a car with our bike, regardless of our possibility of giving leeway, for example because the road is too narrow. Public policies neglecting to provide bikers and ebikers with facilities and structures to safely ride, such as bike lanes and paths, bike parks and ebike charging stations, while constantly promoting car usage, are also a reason for complaining.
- Then there is dooring, or accidents caused by careless car drivers or occupants opening their door just when a cyclist is approaching.
- Parking on bike lanes also arouses cyclists’ complaints, as well as driving on bike lanes.
- Last but not least, breathing exhaust pipe gas pollution, while pedalling requires a strong air intake, is particularly harmful and unpleasant, stirring up hostility against car drivers.
Remedies for a peaceful, common enjoyment of the road
Reciprocal respect is paramount. That is hard to attain, if we don’t put ourselves in the shoes of our fellow traveler, be he a cyclist or a car driver. Would we like to drive like a turtle, unable to take over a preceding ebike? Then let’s keep right. It is less dangerous and way more sociable to let more drivers comfortably overtake us, than being overtaken by fewer but dangerously furious drivers, who were being compelled to drive like a snail because we occupied the middle of the lane.
Seemingly, if we fear car drivers almost caressing our legs while we ride, or uttering their nervousness when we keep them behind, we should overtake bikes at a safe distance. In France, that clearance is legally prescribed at 1 m.
Bike lanes and parkings help
Well protected and delimited bike lanes help a lot, enabling safe ebike and bike riding, and also avoiding uneasy interactions between riders and drivers. Practical bike parkings avoid disorderly locking our two wheeled friends to the nearest post.
Ebike and cars in the US
In the US, broader roads and legally faster ebikes lessen the relevance of all the above considerations. Although widening roads and streets would be too costly in Europe, legislators could reckon whether it would be better to raise speed limits for unregistered ebike up to 32 km/h, like in the US.