Comment by brokentone | Hacker News Reader

Comment by brokentone | Hacker News Reader

This is way cool, but the company has a few challenges to face to be "serious, eco-friendly transportation devices that could replace your bike, scooter, or maybe even your car."

I live and work in manhattan and for the summer I've been skating to and from work nearly every day (40ish blocks). According to my research, skateboards are considered "play" devices. Whereas bikes and all motorized vehicles are required to be in the street, skateboarders under 14 must wear a helmet and are not allowed to ride in the street. Older skateboarders have the option, but not the requirement to ride in the street. With the narrow streets, stop and go traffic, out of control cabbies, and people not used to looking for skateboarders, I feel much safer on the sidewalk.

There is a law that prevents the reckless operation of skateboards on sidewalks (http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/ADC/19/1/3/19-176.1), and I always take care to be courteous and provide plenty of space to all pedestrians.

Where there are bike lanes available, I'll take them, as that also seems to be a legal option, but I've had more run ins with pedestrians in bike lanes than on the sidewalk.

I've been stopped by cops twice and told I could not ride on the sidewalk, yelled at by private security and pedestrians, and had pedestrians step out in front of me without looking when I had complete right of way in the bike lane--causing me to have to bail.

This said, for any company looking to use skateboards to revolutionize urban travel, education campaigns at all levels will be necessary.

I agree with your sentiment and would like to take it a step further.

As someone who lives in San Francisco and commutes using all three of bike, foot, and car (and back in college rode a skateboard around a large and busy campus) I don't think skateboards belong on the sidewalk - and definitely not motor powered ones.

Anything that has the potential to move much faster than a person running at full speed is extremely dangerous on the sidewalk for everyone involved: cars, bikes, and especially pedestrians. It breaks everyone's mental model for what could possibly be coming from where. Cars making a right turn do not expect bikes or skateboards to entering the sidewalk at 5-10 mph from their blind spot and so they almost never check. Pedestrians turning a corner don't expect the possibility of something oncoming that is moving too fast to stop before hitting then and so they almost never look. And so on..

As an individual YOU might be a considerate skateboarder who has learned when and where to be careful. That's great, but it doesn't change the fact that there are still idiots and assholes out there that are going to do idiotic and asshole things. The only system that makes sense is: fast-stuff in one place where everyone knows to look out for fast-stuff, and slow-stuff on the sidewalk.

I don't think you can make rules based on potential speed, and your division is far too simplistic and arbitrary in terms of speed. While I agree my skateboarding is limited to 5-10 MPH (jogging-running speed), is that really that fast?

If I (and my skateboarding kind) should be in the street based on speed or potential speed, then so should rollerbladers, scooters, segways, motorized wheelchairs, anyone able-bodied person (as they have the potential to start running).

It's a complex issue and courtesy and being alert go a long way... as well as knowing the law. Wherever I'm supposed to be by law (NYC law leans toward the sidewalk) is where I need to be, and other people need to respect that.

Yup, its definitely a dicey issue. 5-10 mph on a skateboard is definitely a courteous and safe speed.. The problem is that 12-20 mph is also attainable and unfortunately not everyone is as courteous as you. It's the bad apples that spoil the bunch.

Yes, I do extend this to rollerbladers and scooters. Segues have a maximum speed of 12.5 mph and restrict their own downhill movement. I'd say they're sidewalk safe. Same with wheelchairs.

If there was a way to limit the speed of the board based on the grade of the hill, that could be an easy, innovative solution. I imagine that might be built in already to some degree.

I don't see skateboards ever becoming a mainstream way to commute, no matter what kind of educational campaign. I used to ride a skateboard for years but I'd most likely just hurt myself if I tried to get on a skateboard today. My 5 block commute is filled with some many cracks and curbs that it would be a total aerobic workout to get there on skateboard and I'd be sweating like a pig. Most likely I'd bail a couple of times along the way and show up to work with scuffed up elbows and knees!

I applaud anybody who ride their board to work, but it's definitely not for most people. I think these boards are cool & will surely appeal to the skater & recreational crowd. The motors look like really promising tech as well so I think overall this is just a cool idea.

You may feel safer on the sidewalk, but just like a bicycle, you may be safer on the street than the sidewalk. Most collisions happen in intersections. Cars do not expect vehicles to be crossing the street from the sidewalk at high speed, so don't check very well. Being closer to the center of the intersection makes you more visible, and ensures you're coming from an area where cars expect high speed objects to be coming from.

Being in Manhattan changes that somewhat. There are a large number of pedestrians there, so that helps with driver awareness.

In my local area skateboards are legal on the street except if it has a centre line marker (ie, a white line dividing traffic).

In my opinion, the laws should be uniform regardless of the device (e-bike, e-skateboard, e-whatever). This means restricted to certain types of roads, and possibly allowed on the sidewalk but with speed limits.

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