Lime Scooters Will Now Shut Down If Driven over Pride Flag Crosswalk | Hacker News Reader

Lime Scooters Will Now Shut Down If Driven over Pride Flag Crosswalk

thepublica.com

16 pointsdocdeek22 comments

So this entire thing is confusing to me. It's a label that's a crosswalk but it's also apparently labeled as something you're not allowed to go across according to the article.

"The area is clearly marked to keep traffic away as it was just re-painted to repair previous damage."

So which is it are we allowed to transit across it or not? Do the police regularly arrest anyone on a scooter that's in a sidewalk or a crosswalk that is not this one? Scooters typically aren't considered motor vehicles worthy of a road use but I don't know the specific laws.

I'm doing burnouts and intentionally leaving rubber marks on the roadway or other traffic ways is a crime in most places. Either a form of vandalism or mischief. I do wonder about the selective enforcement here but and nonetheless if they're doing it intentionally they should be cited.

The last thing that bothers me about this article is it appears that this is a group of kids young adults doing this. They are attributing their motivations to some sort of homophobia but I'm not sure where they have any evidence of that. When I read this I would attribute it to the most simple explanation which is kids being edgy and shitting on something other people like. You don't need homophobia to explain kids being kids.

There were already areas that are out-of-limits for the scooters-by-hour, so I presume it uses a similar mechanism. I'm guessing it would be similar to the letting go of the accelerator, so relatively smooth way to stop it.

I agree that you don't need homophobia to explain this—it could be just any kind of new painting in the area to be an invitation for some people to mess up with it. Lime probably feels that they don't want their vehicles to attract this kind of publicity.

The article claims the new paintings were clearly marked, though the pictures don't seem to show it. Nevertheless, I imagine it is a valid concern for any kind of new road painting that people will mess with it before it's dry (usually accidentally), so they are somehow marked that way to limit traffic. Maybe it was the case here as well, but some people chose to do it regardless.

Even if it was specifically targeted it could still be pro-gay and anti-trans. So they are drawing a long bow to say it is homophobia.

Agreed, it's not unlikely. The ideology of the latter typically does not recognise exclusively same-sex attraction. I know many old school gay men and lesbian women who are against it on that basis.

For cyclists in my area you aren't considered a pedestrian if you're riding a bike, and they have tons of signs telling you to walk it across the crosswalk. Presumably it's because bikes can move a lot faster than someone on foot and a motorist may not have time to brake if the cyclist darts into the crosswalk.

> They are attributing their motivations to some sort of homophobia

This could potentially be used to upgrade a petty crime to a hate crime, if prosecutors could convince jurors they were homophobes.

it strikes me as ridiculous to have an expectation that something painted on a walking or driving path is going to stay in good condition.

At one time it was considered disrespectful to the cause itself to demonstrate flags in inappropriate places [0]

Meanwhile as a US taxpayer I am left to wonder why these folks are being bothered legally when every other shithead in a duallie 800hp/1200ft'lbs torque behemoth truck can burnout at every single red light and flick chunks of pavement away from the (now pot-hole-covered) road that I helped pay for.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_protocol

p.s. this whole ' everything against a thing is a hate crime ' definition sucks; it used to be reserved for things that harmed people or invoked fear; a bunch of young folks skid-marking some paint on the ground really doesn't flag those requirements for me; it's not at all surprising that some teens are acting like shits -- if that invokes fear I suggest counseling rather than further legislation.

> a bunch of young folks skid-marking some paint on the ground really doesn't flag those requirements for me

A point that will certainly be argued out in court one way or another.

It's funny: kids ruining a murale propped up by the ruling authorities are not framed as rebels but as homophobes. I guess this is what happens when your movement stops being the underdog and gets a taste of power

corollary: it is possible to be a member of the dominant religion and also to whine incessantly about being oppressed

You can be two things at once.

And?

Shutting down personal transportation devices in the middle of the street sounds problematic. It's dangerous for the rider and the full sized vehicles nearby.

I expect it to be similar to letting go off the accelerator—a function that likely pre-existed anyway, to prevent from going out from the service area or enter other disabled areas.

Yeah I rode these a fair bit when they were available in my area and they basically just cut the power (or reduced it massively) when entering an area that is out of bounds like parks etc. It's not really dangerous because you can propel the scooter manually in those areas - it's just a bit tiring because it's not light like a normal kick scooter.

Fascinating. Is “the future of transportation” shutting down access if you don’t conform to en vogue cultural shibboleths?

So, they were arrested for putting skid marks on the road?

Personally, I'm a hard lefty and believe people should have whatever sexual orientation and lifestyle they choose, but this is rediculous.

The wing-nuts will certainly make hay out of this one...

Probably, but the wing-nuts will make hay out of nothing whatsoever.

This may or may not be a good idea, but the reaction of the bigots simply doesn't enter into it. They're going to throw a shitfit regardless of what you do. So just take it as a given, write it off, and make the best choices you can for the benefit of the not-stupid people.

> So, they were arrested for putting skid marks on the road?

I find this to be a shade of "what, it's illegal to drive on roads now?"

They were arrested for vandalizing a pride flag that was painted on the road. If they'd ridden straight across it, they would have been fine.

I wish there was a safety feature that shut them off when these people ride them on the side walks which they shouldn't be doing.

Sounds incredibly dangerous while also being ineffectual.

No chance this will be abused.

This feels like a karma grab. I guess it worked and costs nothing.

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