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UK police could get Ghostbusters-style backpack devices to halt ebike getaways
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 13 May 2024
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micromobility - Ebikes, scooters, longboards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobility
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"Transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service rental program in which people rent vehicles for short-term use within a town or city.
micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"
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They act as ebikes don't have pedals.
Definitely not a conspiracy theory, but this comes coincidentally at the same time the UK considers breaking from EU requirement for pedals on ebikes lol.
I'm pretty sure that's just about using the pedals, as in having an ebike with a throttle won't be an issue (even though throttles are extremely common, mine is 250w + EU speed limit and has a half-twist throttle).
Not that the legislation is 100% unrelated, but I see it likely more of just accepting that people have been going faster for a while.
Yeah, my ebike (45lbs) isn't that hard to ride when powered off (and I am not the most in-shape). Reading the article, I also wonder if a bike could just be... turned back on (it's a thumb-accessible button, not a pull-start) if they are aware of this tech. It also seems likely there could be other ways to defeat this (like the bit about being line-of-sight).
Also it would almost be funny if criminals just rode an aerobike or something instead or perhaps even an ebike with all of the electronic bits stripped out (which would also lower the weight), I say almost because it would make this dumb backpack toy fully useless but then I imagine it causing other issues (like pacemakers) if they just keep blasting it out trying to get it to work.