By continuing you agree to eChinacities's Privacy Policy .
Sign up with Google
Sign up with Facebook
Q: Electric Sccoters: driving around at night with no lights on? Anybody on here got one? Near misses?
12 years 4 weeks ago in Transport & Travel - China
I was turning in my driveway one night and got T-boned by some nut driving without lights, too fast on the sidewalk, he had come from behind a sidewalk hut. I don't where he was going because if he didn't hit me, he would have run into the wall. I was driving along the wall, he didn't even knock me over, just pinned me to the wall and I fell back. I got up and yelled at him to go, because if I got any madder I would beat him bad.
-Run over in my school in guilin. Skinned both my knees, banged my forehead on the tar and tore the knee of my pants. Lost my glasses but they were found the next day. The guy took off. Or girl.
-Almost got hit way too many times to count, always from behind and always on the sidewalk.
-These are one of my peeves here, I truly truly truly hate these scooters. I cannot understand why they dont use their light (as the energy they "save" is truly minimal), why they go so FAST and on the SIDEWALK.
One of these days you just might see me on ChinaSMACK: "Foreigner beats electric bike driver with his own bike, Chinese reactions:"
Ebike-Hulk....
GuilinRaf:
The guilin incident, it was night and since it was after 11:00 PM all the lights in the school were off.
mArtiAn:
You know what? Switching those lights off DOES make a difference actually. I sometimes find myself coming home from work and the electricity is well in the red so the bike's doing the crawl, I switch off the lights and hey-presto, i'm rolling again.
I have had several close calls (knock on wood), I am one of those people u may read about soon because I have nearly gotten into three fights from stopping them at night. I took the keys of two of them. they got a little angry,,, lol... amazed to see how possessed of a vagina they were. backed down when i took their keys. truly small kitty-cats. (I am no bad-ass)
what amazes me about this place is how others allow any behavior. I have asked numerous chinese acquaintances why Chinese people do not love their children. I have NEVER rcvd a satisfactory answer. Best I can get from them is we do not correct others behavior even if it endangers our children because,,,, well, honestly I have never rcvd an answer.
They seem oblivious to the danger. but they are not oblivious. Shenzhen acknowledges the danger posed by e-bikes. why Chinese will not stand up to scoff-laws? I don't know. I guess they need to see their child or themselves laying broken and bloody on the sidewalk.
snowballeffect:
Yep, right/wrong concept isn't understood sometimes.
Its almost too ridiculous to believe that driving like that with no lights on at night is so readily accepted. If you mention things like that to people they just say this is China, or China has too many people. Nobody seems to want to follow a moral compass.
I ride my bicycle every day in a "small" town in Jiangsu. Of course there are issues with the cars but the worst issues are with the stupid ebikes. People act like they are invincible and drive like maniacs. Several times I have had someone come from behind me on a "silent death machine" and actually hit my handlebars as I am riding. They never have their headlights on. It goes without saying that I have lights on the rear of my bike that are bright enough to cause a seizure but someone they simply ignore them.
I've got an e-bike, best, most effective form of transport there is, get's you from a to b as quick if not quicker than a car and is relatively environmentally friendly.
Is it dangerous? No, the bike is just a bike. Is riding it more dangerous than other forms of transport? Yes of course, you are more vulnerable so you have to be a lot more aware, but I spent 30+ years on 'real' motorbikes back in the UK so I have some experience, and tbh, sometimes you've got to be as crazy as some as the locals to survive.
snowballeffect:
I really want one, but 'wo de la po' doesn't want me to have one ' too dangerous' and 'the locals will try and crash into you, claim foul play and ask for a large red envelope!!!'
Hugh.G.Rection:
Yeah, wife's are like that, I just nagged mine over a period of time and pointed out if she wanted to be my taxi driver four times a day then fine.... she relented.
I've had one badish accident a guy coming the wrong way down a one way street on an ebike as I pulled out t-boned me, he paid for the damage and would have paid for the hospital bill but I was OK, so I really cannot comment on being scammed. In hind sight I think the guy that t-boned me was on a stolen e-bike as when I phoned my wife for translation services he went VERY pale, I think he feared I was calling the police.
I love my e-bike, it's an absolutely irreplaceable piece of shit. But like Hugh I used to ride proper bikes, CB500s and the like (more proof we're the same person, right?) back in England. Used to see how long I could close my eyes for when doing 80 down the motorway, so getting on one of these electric hairdryers with wheels seems about as dangerous as skateboarding. Never had anyone try to ram and scam me either, I wouldn't worry about that. Get one. And a good lock.
TedDBayer:
CB 500 is too small, built for little guys. My first bike at 17 was a 650. My CB750 was nice but never had stock bikes.
mArtiAn:
Well if it's a penis measuring contest you're after, i'll be happy to get the camera out again.
Never but I give them the scare of their lives moving suddenly when they are near. Stupid people!
