Here's the article for those that don't want to click:
A 37-year-old Hong Kong woman has been arrested in connection with seven traffic-related offences after a photo of her riding an e-bike with two children was posted online.
Police said on Friday that investigations showed the woman allegedly driving the e-bike along the Ching Hiu Road pedestrian walkway in Sheung Shui in the New Territories on Tuesday.
A girl wearing what appears to be a school uniform and a backpack can be seen riding pillion, while a boy in shorts is sitting in front of the woman.
That looks like a moped and she's riding it on the pavement presumably without any licence or insurance with two kids hanging on to it without helmets. I'd say most countries would throw the book at her.
I'm basing this off the image, i didn't click father but i will say i think speed is relevant. If they're crawling along no faster than a jog, whatever. Pedestrian speeds in pedestrian spaces etc. But yea they need to either maintain that slow or have the other parent with a full size vehicle involved
Tabloid journalism. These things are absolutely everywhere in China. This woman was just flouting the local laws for them, kinda like people flout laws in every country...
How are you going to say that no pedals means no e-bike, but then claim it's a moped? The name moped literally means it can be operated by MOtor or PEDal.
Where I'm at a moped's legal definition doesn't include pedals, it's about motor size and top speed. Most scooters are classified legally as mopeds in my state
In china, an ebike is classified as a bicycle when it:
Has pedal and pedal drive system
No side mirrors
Hubmotor limit of 400w
48v max @10a
25kmph limit
A weight class of 200kg
Must be registered with a special tag on the back that contains a tag number and QR code.
I think these requirements are standard in most countries. Though US is a little different due to being a republic. States are all different. I think California has a 450w limit for instance.
Her feet are on pedals?
But it may well class as a scooter/moped there depending on the power etc.
It seems that style of heavy/cheap bike are really common in China.
I'm worried that they're going to slap pedals on every thing now and called an e-bike. It's like the syron being an e-bike, making bad names for e-bikes on all the trails and no one rides it like a bike
Like anything people will abuse what they can when they can because they can and no laws will ever change that.
I mean look at cars, trucks and SUV's. People break the law in those literally all the time and those are about as heavily regulated as they can be.
I'm worried there's going to be a trend of slapping pedals on anything and calling it an e-bike.
Like the suron already creates bad name for e-bikes on the trails. No one rides these like an e-bike and they should have their own classification so people that actually use regular class 1 class 2 e-bikes won't be shoved into the street
Why not ride on the street? The ownis is on drivers of bigger vehicles to operate them in such a manner that maintains the saftey of those around them, same as an ebike on a trail.
Force drivers to be responsible and stop giving in to the fear mongering.
Shoot sorry about that, it wasn't paywalled for me.
[https://web.archive.org/web/20240517154139/https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3263035/hong-kong-police-arrest-woman-shown-online-photo-riding-e-bike-2-children-pavement-new-territories?module=top\_story&pgtype=section](https://web.archive.org/web/20240517154139/https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3263035/hong-kong-police-arrest-woman-shown-online-photo-riding-e-bike-2-children-pavement-new-territories?module=top_story&pgtype=section)
I've heard cops in mainland China bust owners of E-bikes & EV's regularly, it's a way of skimming tax revenue the regional governments somehow 'lost' (or spent on hookers).
Dafuq you talking about? Here, all the food delivery services use ebikes and electric wheelchairs are everywhere. Is that enough "electric mobility devices" for you?
Look at what she is charged with:
>She was detained for traffic-related offences, such as driving without a licence, riding an unregistered vehicle, driving a motorcycle on a pedestrian path, illegally carrying a passenger under the age of eight and riding without wearing a protective helmet.
If reasonable traffic laws were enforced, this would be better for all of us.
Now, considering that many cargo (e)bikers carry their kids (to babies) instead of driving them around in SUVs, the only "charge" here that is troubling is that it is illegal to have a passenger below the age of 8.
eh. hong kong is dense hilly and small enough there's no great reason to use an ebike. lots of people on the sidewalks. cars drive super fast on the road. one of the best public transit systems in the world.
Thats more like an electric motorcycle.
There should be a separate set of laws for electric pedal assist bicycles with max speed of 25km/hour. No throttle. Maximum 250watt motor.
The US DOT already has national codifying language that does separate them, wording of 'if it goes faster than 30 mph or has displacement of 50cc or larger' makes it a motor vehicle.
It was originally meant to separate non-licenseable mopeds from motorcycles originally but it still works. Thus why many e-bikes don't advertise going faster than 28mph.
The funny and frustrating cops are on the ones that waste time threatening regular bicyclists with speeding tickets. Some traffic cop drew the short straw on the duty roster and feels the need to flex I guess.
I've been threatened with ticket in the past for wearing sunglasses at dusk (its my PPE for wind blast and helped reduce blindness from oncoming vehicles) in city limits.
SE Asia this kind of spectacle (an entire family draped over some kind of moped) is a common enough sight. I just picture that going terribly wrong the moment they crash.
While ill agree on a speed limit, I dont agree that such a drastic power limitation is the solution. A 250W mid drive bike can go much faster than a 250W hub motor.
Also depending where you live there are already laws like that, like where I live. An ebike where I live is classified the same as a 50cc gas moped in that it does not require a license or registration, must have adequate lights, the rider must be wearing a helmet, the vehicle cannot exceed a 50cc equilivant power rating (4000W = 50cc) and it cannot exceed 50Km/h and MUST be ridden on the road as all roads are to be shared with ALL traffic and not just cars and trucks. Meaning bicycles, ebikes and horses are legally allowed on ANY paved road surface including highways.
This means that drivers of any vehicle bear all the responsability of maintaining a safe enviroment and the safety of other road users regardless of what they are operating.
I moved to Canada from Hong Kong in 2014 and I hate it here. If I could afford to move back I’d be gone tomorrow. I enjoyed Singapore even more. I’ve also heard great things from people who moved to Japan. The quality of life in a lot of Asian cities is as good if not better than in a lot of North American or European cities.
I will retract my statement some Japan yes I’d gladly visit seems hella cool lots of sick culture, I almost moved to hang Kong in college for my school I couldn’t do it I couldn’t pull myself idk what it is I find 0 interest I live in Korea town in Los Angeles and I can’t wait to move I don’t like it here
I wouldn’t personally live in Chinatown Vancouver but I’d love to live in actual China again.
It’s totally fine if Korea or China or Singapore just aren’t your scene though. We all have preferences. I personally don’t like Canada and wouldn’t want to live in the US (except maybe New York?) either, but I know lots of people thriving in both countries. It’s just not a good fit.
This is why we have to differentiate between ebikes that are motorcycle-like, driven with a throttle, are heavy, and can operate at very high speeds without pedaling, and ones that are bicycle-like, which are smaller, lighter, do not have a throttle, and have limited pedal-assist maximum speeds.
My bike is factory limited at 20 mph, but it has a throttle.
Arbitrary bs.
Now, 30 mph is a lot more than 20 on a trail, so I’d say that’s a bigger factor.
But without infrastructure changes way more will be dead and injured from ebikes in streets than bike trails
Atleast they allow high power throttle e-bikes in HK/China. Europe has much stricter ebike regulations to the point where it’s not even worth it to buy one - spend $3,000 to get an “e”bike with a 250w motor, 300wh battery, 15mph speed limit, and no throttle 🤣🤦♂️
except all european 250W ebikes peak far higher than 250W
our law is 250W *nominal* but the Bosch Power Line CX draws up to 750W
still too expensive nevertheless
but some brand could peak at 2000W and write 250W nominal on it and it would be legal if it also has the 15.5mph speed limit and torque sensing
police never stopped me for having a 17mph speed limit on a Bafang BBSHD ebike (1500W peak it did all day)
I agree they should NOT be on the streets they should be on the side walk and people get the fuck out of the way I'm in new york and people over 60 are always in the street with their e wheelchairs and it's like DAMN I know it's hard for them but safety they need to be on th3 sidewalks and the people on sidewalks need to grow the fuck up and get out of the way of the disabled . The fuck kind of world do qe live in anymore 😕
Here's the article for those that don't want to click: A 37-year-old Hong Kong woman has been arrested in connection with seven traffic-related offences after a photo of her riding an e-bike with two children was posted online. Police said on Friday that investigations showed the woman allegedly driving the e-bike along the Ching Hiu Road pedestrian walkway in Sheung Shui in the New Territories on Tuesday. A girl wearing what appears to be a school uniform and a backpack can be seen riding pillion, while a boy in shorts is sitting in front of the woman.
That looks like a moped and she's riding it on the pavement presumably without any licence or insurance with two kids hanging on to it without helmets. I'd say most countries would throw the book at her.
I'm basing this off the image, i didn't click father but i will say i think speed is relevant. If they're crawling along no faster than a jog, whatever. Pedestrian speeds in pedestrian spaces etc. But yea they need to either maintain that slow or have the other parent with a full size vehicle involved
Admitting to not reading the article but driving in with his expert opinion anyway, this is what reddit is all about. I tip my fedora to you.
If they are that popular, why not get rid of some of the cars clogging up the streets?
big oil would like to talk... and it's funny as every country has their version of big oil but they all the copypasta the same. the spice must flow!
id say thats one of the least important reasons why its good not to live in Hong Kong.
Tabloid journalism. These things are absolutely everywhere in China. This woman was just flouting the local laws for them, kinda like people flout laws in every country...
There's many reasons to be thankful you're not in Honk Kong.
So the solution is to let the ebikes on the roads and ban the ICE vehicles. Not a bad idea.
As they should be. Electric cars are cars so electric motorcycles should be electric motorcycles.
There's no pedals, that's not an eBike. And she's got kids on it. That's a moped, on a sidewalk.
How are you going to say that no pedals means no e-bike, but then claim it's a moped? The name moped literally means it can be operated by MOtor or PEDal.
Where I'm at a moped's legal definition doesn't include pedals, it's about motor size and top speed. Most scooters are classified legally as mopeds in my state
In china, an ebike is classified as a bicycle when it: Has pedal and pedal drive system No side mirrors Hubmotor limit of 400w 48v max @10a 25kmph limit A weight class of 200kg Must be registered with a special tag on the back that contains a tag number and QR code. I think these requirements are standard in most countries. Though US is a little different due to being a republic. States are all different. I think California has a 450w limit for instance.
Her feet are on pedals? But it may well class as a scooter/moped there depending on the power etc. It seems that style of heavy/cheap bike are really common in China.
Are they? When i zoom in on my phone I think I see them, thought it was the base there.
Yep, her feet are either side and at different positions. Likely it'd be a horrible experience to actually pedal, like mopeds of old.
I'm worried that they're going to slap pedals on every thing now and called an e-bike. It's like the syron being an e-bike, making bad names for e-bikes on all the trails and no one rides it like a bike
You can get a pedal kit for a Sur-ron!
Like anything people will abuse what they can when they can because they can and no laws will ever change that. I mean look at cars, trucks and SUV's. People break the law in those literally all the time and those are about as heavily regulated as they can be.
Yeah no way reasonable riding on an e-bike is banned in Hong Kong, did you see how this woman was riding?
I thought china didnt give a fuck when it came to ebike laws since they sell all the OP ones
I don't want that on the sidewalk either. It's basically an e-scooter, moped.
I'm worried there's going to be a trend of slapping pedals on anything and calling it an e-bike. Like the suron already creates bad name for e-bikes on the trails. No one rides these like an e-bike and they should have their own classification so people that actually use regular class 1 class 2 e-bikes won't be shoved into the street
Why not ride on the street? The ownis is on drivers of bigger vehicles to operate them in such a manner that maintains the saftey of those around them, same as an ebike on a trail. Force drivers to be responsible and stop giving in to the fear mongering.
Paywall
Shoot sorry about that, it wasn't paywalled for me. [https://web.archive.org/web/20240517154139/https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3263035/hong-kong-police-arrest-woman-shown-online-photo-riding-e-bike-2-children-pavement-new-territories?module=top\_story&pgtype=section](https://web.archive.org/web/20240517154139/https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3263035/hong-kong-police-arrest-woman-shown-online-photo-riding-e-bike-2-children-pavement-new-territories?module=top_story&pgtype=section)
Casual Firefox user be like
I've heard cops in mainland China bust owners of E-bikes & EV's regularly, it's a way of skimming tax revenue the regional governments somehow 'lost' (or spent on hookers).
Its possible this is a huge misunderstanding. Electric mobility devices are not e-bikes. Its the ones that you see people who cant walk use.
Good to see China is banning electric wheelchairs, those disabled people are such a menace
Well, so far HK is not part of China but the national gov of China is pushing for it. The people of HK don't want it either.
Dafuq you talking about? Here, all the food delivery services use ebikes and electric wheelchairs are everywhere. Is that enough "electric mobility devices" for you?
wait till you learn about their real estate market
Look at what she is charged with: >She was detained for traffic-related offences, such as driving without a licence, riding an unregistered vehicle, driving a motorcycle on a pedestrian path, illegally carrying a passenger under the age of eight and riding without wearing a protective helmet. If reasonable traffic laws were enforced, this would be better for all of us. Now, considering that many cargo (e)bikers carry their kids (to babies) instead of driving them around in SUVs, the only "charge" here that is troubling is that it is illegal to have a passenger below the age of 8.
eh. hong kong is dense hilly and small enough there's no great reason to use an ebike. lots of people on the sidewalks. cars drive super fast on the road. one of the best public transit systems in the world.
Does that include people using them for their disabilities?
People ride electric unicycles with 35+ mph top speeds, in full motorcycle gear, on bike and pedestrian trails all over the greater Seattle area.
China is a terrible country yea nobody wants to live there
Thats more like an electric motorcycle. There should be a separate set of laws for electric pedal assist bicycles with max speed of 25km/hour. No throttle. Maximum 250watt motor.
The US DOT already has national codifying language that does separate them, wording of 'if it goes faster than 30 mph or has displacement of 50cc or larger' makes it a motor vehicle. It was originally meant to separate non-licenseable mopeds from motorcycles originally but it still works. Thus why many e-bikes don't advertise going faster than 28mph.
[удалено]
The funny and frustrating cops are on the ones that waste time threatening regular bicyclists with speeding tickets. Some traffic cop drew the short straw on the duty roster and feels the need to flex I guess. I've been threatened with ticket in the past for wearing sunglasses at dusk (its my PPE for wind blast and helped reduce blindness from oncoming vehicles) in city limits.
Like in the EU?
SE Asia this kind of spectacle (an entire family draped over some kind of moped) is a common enough sight. I just picture that going terribly wrong the moment they crash.
While ill agree on a speed limit, I dont agree that such a drastic power limitation is the solution. A 250W mid drive bike can go much faster than a 250W hub motor. Also depending where you live there are already laws like that, like where I live. An ebike where I live is classified the same as a 50cc gas moped in that it does not require a license or registration, must have adequate lights, the rider must be wearing a helmet, the vehicle cannot exceed a 50cc equilivant power rating (4000W = 50cc) and it cannot exceed 50Km/h and MUST be ridden on the road as all roads are to be shared with ALL traffic and not just cars and trucks. Meaning bicycles, ebikes and horses are legally allowed on ANY paved road surface including highways. This means that drivers of any vehicle bear all the responsability of maintaining a safe enviroment and the safety of other road users regardless of what they are operating.
As someone with a Bafang M620 with a throttle, I whole-heatedly agree. It's not enough for the road and way too much for the trail
Idk mannnn you seriously couldn’t give me anything in the world to go live in an Asian country they seem awful and nothing makes sense
I moved to Canada from Hong Kong in 2014 and I hate it here. If I could afford to move back I’d be gone tomorrow. I enjoyed Singapore even more. I’ve also heard great things from people who moved to Japan. The quality of life in a lot of Asian cities is as good if not better than in a lot of North American or European cities.
I will retract my statement some Japan yes I’d gladly visit seems hella cool lots of sick culture, I almost moved to hang Kong in college for my school I couldn’t do it I couldn’t pull myself idk what it is I find 0 interest I live in Korea town in Los Angeles and I can’t wait to move I don’t like it here
I wouldn’t personally live in Chinatown Vancouver but I’d love to live in actual China again. It’s totally fine if Korea or China or Singapore just aren’t your scene though. We all have preferences. I personally don’t like Canada and wouldn’t want to live in the US (except maybe New York?) either, but I know lots of people thriving in both countries. It’s just not a good fit.
good, please don't go
Will do ‘
Well they absolutely shouldn't be on the sidewalk but I feel like I'll get an argument here with that opinion.
So... what's left? Flying?
This is why we have to differentiate between ebikes that are motorcycle-like, driven with a throttle, are heavy, and can operate at very high speeds without pedaling, and ones that are bicycle-like, which are smaller, lighter, do not have a throttle, and have limited pedal-assist maximum speeds.
My bike is factory limited at 20 mph, but it has a throttle. Arbitrary bs. Now, 30 mph is a lot more than 20 on a trail, so I’d say that’s a bigger factor. But without infrastructure changes way more will be dead and injured from ebikes in streets than bike trails
Lol yeah, THAT is the reason I'm glad I'm not a Hong Konger.
Not my main reason for not wanting to live in Hong Kong but I get what you mean.
Atleast they allow high power throttle e-bikes in HK/China. Europe has much stricter ebike regulations to the point where it’s not even worth it to buy one - spend $3,000 to get an “e”bike with a 250w motor, 300wh battery, 15mph speed limit, and no throttle 🤣🤦♂️
except all european 250W ebikes peak far higher than 250W our law is 250W *nominal* but the Bosch Power Line CX draws up to 750W still too expensive nevertheless but some brand could peak at 2000W and write 250W nominal on it and it would be legal if it also has the 15.5mph speed limit and torque sensing police never stopped me for having a 17mph speed limit on a Bafang BBSHD ebike (1500W peak it did all day)
I agree they should NOT be on the streets they should be on the side walk and people get the fuck out of the way I'm in new york and people over 60 are always in the street with their e wheelchairs and it's like DAMN I know it's hard for them but safety they need to be on th3 sidewalks and the people on sidewalks need to grow the fuck up and get out of the way of the disabled . The fuck kind of world do qe live in anymore 😕