
California makes electric skateboards street legal - danboarder
http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/12/9512045/electric-skateboards-legalized-california-zboard-boosted
======
etrautmann
It's unfortunate that the text of this included power and speed limit caps in
the definition of an electric skateboard. It's not as if cars are defined as
only moving under 65 mph and having 120 horsepower. This seems deeply myopic
and it's disappointing for Boosted and others to have helped these provisions
get cast into law in a state that limits future development and defines
unnecessarily conservative limits on performance.

"An “electrically motorized board” is any wheeled device that has a floorboard
designed to be stood upon when riding that is not greater than 60 inches deep
and 18 inches wide, is designed to transport only one person, and has an
electric propulsion system averaging less than 1,000 watts, the maximum speed
of which, when powered solely by a propulsion system on a paved level surface,
is no more than 20 miles per hour."

~~~
bri3d
Low speed electric bicycles are federally limited to 750W and 20mph as well,
which probably helped guide this regulatory process. I personally think a
20mph speed limit is very reasonable when regulating the use of motorized
products on infrastructure shared directly with other uses (paths and bike
lanes).

~~~
etrautmann
Electric boards clearly shouldn't be on sidewalks, same as bikes. I'm often
stuck slowing down bikes going gently downhill because my boosted board won't
go faster than 22. This becomes a safety hazard as bikes try to pass, etc.
Bikes don't have separate speed limits in bike lanes and are capable of speeds
much higher than 20.

Ability to ride uphill is also a function of output power. This cap is fairly
generous but I don't understand why its necessary at all if there's a speed
restriction? It'll only limit acceleration and hill performance if there's a
speed restriction.

~~~
MereInterest
> Electric boards clearly shouldn't be on sidewalks, same as bikes.

Regarding bikes, it depends entirely on where you live. If you are in an urban
area, where the sidewalks are crowded, and cars can't get up to high speed
before the next stoplight, then certainly bikes should be on the street. If
you are in a suburban area, where sidewalks are empty and cars travel at
easily twice your maximum speed, then the streets are not safe for biking.

~~~
trhway
>where sidewalks are empty and cars travel at easily twice your maximum speed,
then the streets are not safe for biking.

the streets are safe, the law explicitly requires 3 feet lateral separation or
no pass. Choosing to endanger people on sidewalk just because not enough balls
to ride on the street is kind of low.

~~~
anon4
You'll get less hurt in a collision with a bicycle than I would if I get hit
by a car doing 100km/h with a drunk driver behind the wheel. By any measure, I
should be on the sidewalk in that case and it's extremely selfish to ask me to
die just so you don't _maybe_ get a slight bruise on your butt and a bit of
mud on your sleeve.

~~~
dogma1138
Who's driving their car at 100kmh/60mph on a sub-urban street? that's
freeway/highway speeds. Also let me hit you with my bike at 20kmh and lets see
how you like it, if you give way to pedestrians fine but we all know you won't
because it takes more effort for you to stop than it is for them so you would
use the same excuse.

If there isn't a safe way for you to ride your bike in your area don't take it
out on pedestrians, and don't ride on the side walk a bike can easily
critically harm or even kill a small child and there are plenty of parents
that might allow a 3-4 old roam around them on the side walk. Pets especially
small dogs whit those retractable leashes are also quite susceptible to being
hit by a bike, especially when you can't see the dog or the leash and you just
swoosh into it.

If you can't ride safely on the roads near you it doesn't give you the right
to endanger others doesn't matter how much of a relative danger you might put
them in, go fight to get bike lanes and until then follow the actual law and
stay on the road.

~~~
cardinalfang
Plenty of traffic will be traveling at 35mph which is fast enough for the
majority of impacts to be fatal.

------
Shish2k
Meanwhile in England, a law from 1835 has recently been used to declare them
illegal :(

[http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/12/uk-
hoverboard...](http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/oct/12/uk-hoverboard-
crackdown-all-you-need-to-know)

~~~
Symbiote
The only people I've seen using them in England have been doing so very
inconsiderately, so I'm happy with this ruling.

England can't even provide safe cycling infrastructure, let's at least keep
the pavements safe for walking.

~~~
dazc
"The only people I've seen using them in England have been doing so very
inconsiderately..."

It always seems to be a busy High Street where they can get the most
attention. But since they obviously know there is absolutely no chance of
being prosecuted they will carry on regardless.

------
fishtoaster
Interesting. I commute by bike in SF and see electric skateboards on the
street pretty frequently– I'd assumed they were legal.

Anecdotally, their speed seems like a good fit for the bike lane. I keep a
pretty good pace on a bike, but still find electric skateboards occasionally
passing me (especially if we're both stopped at a light, since their
acceleration is a bit better than mine).

~~~
pki
I usually see these - amzn.com/B00SIOZY6A, unless "electric skateboards" is
referring to something else

~~~
harisenbon
While I don't mind personally, it is generally frowned upon to use affiliate
links on HN. Just FYI

~~~
weaksauce
yeah especially since it sets a session cookie that leaches off anything you
buy there and not just the linked product. not sure how long the cookie lasts
though.

~~~
Stratoscope
If it _were_ an affiliate link, it would do that. But it isn't, so it doesn't.

See my other comment for details.

------
djf1
Link to the bill itself:
[https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtm...](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB604)

Some interesting notes:

-require the operator of an electrically motorized board to wear a helmet

-require an operator to be at least 16 years of age

------
johngalt
OT: I've always wondered if powered mini-transportation tools like electric
boards and scooters could fix the gaps in mass transit. Make it so that stops
are less frequent/further apart, with the assumption that the last few miles
can be covered on your personal device. Instead of buses that have to stop
every block, they just run express service between major hubs.

Individuals only have to own/maintain only a <$1000 electric scooter with zero
emissions. While the big expensive bus is a pooled resource.

~~~
seanp2k2
Some people can't afford a TI-83 for their children if it's a requirement in
math class. To assume that everyone taking public transit wants / needs / is
able to afford even a $300 device to get them the last mile seems a bit out of
touch with the typical mass-transit-dependent demographic.

~~~
gkop
OT: TI-83 _should_ cost < $20 by now, based on costs of materials and that the
r&d has been paid off for years.

~~~
thaumasiotes
Huh? The R&D was paid off as soon as it completed. Money from completed
projects funds R&D in the present; it doesn't retroactively fund R&D in the
past.

~~~
semi-extrinsic
Yes,R&D is technically paid off as soon as it completes, but paying off the
R&D is an investment and the company obviously wants a return on this
investment.

~~~
thaumasiotes
But the price of a calculator is totally unrelated to the cost of the R&D
associated with the calculator. The original point was nonsense.

The company wants its return to be as large as possible. Speaking in more
sensible terms, they want to get as much money as they can regardless of
whether they've reached a magic internal accounting threshold or not. R&D just
has _no relevance at all_ to product pricing.

------
madaxe_again
Over here in airstrip one, if it doesn't belch fumes, it's illegal. All
patriotic transport methods allow you to enrich the cabinet and their families
by paying Road tax, fuel duty, and of course by buying lovely oil from them.

Seriously, the only place you're allowed to use a scooter here is in your own
home, and even then, your neighbours will call the police because your living
room is a public Street if we say it is, sonny.

[http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/oct/12/hoverboard...](http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/oct/12/hoverboards-
illegal-pavements-roads-scooters)

~~~
beeboop
Gas powered bicycles are illegal in many places where all-electric bicycles
are legal. I doubt the correlation to oil usage is really there.

------
mc32
I hope I'm wrong, but on busy bikeways, I can see cyclists feeling annoyed
with the new powered interlopers. But, if it gets more people out of bigger
vehicles (cars and 1000cc+ motorbikes), this should prove positive.

~~~
mikepavone
In California, electric bicycles that meet certain restrictions are already
allowed in all the places a normal bicycle is. If there's a tension between
ordinary bicyclists and small powered vehicles in this class it should already
exist. Personally, I've found pedestrians to be a much bigger annoyance than
faster bikes (whether powered or otherwise) on dedicated bike/pedestrian
paths.

~~~
etrautmann
or Uber drivers and taxis sitting in bike lanes...

------
teddyh
Obligatory xkcd:

[https://xkcd.com/139/](https://xkcd.com/139/)

Also: [https://xkcd.com/409/](https://xkcd.com/409/)

