PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Alex Duncan on E-bike Safety and Transportation
6:05:33
·
126 sec
Alex Duncan argues against the proposed e-bike regulations, emphasizing that e-bikes are a safer alternative to cars and an important transportation tool. He criticizes the opposition to e-bikes as a misguided "culture war" rather than a genuine concern for safety.
- Highlights statistics showing cars as the primary danger on streets, especially for children
- Argues that e-bikes save lives by providing an alternative to car use
- Criticizes those who booed objective safety statistics presented earlier in the hearing
Alex Duncan
6:05:33
Hi.
6:05:34
I'm Alex Duncan, also sometimes known as Mizer.
6:05:38
I wanna start by saying that people don't need e bikes.
6:05:42
They don't need cars, and they don't need mass transit.
6:05:46
What they need is transportation.
6:05:48
The bike, the car, the mass transit, those are all tools that help them achieve the thing that they need.
6:05:56
So the question is, how do we as a society provide that, and how do we do it best and safest?
6:06:01
Several times today, notably when commissioner Rodriguez and comptroller Landers rep were speaking, they gave stats about the relative dangers of cars and bikes and were roundly booed by the supporters of this bill.
6:06:15
That kinda gives up the game that this is about safety.
6:06:19
When you're booing objective reality in service of vilifying bikes and the people that ride them, you aren't interested in safety.
6:06:26
You're fighting a dumb culture war.
6:06:29
Because objective reality is very clear here.
6:06:32
Cars are the killers on our streets.
6:06:35
Cars are the number one killer of children under 13.
6:06:39
Number 1.
6:06:39
And that's by far, and it's a fact.
6:06:42
Not just compared to ebikes, compared to everything.
6:06:47
It's not ebikes killing childrens on the street of New York.
6:06:51
Cars kill, cars maim, and cars crash 300 times a day in this city in the 5 boroughs, and that's just the reported crashes.
6:07:00
The likely ones are much higher.
6:07:02
The only way to get people out of their cars is to provide alternatives like ebikes.
6:07:09
Ebikes objectively save lives when people choose them instead of cars.
6:07:15
Again, people need transportation, and they need to choose a mode.
6:07:19
Every single person on an e bike massively reduces the danger to the public, and anecdotal stories do not change that.
6:07:28
These are statistics.
6:07:29
We're dealing with a large number of people.
6:07:32
Are there harms from any of these modes?
6:07:34
Yes, of course.
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
6:07:36
Thank you.
Alex Duncan
6:07:36
It's about relative relative harms.
