Electric Bikes Now Banned At The Fort

[Titanium]

Well that's an easy question to answer.

e-bikes (depending on the state) have upper limits approaching 30mph (if they have any limits at all). Which is why the earlier statement was made about them approaching motorcycle status...

If a fast e-bike or skateboard comes in contact with me or my vehicle, the law of physics will prevail. Sir Isaac Newton's Laws of Motion don't care about people complaining about rules put in place for their own safety. The calculus of the interaction is very clear.

It's simple math really. This is the likely outcome:





Bama Ed

E-bike accdident injuries are essentially the same as motorcycle accident injuries.

 

[Titanium]

I think

I think the issue is the age of the driver/rider. Many parents seem to think a campground is a protected space and their 5 yr old can drive the golf cart! E-Bikes can get some good speed, can a kid handle that? turns, avoidance maneuvers etc. No one wants to hit a kid, so the FW has to "play parent".

This is my thinking also. Most FW guests seem to be families with children so there is the potential for a bigger number of incidents. There were two couples riding e-bikes at FW last week blissfully unaware and a number of rigs with them locked to a carrier or rack.

 

[StormyCA]

I think

This is my thinking also. Most FW guests seem to be families with children so there is the potential for a bigger number of incidents. There were two couples riding e-bikes at FW last week blissfully unaware and a number of rigs with them locked to a carrier or rack.

Blissfully unaware OR simply of the opinion that the rules don't apply to them? But I expect it's mostly because Disney can be pretty sporadic about enforcing rules and people know it. Making a rule 'on paper' in order to eliminate liability sometimes seems to be enough for Disney. They'll enforce to stop someone being dangerous sure (if they see it), but if someone isn't causing a hazard or endangering self/others they'll look the other way.

 

[Stratman50th]

Blissfully unaware OR simply of the opinion that the rules don't apply to them? But I expect it's mostly because Disney can be pretty sporadic about enforcing rules and people know it. Making a rule 'on paper' in order to eliminate liability sometimes seems to be enough for Disney. They'll enforce to stop someone being dangerous sure (if they see it), but if someone isn't causing a hazard or endangering self/others they'll look the other way.

I don't know. When I was there Oct. 2020 they were pretty zealous in enforcing the masking when away from your site rule. They even had cast in carts at all the intersections telling people to pull up their masks... while riding in open golf carts..... on the road.... at 15mph... with nobody else around? Seems like they can enforce when they want to.

That being said, I do agree that most rules and warnings we see these days were as a result of someone doing something exceptionally stupid, injuring themselves or another then suing someone else because the idiot who caused the issue in the first place didn't get the common sense gene installed.
The motto I lived by in my previous employment was- "You can educate the ignorant, but you can't fix stupid".

 

[Jimsig]

The motto I lived by in my previous employment was- "You can educate the ignorant, but you can't fix stupid".

Living in Boston we have our fair share of college students. I works as a train conductor and some of the students use the trains to commute. As prestigious as most Boston colleges are I came to the realization that a good portion of the students are not that bright. I quickly came to say, "You can send them to college but you can't make them think"

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

Living in Boston we have our fair share of college students. I works as a train conductor and some of the students use the trains to commute. As prestigious as most Boston colleges are I came to the realization that a good portion of the students are not that bright. I quickly came to say, "You can send them to college but you can't make them think"

I have known some epically ignorant people that were highly educated and I have known some extremely intelligent people with limited formal education.

 

[a742246]

Living in Boston we have our fair share of college students. I works as a train conductor and some of the students use the trains to commute. As prestigious as most Boston colleges are I came to the realization that a good portion of the students are not that bright. I quickly came to say, "You can send them to college but you can't make them think"

Many people are educated beyond their intelligence level.

 

[Titanium]

This is an interesting article from the NYT about e-bikes and the increased fire potential from the numbers of electric mobility devices stored together in NY apartment buildings.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/06/realestate/e-bikes-fires-danger.html?searchResultPosition=2

One thing that jumped out at me was the comment from the highway engineer pointing out problems with damaged or poor quality lithium ion batteries. We had a battery fire from a drone battery and the house would have gone up if no one had been home so I am admittedly more concerned about fires than than most.

 

[nomorethan8]

One thing that jumped out at me was the comment from the highway engineer pointing out problems with damaged or poor quality lithium ion batteries. We had a battery fire from a drone battery and the house would have gone up if no one had been home so I am admittedly more concerned about fires than than most.

Great, Now they'll stop campers with Lithium batteries. ugh

 

[Sjm9911]

This is an interesting article from the NYT about e-bikes and the increased fire potential from the numbers of electric mobility devices stored together in NY apartment buildings.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/06/realestate/e-bikes-fires-danger.html?searchResultPosition=2

One thing that jumped out at me was the comment from the highway engineer pointing out problems with damaged or poor quality lithium ion batteries. We had a battery fire from a drone battery and the house would have gone up if no one had been home so I am admittedly more concerned about fires than than most.

If I may ask, where did the battery come from? And how was it plugged in? I have had electric scooters for 4 years now. And no problems. I think the majority of fires come from un UL listed batteries. IE the cheap ones on amazon, rather then purchasing the more expensive ones. Just like our cell phones, usally safe, and the phones dont cause a known hazzard. This was not always the case, thats why they got rid of the batteries in the phones that you could change out yourself. People were using cheaper batteries. And started fires. These usually were not held up to standards we have in the USA.

 

[Titanium]

If I may ask, where did the battery come from? And how was it plugged in? I have had electric scooters for 4 years now. And no problems. I think the majority of fires come from un UL listed batteries. IE the cheap ones on amazon, rather then purchasing the more expensive ones. Just like our cell phones, usally safe, and the phones dont cause a known hazzard. This was not always the case, thats why they got rid of the batteries in the phones that you could change out yourself. People were using cheaper batteries. And started fires. These usually were not held up to standards we have in the USA.

DGI.

 

[Marshel]

Living in Boston we have our fair share of college students. I works as a train conductor and some of the students use the trains to commute. As prestigious as most Boston colleges are I came to the realization that a good portion of the students are not that bright. I quickly came to say, "You can send them to college but you can't make them think"

Common sense and intelligence are often inversely porportional, especially in really smart people.

 

[Jimsig]

Common sense and intelligence are often inversely porportional, especially in really smart people.

Common sense isn't so common anymore

 

[morrik5]

Has anyone reading this actually been stopped by a Cast Member while driving your e-bike and told to go back to your site and park it? Perhaps they should make them have the same rules as a golf cart, follow road rules and drive on the road, not the pathways or grass.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

Disney makes rules for people who follow rules. Cast members dont enforce rules because Disney is non confrontational and rumor is that a CM will get in trouble if the rule breaker complains that a rule was enforced. There is zero incentive for a CM to ask for compliance.

 

[StormyCA]

Well that's an easy question to answer.

e-bikes (depending on the state) have upper limits approaching 30mph (if they have any limits at all). Which is why the earlier statement was made about them approaching motorcycle status...


Bama Ed

Interestingly enough, DH just bought an eBike. Here in Calif the model he has requires that he have a motorcycle license (which he does). Because its top speed exceeds 20 MPH, it's classed as a 'moped'.

It can be ridden in purely 'manual mode' so he's planning on taking it with us since he'll get a lot of use out of it on our first stop (near Lookout Mtn). It will be interesting to see if he's stopped or questioned about it when we're at Ft W. I'll be renting a 'regular' bike!


He asked me if I wanted to try it but it is not only too big for me, it scares the bejeebers out of me as our eldest son was recently the victim of a hit and run when he was on his ebike. It's been a scary few weeks here as he was originally given only a 2% chance of survival. But thanks be to God and medical science, he has beaten the odds and is now recovering at home. But it's put me off ebikes for good!

 

[Sjm9911]

Glad the kido is ok. Wow.

 

[tetera]

“Scooters”? Like, regular, non-electric scooters?
Seriously?

So, replying to myself here - when we were packing to go to the Fort last week I told my kids they had to leave the scooters behind (foldable scooters with LED wheels we had purchased specifically for using at the Fort a few years ago) and my youngest was not happy...then when we got to the Fort we saw several adults on eBikes and a few kids with regular scooters; however, one day when we were at the Settlement we saw two little girls out and about on their regular (non-electric) scooters and a CM told them that scooters weren't allowed at the Fort anymore. They just told him they were going to the stables and rode off - he kept calling after them, telling them that scooters weren't allowed and tried to rope me into it (he assumed I was their parent despite me having my scooter-less kids by my side; I informed him that the girls did not belong to me).

We later saw the girls walking their scooters away from the Tri-Circle D ranch so maybe he got to them, I don't know - but the upshot of this is yes, regular, non-electric scooters are definitely now banned.
(But also side note maybe don't let your young children be out and about unsupervised - these girls had to both be under 10. Now get off my lawn!)

 

[crystaltink111]

E-bike accdident injuries are essentially the same as motorcycle accident injuries.

Most ebikes don't go over 20 mph so how can it be the same as a motorcycle? i do feel they could invoke an age minimum tho at the Fort and with them in general. We have ours, ride them slower than regular bikes. I think most people do not abuse them. I average about 11 or 12 mph and my bike is small. We like them bc being older and living in hilly areas, we can use assist going up hills, etc. I think it is sad. If people are abusing their ebikes, then they should be asked to not use them. A place like the Fort, they could be so useful getting around instead of golf carts, which we have never rented. We have small fold up bikes that can be put in our RV.

 

[crystaltink111]

I don't know. When I was there Oct. 2020 they were pretty zealous in enforcing the masking when away from your site rule. They even had cast in carts at all the intersections telling people to pull up their masks... while riding in open golf carts..... on the road.... at 15mph... with nobody else around? Seems like they can enforce when they want to.

That being said, I do agree that most rules and warnings we see these days were as a result of someone doing something exceptionally stupid, injuring themselves or another then suing someone else because the idiot who caused the issue in the first place didn't get the common sense gene installed.
The motto I lived by in my previous employment was- "You can educate the ignorant, but you can't fix stupid".

Are you saying they had people riding around in golf carts asking people walking around outside to pull up their masks? With no one around either? That's crazy. Even at the height worst of this here in NY most people I know did not wear masks outside unless in a crowded line or something and it was not forced. Now if in a very crowded area where you were very close to another, one might out of respect pull it up for the moment you were near but then mask came off.