Why so much hate?

This is universal I think, regardless of vehicle type.

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@Deckoz

I live in the Eastern Silicone Valley

I thought the Definition was officially changed.

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I’m from NY, and people tend to walk in the street, look you dead and the eye, and just stand in your way as you ride towards them. I’ve fell multiple times because of this, and it’s rude and annoying, and dangerous af. I don’t recommend this, but now when people intentionally do this, I simply hit them full power, not caring if I fall in the process, because they need to understand how dangerous it is. :sob: maybe I’m as ahole for this, but to me I justify it as, if you want to get hit then you’ll get hit.

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Grab on, they can break your fall lol

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your’e too funny bro :joy:

To be fair, a sidewalk is meant for pedestrians. Its a vehicles job to avoid pedestrians giving them the right of way HOWEVER!!! Some people are def still assholes and purposely will try to hurt you so they can try to prove a point

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I think I can consider myself lucky. in two years I never had an argument with someone because of eskating here in Italy. the only two times I’ve been yelled at were the first time I rode the finished board (it was night time and did not have lights on yet, I had to make a little detour from the bike lane on the street, so I stopped and checked if I were safe to do so and an upcoming moped driver on said street told me he could not see me and he realized I was on the side of the street at the last moment, so he stopped by and suggested me to get some lights, which I did) and that one time I was riding with my backpack fully opened and a visible MacBook Pro inside :smiley:

when you do this just be sure to wear a gopro or have some sort of device recording so you cant get sued

Yea… I was too

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Idk how I feel about this… I feel like she was somewhat justified in her anger. You were smack dab in the middle of that street (the one without the bike lane) slowing down traffic.

I hear “thinking they own the street” a lot but sharing the street works both ways, forcing traffic to drive behind you on an esk8 doesn’t seem right. I think the correct thing would’ve been to ride closer to the side to let them pass or go on the sidewalk until you come to a street with a bike lane.

Having also been a driver before, theres nothing more infuriating than driving behind a biker cruising along at 10mph in the middle of a one lane street with no safe way to pass. It might technically be legal for you to do so but do you really want to test some random road ragers patience when you’re on a motorized piece of wood up against a 2 ton block of steel? Is a permanent bodily injury worth a court settlement payment?

Food for thought

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I was thinking about this today when I took a run to the store for some groceries. I mostly ride on sidewalks, because most of the roads around me are pretty busy. My board can get up to 37mph or so… which is perfect for the 35mph roads around here, but I think i’d rather push the speeds in the safety of my own “lane” on the sidewalk. I might start using the bike lanes more often though…

The reason I am replying to you right now is this: it’s a cold, dreary day out today here, so I was going pretty quick on some bike paths. Up ahead, I saw a family, dog… kids, mother and father. I immediately started full brake, but I was going really quick. The wife was frantically trying to corral the dog, the dad was just staring at me… probably thinking “cool”… but the wife seemed frazzled seeing me hurling towards them while trying to corral the kids and dog…

I held my hands up to motion that I was coming towards them to please step aside incase I didn’t come to a full stop in time… well… they corralled in the middle of the sidewalk instead of off into the grass. but probably just not thinking, just responding (irrationally, which I guess is normal when frightened).

Either way, I came to a full stop before I reached them, and navigated between the kids, dog, etc slowly. I apologized for freaking them out real quick with a smile and a “sorry”, and drove off at a bit more reasonable speed.

I am glad to know how fast I can brake, be able to look ahead and go only the speed I know is clear.

But this brings me back to your point. The sidewalks and pathways imo should probably be for pedestrians. I’m going to make it a thing to make it out into the bike lanes more often, or at least when I have to take a path try to not frighten families walking their kids by riding at a reasonable pace (maybe 15-20mph).

I don’t want to be irresponsible, don’t want to get hurt, or worse end up being that guy that hurts someone else on the road or sidewalk. I’ll try to save the speed for clearer roads, more open paths or relatively isolated areas.

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Great call dude… although the sidewalks ride like butter in my neighborhood, i feel like i dot want to risk injuries to anyone other than myself. Inmy opinion,It is absolutely ok to ride on the sidewalk if it is unsafe to do so on the road. We just need to be safe, alert and courteous

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Those fucking assholes that walk in the bike lane piss me off

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B, when I ride in the side walk I take their safety to the max, But the bike lane is the bike lane and the road is the road. You can skate and bike in both but people are annoying regardless so :man_shrugging:t4:

IMO, if there’s a bike lane and your riding the sidewalk…trouble is waiting to happen. I understand there are reasons, buy if something happens on the sidewalk and there is a bike lane available it will be your fault regardless.

I do it myself. The bike Lanes in Podunk Alabama are crap, mostly the sidewalks are too, but they are better than the bike lanes. Just know that when you hit someone it’s your ass that will be at fault not matter the scenario if there’s a bike lane and your not in it.

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Never ride where peds are. @mmaner is 100%.

Plan your route.

Know the streets.

Avoid sketchy spots.

Be aware of your surroundings.

Ride defensively.

Just remember you are operating a motor vehicle, and will be held liable if you hit someone.

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So, just had my first esk8 hater experience from some guy in a truck. No sidewalk, 25mph speed limit which we were riding. I just told him quit being a dum dum and share the road. Then he left…

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Dogs are truly a wildcard. Never know if they are gonna be completely cool and not even look your way, start barking at you or head straight for the board/legs. Personally I usually slow down and try to pass with no or very little throttle, as the whine from the BLDC must be much more audible to them.

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Dude once dogs hear bldc, they trip nuts :rofl::rofl:

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