Opinions on the douchy level of this.

[Dr. Detroit]

There's possibly even an argument for saying that an electric scooter _ought_ to play music, so pedestrians can hear it coming (I suggest 'Ride of the Valkyries').

I counter your excellent suggestion with Harley V-twin engine sounds - after all, loud pipes save lives!

 

[QueBert]

Have you ever actually noticed how damn _loud_ standard traffic noise is?

When listening to things on headphones while walking I frequently miss whole sections of podcasts and audiobooks becausee of the deafening racket motorists make just with engine noise (and air turbulence, I guess), even when they haven't got some bass-enhanced stereo booming and thudding away.

People are so used to that racket that they don't even register it, but anyone who drives an ICE vehicle (i.e. that isn't electric, TBF) has no grounds for criticising the OP.

There's possibly even an argument for saying that an electric scooter _ought_ to play music, so pedestrians can hear it coming (I suggest 'Ride of the Valkyries').

My neighbors Tesla with that annoying ass tone when you're backing up or driving under a certain speed got me thinking about using it for safety. I found the Tesla tone WAV and will try it out. It would be annoying as hell but would keep me from getting ran over.

I counter your excellent suggestion with Harley V-twin engine sounds - after all, loud pipes save lives!

It would be awesome if it could simulate the revving and getting louder as I go faster. My old Segway scooter had an engine sound thing with 5 different engines. It would change tones as you accelerated to mimic a real engine. But it was only compatible with the Segway speaker which was puny. The one I ordered can hit 105db or something ridiclious. Now a looped recording of a revving V-Twin blasting at 105db would surely piss people the fuck off. But that's not really the goal I'm after here. It might be fun to try out though to see how people react.And nobody would think it's me because it's an electric scooter. HUMMMM!

I do plan to 105db Rick Roll this asshat a few neighborhoods over who has a MAGA yard sign - yes I'm that petty.

 

[dullard]

I'm not trying to ruin anyone's day, but I'm also not seeing how 2 seconds of low volume music could lead to suffering lol.

Sounds like you think you aren't being douchy.

The one I ordered can hit 105db or something ridiclious. Now a looped recording of a revving V-Twin blasting at 105db would surely piss people the fuck off...It might be fun to try out though to see how people react. I do plan to 105db Rick Roll this asshat a few neighborhoods over who has a MAGA yard sign - yes I'm that petty.

But then the actual truth comes out.

Sounds like the Redditors could see right through you to how you would actually use it.

 

[pete6032]

I asked a question on Reddit about mounting a Bluetooth speaker to my electric scooter. and damn did I get chewed out by a dozen different people and downvoted into double digits. Which is pretty hard to do when I doubt many more than 20-30 people actually clicked on the thread. The general consensus was if I put a speaker on my scooter, I'm a rude douchbag asshole piece of shit. I mentioned in my post I wasn't trying to hook a 110db ghetto blaster up and subject the entire city to my music. Just loud enough for me to hear while I ride around at 30-40mph. So at worst people might slightly hear some music for a few seconds as I fly by. But they are very adamant about how if I do this I'm a terrible human being who's inconsiderate and I need to start giving a shit about other peoples feelings. And I'm not exaggerating about how worked up they're getting lol. This is what one gentleman said


A "trade off" is when YOU compromise your wants to suit your needs. A trade off, on this case, would be you not listening to music because you can't find a safe way to do it.

Letting society suffer so that you can listen to music on your scooter is not a "trade off" because you didn't trade anything. It's called being a douchebag.


They were coming off a bit Karen'ish to me, but I also can see a basis for their opinion. I figured ATOT would be a good place to ask for more opinions. If someone rode by you on an electric scooter and you heard music for a few seconds at a normal volume would you feel like you're suffering? And I told that guy who I quoted the music would be loud enough for me to hear and that's it. If it makes any difference, I've been listening to a lot of Bob Marley & John Coltrane. His, and the others like him replying so passionately about it really has me wondering how many others will view me as one of the worst human beings ever. I'd like to think the Redditors are just basement dwellers who hate everything that involves being outside. But maybe the majority of people around here who are forced to listen to my shitty music will hate me. I'm not trying to ruin anyone's day, but I'm also not seeing how 2 seconds of low volume music could lead to suffering lol. This seems like a 1stworldproblem all the way around.

But it did make me start to really ponder how other people view shit I do that I never even consider could trigger them.

What type of scooter? Is this a scooter you stand on to ride or do you sit in it like a moped?

Are you planning to ride it mostly on streets or on bike paths?

 

[sdifox]

It's only ok if you got YMCA on repeat. I'll also accept It's Raining Men and El Bimbo.

 

[WelshBloke]

In the city I'd just roll my eyes then instantly forget about it, in the country side I'd seek vengeance against you, and your family to the third generation. There'd be packs of dogs and roving yokels with shotguns!

 

[balloonshark]

I'm only posting since you mentioned revving. I have one of these RC trucks with on board audio. When I purchased it I thought it would be goofy but it was actually of fun. Not sure if the hardware could be integrated on your scooter. The speaker/vibrator is attached to the lexan body that acts like a speaker. I don't know if it's loud enough for your application though. I know companies sell vibrators/speakers that can be attached to anything that resonates. There is a video of on youtube attached to someone's window as a joke.

 

[nOOky]

Afterskokz bone conducting headphones so you can still hear what's going on around you and the general public does not have to hear your shitty music. There's enough noise pollution and we should be making less, not more.

 

[QueBert]

Sounds like you think you aren't being douchy.


But then the actual truth comes out.

Sounds like the Redditors could see right through you to how you would actually use it.

About as douchy as my neighbors who are having a front yard pool party with the kids right now. I can hear kids laughing and music and my window isn't even open. I don't find that douche like, but apparently, it is. I feel like they're just enjoying their day, and not intention trying to ruin anyone else's. And on the flip side I know for sure there's 1 neighbor who wishes they could call the cops on them lol.

What type of scooter? Is this a scooter you stand on to ride or do you sit in it like a moped?

Are you planning to ride it mostly on streets or on bike paths?

Stand up scooter, 99% bike lanes on busy streets without houses and not much foot traffic because not a lot of people walk here. And for those that walk, I will be by them in 2 seconds. I told this to the Redditors and most still said I'm still an extreme asshole if I do this. I'm pretty sure even with their windows down, over the noise of their car, and their own radio nobody will be able to hear me. and those with their windows up definitely won't hear me.

I knew some people would hate the idea, but I really had no clue it would result in rage inducing Trump level fits from that many. Apparently I'm a terrible terrible person lol. Meanwhile I went on a 10 mile ride today with no music, and can't count how many car stereos I heard. Most were barely audible but I could still hear music. I guess you're only an asshole if you're on a scooter or motorcycle doing it. If playing music that other people will be able to hear makes you a douchenozzle in so many people's eyes, maybe cars shouldn't come with stereos.

 

[pete6032]

About as douchy as my neighbors who are having a front yard pool party with the kids right now. I can hear kids laughing and music and my window isn't even open. I don't find that douche like, but apparently, it is. I feel like they're just enjoying their day, and not intention trying to ruin anyone else's. And on the flip side I know for sure there's 1 neighbor who wishes they could call the cops on them lol.




Stand up scooter, 99% bike lanes on busy streets without houses and not much foot traffic because not a lot of people walk here. And for those that walk, I will be by them in 2 seconds. I told this to the Redditors and most still said I'm still an extreme asshole if I do this. I'm pretty sure even with their windows down, over the noise of their car, and their own radio nobody will be able to hear me. and those with their windows up definitely won't hear me.

I knew some people would hate the idea, but I really had no clue it would result in rage inducing Trump level fits from that many. Apparently I'm a terrible terrible person lol. Meanwhile I went on a 10 mile ride today with no music, and can't count how many car stereos I heard. Most were barely audible but I could still hear music. I guess you're only an asshole if you're on a scooter or motorcycle doing it. If playing music that other people will be able to hear makes you a douchenozzle in so many people's eyes, maybe cars shouldn't come with stereos.

I live in Chicago and ride the 606 and Lakeshore path regularly and there are many assholes with blaring Bluetooth speakers on the path that make it virtually undesirable to ride. If you are riding on crowded bike lanes I would say don't do it, but if the bike lanes are mostly clear I wouldn't worry about having a speaker.

 

[QueBert]

I live in Chicago and ride the 606 and Lakeshore path regularly and there are many assholes with blaring Bluetooth speakers on the path that make it virtually undesirable to ride. If you are riding on crowded bike lanes I would say don't do it, but if the bike lanes are mostly clear I wouldn't worry about having a speaker.

We don't have many bike riders here, and the majority of the ones we do have are Tweakers. And a lot of them have a speaker blaring music, and the rest are so geeked out on Speed they wouldn't even notice somebody else playing music.

 

[highland145]

Trump level fits from that many.

Yeah, you're a douche and eff you.

You could have left that out and we were getting along fine.

 

[QueBert]

Trump level fits from that many.

Yeah, you're a douche and eff you.

You could have left that out and we were getting along fine.

Welp, it was a good description so people could more clearly understand the severity of people making a mountain out of mole hill . Trump stormed off the stage while being interviewed by the lady at the Black Journalist Convection today. I'm not a douche for describing using what Trump does frequently and did today. Now him walking off during the interview was a classic douche move to the lady interviewing him. This in addition to him going on there so she could ask him questions, and he didn't answer single one. Which is also really douchie.

 

[pmv]

The problem with the scooters, is that many are on the sidewalk in congested areas of the city because they dont think the rules of the road applies to them. That's douchy. Don't compromise pedestrian safety and crank it up.

That's true, but there seems to be a problem with things like electric scooters in that they don't have any dedicated space for them. Motorists want them off the road, pedestrians sure-as-hell don't want them on the sidewalk, and, cyclists don't like them in cycle lanes either (potentially too high speed).

A pity, as in general I think they are a good thing, insofar as people use them instead of a car (take up far less road-space, do less damage if they hit you, not wasting resources moving the huge mass of the vehicle itself around...).

The solution IMO is to ban cars from roads in cities. Roads should be for things like electric scooters only. Leave the sidewalk to pedestrians, and cycle lanes for cyclists.

 

[QueBert]

That's true, but there seems to be a problem with things like electric scooters in that they don't have any dedicated space for them. Motorists want them off the road, pedestrians sure-as-hell don't want them on the sidewalk, and, cyclists don't like them in cycle lanes either (potentially too high speed).

A pity, as in general I think they are a good thing, insofar as people use them instead of a car (take up far less road-space, do less damage if they hit you, not wasting resources moving the huge mass of the vehicle itself around...).

The solution IMO is to ban cars from roads in cities. Roads should be for things like electric scooters only. Leave the sidewalk to pedestrians, and cycle lanes for cyclists.

it is tough, the law says don't ride on sidewalks, but there are streets without bike lanes, and while I don't know the rules. I don't think you can legally ride on a road with no bike lane, even if you're all the way on the shoulder. The US is probably gonna drop a ban hammer on scooters as a whole I think. A lot of parents are buying them for their teens, who end up riding like complete asshats. And this is made worse when the parents get them a hyper scooter that can go 50-70mph. And a big problem with the bike lanes in my city, many of them apparently don't have a no parking rule. So it's common to see a row of 20 cars blocking the bike lane. So then I have to ride in the street, which is probably not legal, and less safe, and hope a car doesn't hit me.

While I know you ended jokingly, they do need to figure something out, unless they completely ban electric scooters, there needs to be a better and safer way to ride them. And the streets without bike lanes or side walks are pretty terrifying to ride on. I'll be going 40 which isn't exactly slow and cars will be inches away wizzing by me like I'm going 15. When you're on the shoulder and there's no sidewalk, there's no way for you to ride defensively. If a car is barreling at me and I notice it, the best I can do is pray, gun it and hope for the best. Having a scooter that will go 60 is nice, but most people have slow scooters so they would just get hit.

I ride a few hundred miles a month and nothing's ideal for scooters. I don't expect them to alter everything, but they could figure out some sort of improvements for safty. And I have no idea why they even have bike lanes when cars can park in them. That seems dumb to me. I'm respectful of the cyclists in the bike lane and when I have no choice but to ride on a sidewalk I put my scooter in walking mode which tops out at 4mph. But a lot of the younger riders are just morons who ride as poorly as a lot of people drive lol.

 

[BoomerD]

That's true, but there seems to be a problem with things like electric scooters in that they don't have any dedicated space for them. Motorists want them off the road, pedestrians sure-as-hell don't want them on the sidewalk, and, cyclists don't like them in cycle lanes either (potentially too high speed).

A pity, as in general I think they are a good thing, insofar as people use them instead of a car (take up far less road-space, do less damage if they hit you, not wasting resources moving the huge mass of the vehicle itself around...).

The solution IMO is to ban cars from roads in cities. Roads should be for things like electric scooters only. Leave the sidewalk to pedestrians, and cycle lanes for cyclists.

Those vehicles don’t pay the road taxes via gas axes or licensing taxes to support the costs of the roadways.

 

[highland145]

Those vehicles don’t pay the road taxes via gas axes or licensing taxes to support the costs of the roadways.

And your walker does?

 

[pmv]

Those vehicles don’t pay the road taxes via gas axes or licensing taxes to support the costs of the roadways.

Don't know about the US, but there's no such tax as 'road tax' here. Road building and maintenance is paid for out of local property taxes and general taxation.

And the taxes motorists do pay (vehicle excise duty and fuel tax - the latter of which has been frozen for some time) come absolutely nowhere close to paying for the costs motorists impose.

e.g.

Roadwear, which varies with the 4th power of the mass of the vehicle, so is negligible for bikes and scoooters

The regular damage to road fixtures caused by drivers driving into them (main road I walk down regularly always has some debris or other - smashed in garden walls, knocked over bollards or traffic lights, etc, caused by a driver who couldn't stay on the road)

The health costs of the massive pollution ICE or deisel cars put out (the one cost that electric vehicles don't cause, the others still apply even for electric cars).

The more subtle health problems caused by the inactivity associated with driving - professional drivers are by far the most likely group to suffer cardiovascular disease, there was even a study done once that found bus drivers had much higher rates of heart disease than bus conductors. Also that can affect the brains of motorists, who have been shown to have sub-clinical cognitiive effects from those cardio-vascular effects - maybe that explains 'road rage'?

And the cost of disposing of abandoned cars and car tyres every year.

And the cost to the NHS of treating all the injuries from RTAs.

Anyway, if you want to claim exclusive ownership of roads you need to pay the rental cost of that valuable land, and motorists come absolutely nowhere near doing that, with the relatively small sums they pay in fuel duty and VED. I doubt they even pay the true rental cost of the space wasted on storing their oversized vehicles (i.e. on-street parking).

 

[WelshBloke]

Those vehicles don’t pay the road taxes via gas axes or licensing taxes to support the costs of the roadways.

Roadcosts come from general taxation in the UK so everyone is paying for them including cyclists and scootists (it's a word now!). Also they don't cause any wear to the roads.

PMV already covered it. I'm at a campsite in the Welsh mountains so that's my excuse for being ninja'd by about 12 hours!

 

[QueBert]

Welp, I can only speak for California, but here roads are paid for with cvar registration and $$$$ people lose on the lottery. Although, even a "heavy" electric scooter's only about 125lbs, and most are 50 or less. So scooters aren't doing a lick of damage to any road.

There's talk that some states are going to start making people register scooters, so sooner than later I'm sure I'll be contributing to the road funds.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Roadcosts come from general taxation in the UK so everyone is paying for them including cyclists and scootists (it's a word now!). Also they don't cause any wear to the roads.

PMV already covered it. I'm at a campsite in the Welsh mountains so that's my excuse for being ninja'd by about 12 hours!

Yeah people forget that just because you're not buying gas it doesn't mean you don't have a job or property. If you own property you're basically paying into the roads, and if you have a job and if you buy literally anything and pay any bills, you're also paying tons of taxes that way too, both provincial and federal. So it's up to government to stop wasting that money on dumb pet projects and actually use it towards things like roads and infrastructure, healthcare, education and all the things people use. That's what taxes are suppose to be for.

 

[QueBert]

Yeah people forget that just because you're not buying gas it doesn't mean you don't have a job or property. If you own property you're basically paying into the roads, and if you have a job and if you buy literally anything and pay any bills, you're also paying tons of taxes that way too, both provincial and federal. So it's up to government to stop wasting that money on dumb pet projects and actually use it towards things like roads and infrastructure, healthcare, education and all the things people use. That's what taxes are suppose to be for.

I would GLADY pay a yearly scooter registration if they would improve the bike lanes. Some of them here are much wider than others, and some are so narrow I can feel wind from cars as they drive by. If I didn't know any better, and honestly I don't. It would seem the city has no guidelines for road crews. And we have multiple departments who do the road work and there's zero communication between them. That's the only way I can figure out why some bike lanes are like 3 feet wide and some are half the size. And the road by me with the speed limit of 45mph has super narrow lanes. And a few blocks over it's 35, and the lanes are like 3 times as wide.

It would make sense that there's standards so everything is the same, but apparently not. I'm sure the width of the road is the determining factor, but it sucks having no space and cars that drive like they want to kill somebody.

 

[Red Squirrel]

They started adding bike lanes here and it's a dog's breakfast. I think whoever designed these actually hates cyclists lol. With all the potholes here the roads are really not safe to ride on, especially a motorized bike. The sidewalks are smoother and much safer.

 

[MrSquished]

Yeah people forget that just because you're not buying gas it doesn't mean you don't have a job or property. If you own property you're basically paying into the roads, and if you have a job and if you buy literally anything and pay any bills, you're also paying tons of taxes that way too, both provincial and federal. So it's up to government to stop wasting that money on dumb pet projects and actually use it towards things like roads and infrastructure, healthcare, education and all the things people use. That's what taxes are suppose to be for.

Investments in infrastructure in rural areas is a bad business decision. It's a losing money proposition vs infrastructure in more urban and near urban areas.

 

[pmv]

They started adding bike lanes here and it's a dog's breakfast. I think whoever designed these actually hates cyclists lol. With all the potholes here the roads are really not safe to ride on, especially a motorized bike. The sidewalks are smoother and much safer.

There's a least one book someone got out of the topic

Crapper Cycle Lanes Review - Magazine - Ride Velo

Crapper Cycle Lanes makes excellent toilet reading, and not just because of its title. It’s one of those little books that you can flick through absent-mindedly and chuckle over with few if any intellectual demands and little actual reading. It’s mostly pictures of, well, crap cycle lanes. Eye Book

www.ridevelo.cc