Reader Dmitry writes, that electric scooters and similar vehicles are not so bad, as it seems to pedestrians. Also, an experienced owner of a unicycle indicates signs, by which you can calculate dangerous riders on the road. I publish a letter:
SIM is a means of individual mobility - the term, proposed by the Ministry of Transport. Bicycles go here, scooters, electric scooters, unicycles, hoverboards, segway, rollers, electric skateboards and more. Compact device, intended for the movement of the owner.About myself - 33 of the year, married, Working, 10 years behind the wheel, 2 years on a unicycle. I'm writing this, because some people think, that scooters are the lot of unemployed hipsters, who have nothing to do. Actually, SIM is used by adult working people, basically 30+, since a normal scooter or electric unicycle is expensive, and young people often cannot afford it. Many people switched to SIM from cars/motorcycles. There are also people of pre-retirement age on SIM.Why SIM became popular?A few years ago, the cost of batteries, motor-wheels and electronics has become quite low, and SIM rapidly began to gain popularity as urban transport. Scooters and monowheels reduce the time spent on the road from home to work, and also reduce transport costs. [greedy jew.jpg].1 kilowatt/hour (~5 rubles) allows you to drive kilometers 30 (depends on speed). Plus SIM perfectly complements cars and subways as last mile transport. My way to work (bus + Metro + kilometer walk) occupied from 1 o'clock 10 minutes to an hour and a half. With a unicycle (wheel + Metro + wheel) I began to reach steadily 50 minutes. By car, the same way - approximately 2 hours in traffic jams. Just in case, I’ll say, that St. Petersburg rain and snow are not a hindrance to a unicycle. The only inconvenience in winter is that before the room it is necessary to shake the snow out of the wheel arch to the maximum, or it will melt into a dirty puddle.What is the problem with SIM?1) Lack of infrastructure. Here I mean bike paths and pedestrian infrastructure.. For decades, city planners have ignored this question., motivating, that only one and a half excavators ride bicycles, and no one needs bike lanes. Lately things have changed for the better., but a lot of new bike paths lead from nowhere to nowhere. And what is needed is a connected network of bike paths. For example, we can give a map of bike paths in St. Petersburg:
Sidewalks are a separate topic - they are often narrow, blocked off by poles and billboards. Can't leave, respecting the safety interval.In an ideal world, SIMs would move along bike paths., without annoying pedestrians on sidewalks and drivers on public roads.2) Call it growing pains. here 4 subparagraph:— SIM is an unusual transport on our streets. If everyone is used to cars and bicycles, then scooters and unicycles are a marvel. On the sidewalks people get scared, because they are not used to, that on the sidewalk someone is moving faster than a pedestrian. On highways, drivers don't know, what to expect from SIM and, often, they are not seen (although motorcycles have the same problem).- Some people buy (rent) SIM for the first time, do not know their characteristics, and until the first incident they consider themselves invulnerable kings of roads and sidewalks. This is especially true for those, who has not ridden a bicycle and does not have a driver's license. Why before the first incident? Because on SIM, unlike auto, a person is not protected by a steel box. And in a collision, it is often the SIM user who suffers. No sane person would want to repeat this painful experience.. Although personally I didn’t have anything like that - apparently, driving experience affects.-Some think the people on the SIM are crazy racers, although in reality people just go to/from work or on other business. SIM is faster and more convenient.- I won’t talk about the militant Luddites - and so everything is clear.3) Exacerbating the problem are numerous rental scooters and couriers. For them, time is money., and they are forced to choose the fastest way, but not always the safest.4) Unclear legal status. If a powerful scooter can still be brought under the definition of a moped, then with the unicycle nothing is clear at all. This issue is currently being resolved..Regulatory history:The topic of amendments to the traffic rules is dealt with at least 2 of the year. 1-I version of the amendments appeared 31 October 2019: https://regulation.gov.ru/projects#npa=96588
2-I released a version 20 April 2020 g. - here I wrote comments myself: https://regulation.gov.ru/projects#npa=99009There were also several meetings of the Public Chamber, where representatives of the electric transport user community were invited:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1cWFsFsJXo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi-vzu1PSDM Replacing the 250W power limit with a weight limit 35 kilogram was just proposed by the representatives of the community. So the Ministry of Transport tried to take into account the opinions of all parties and, in general, left a good impression.At this moment (according to media reports) the final version of the amendments is ready, but there is no text yet. Journalists, as always, do not want to provide primary sources of information and we have to be content with free retelling.The speed limit of 25 km / h raises a question - on the sidewalks this is normal, but on public roads it would be strange, especially given the fact, that there are no such restrictions for bicycles.Why the old limit of 250W is not suitable?— 250 Watt is the mechanical power under continuous load.. It depends not only on the motor, but also from battery and controller. This can only be measured in the laboratory.. Power, written by manufacturers, often overpriced for marketing reasons.— 250 watt mechanical and 250 Watt of electrical power is not the same. About a kilowatt of electric power can be pumped into a 250-watt motor for a short time (The efficiency will immediately drop and the mechanical power at the peak will be Watt 400), but after that it will burn.The old power limit would work subject to mandatory testing and certification of all SIM models. And it would hit the consumer's wallet.From the point of view of the SIM user 250 Watt is very small. This may not even be enough to drive up a gentle ramp or a light hill.. There is an even bigger problem with unicycles - there power is safety, since it is the power of the motor wheel that keeps a person from falling. The minimum safe power of the unicycle motor starts, in my opinion, from 800 Watt. I had to come up with another constraint., which would keep mopeds and other dinosaurs off the sidewalk. Weight 35 kg is not an ideal solution, but the best of it, what can you think of, and from that, what can be quickly measured when the SIM is stopped by the traffic police inspector.My opinion on SIM regulation:- should be guided by, that SIMs primarily perform a transport function. Human, who goes to work on a SIM, does not take up space in public transport and does not take up space on public roads. If SIM becomes popular, public transport will be unloaded and there will be less traffic jams on the roads. Accordingly, it is necessary to introduce amendments to the traffic rules very carefully - so that people, who ride SIM, did not move back to the car.- SIM on sidewalks - give priority to pedestrians - that is, in any incidents, SIM will be blamed (unless the pedestrian caused the accident on purpose, he is forced to make such a reservation, because some people think it's funny to deliberately jump under the wheel and scare the unicycle). Speed limit - only when sharing with pedestrians. Often happens, that there is a wide empty sidewalk, and cars are driving along the road at a speed 60 + not penalized 20. The sidewalk will be safer in this case..- SIM on public roads - traffic rules for mopeds are quite suitable, nothing new needs to be. Helmet + be sure to wear something reflective.What to do if you meet a SIM?- If you rent a scooter - stay away. Not the fact that he managed to learn how to ride / not the fact that his brakes work.- Not a rental - nothing needs to be done. The SIM driver, like you, is not interested in any accidents.- Courier - better to skip. He's in a hurry, not to get fined by the system.- If you are in a car and SIM is driving along the road, consider it a moped. No need to beep, undercut, shoot with a phone, etc..This seems to be everything...
Oleg Makarenko
