Fire Codes & Electric Bikes/Scooters

[Gordon McLeod]

My favorite plane was the DC9/MD80. I have had a Ebike for over 10 years I insisted on CE certified batteries and chargers which cost more. But my first bike ran 10 years on the original batteries

[Lyle Romer]

How about bringing back the bike rack with a couple of strategically placed cameras, and some "Smile! You're on camera" signs. I don't know if theives care about that kind of thing or not these days. Probably not considering the number of "porch pirates" there are.

I'm thinking that in San Francisco even if the thief actually smiled for the camera and showed their ID they won't be arrested or charged for stealing an e-bike.

[Randy Stankey]

I had some cameras stolen from my car, parked in my garage, one time.

The guy rifled through my car and also took a pack of cigarettes. I reported it to the cops. They came and took a report but didn't really do much else. I was pissed off. One of the cameras stolen was a vintage Rollieflex.

I started pounding pavement and found the Rollie in a seedy antique and pawn shop.
I walked in, pretended to be a rube and asked if he had any cameras. The guy said, "We only have this one 'old, German' camera." I pulled out a copy of my police report with pictures of the camera attached and said, "Oh? Something like THIS?" The guy went white! Then, somehow, that camera showed up the very next day. (Imagine that?!) So, I got that camera back but not the rest of my stuff.

Then I started asking around my neighborhood and one of my neighbors told me that they saw somebody from the trailer park, down the street, poking around, late at night. I found out where the guy lived and took a "casual stroll" around the neighborhood and spotted the guy... I kept walking, went home and reported the guy to the cops.

They did take him to court. I showed up on the day of the arraignment/trial. The Victim's Restitution department approached me and offered me a settlement if I would drop the charges. I never got the rest of my stuff back but I ended up getting about $1,000 out of the deal. My guess is that the guy dumped the stuff in the garbage.

Oh! But it gets better! - I heard, through the grapevine, that when the cops approached the guy, he was standing on the front porch, talking to his landlord. He was even smoking from the pack of cigarettes he stole from me. (I smoked an uncommon brand at the time.) When the landlord found out what happened, the guy lost his lease and got evicted.

I got the most important stuff back but not the rest. On the other hand, the guy got a $1,000 judgement garnished from his wages and got kicked out of the trailer park.

All the while I was telling everybody that all I want is my cameras back and I would forget about it. I guess that's an ALMOST fair trade.

Maybe, some day, I'll find the cameras on Ebay or some place. I still have the serial numbers and pictures.

[Ryan Gallagher]

I had some cameras stolen from my car, parked in my garage, one time.

The guy rifled through my car and also took a pack of cigarettes. I reported it to the cops. They came and took a report but didn't really do much else. I was pissed off. One of the cameras stolen was a vintage Rollieflex.

I started pounding pavement and found the Rollie in a seedy antique and pawn shop.
I walked in, pretended to be a rube and asked if he had any cameras. The guy said, "We only have this one 'old, German' camera." I pulled out a copy of my police report with pictures of the camera attached and said, "Oh? Something like THIS?" The guy went white! Then, somehow, that camera showed up the very next day. (Imagine that?!) So, I got that camera back but not the rest of my stuff.

Then I started asking around my neighborhood and one of my neighbors told me that they saw somebody from the trailer park, down the street, poking around, late at night. I found out where the guy lived and took a "casual stroll" around the neighborhood and spotted the guy... I kept walking, went home and reported the guy to the cops.

They did take him to court. I showed up on the day of the arraignment/trial. The Victim's Restitution department approached me and offered me a settlement if I would drop the charges. I never got the rest of my stuff back but I ended up getting about $1,000 out of the deal. My guess is that the guy dumped the stuff in the garbage.

Oh! But it gets better! - I heard, through the grapevine, that when the cops approached the guy, he was standing on the front porch, talking to his landlord. He was even smoking from the pack of cigarettes he stole from me. (I smoked an uncommon brand at the time.) When the landlord found out what happened, the guy lost his lease and got evicted.

I got the most important stuff back but not the rest. On the other hand, the guy got a $1,000 judgement garnished from his wages and got kicked out of the trailer park.

All the while I was telling everybody that all I want is my cameras back and I would forget about it. I guess that's an ALMOST fair trade.

Maybe, some day, I'll find the cameras on Ebay or some place. I still have the serial numbers and pictures.

Myself and a friend had cameras and computer stuff stolen in a smash and grab downtown in college... I had developed negatives fresh from the lab in my bag. I didn't care about the computer or the camera, but the negatives I wanted. Of course no doubt they scampered off on foot and quickly emptied the bags of anything not worth something. We checked trash cans near the area but never turned up anything. Sucks when they basically toss the items that are of actual value to the owner.

[Randy Stankey]

Sux that you lost the film! You can buy a new camera. You can buy new film. You can NOT buy back the images that were lost!

I had a discussion about the value of a roll of film. My pat answer was $36,000.
"How did you arrive at THAT figure," I was asked?

I sold an 11x14 print made from one of my negatives, four times, for $250. That's $1,000 right there.
"Ah! But not every shot you take will be a seller," came the reply!

Yes, but how do you know which frame will be the "money shot?" It could be none of them. It could be all of them. Maybe one of those frames will make even more than a grand. Nobody can tell.

However, the potential to make money from a given frame is the crux of the argument. By stealing your film, somebody stole your ability to make as much as $36,000 and, if the gods are smiling on you, possibly millions. $36 K is actually a lowball figure if you think about it.

When Victims Restituion asked me how much my stuff was worth, I did briefly mention this and then, in the next breath, walked it back. I told them, I don't want the money as much as I want the darned cameras!

In reality, there isn't any amount of money that can make up for the film you lost, that day!

[Leo Enticknap]

Insurance is clamping down I think, if you store/charge an Ebike inside you may have no coverage if it burns the place down.

In 2023 our homeowner's insurance added a clause to the effect that no EV or hybrid may be parked in our garage or on the driveway. Coverage is available as an add-on at extra cost, according to the letter we got. I guess this is why there are a lot of them (as in, a disproportionately high number, compared to what you would typically see driving on the freeway) parked on the street in our development.

BYD = Burn Your Driveway - giggle! That having been said, I wonder how long it'll be before the first scandal involving cheap, counterfeit battery packs in western brand EVs happens.

[Ryan Gallagher]

In 2023 our homeowner's insurance added a clause to the effect that no EV or hybrid may be parked in our garage or on the driveway. Coverage is available as an add-on at extra cost, according to the letter we got. I guess this is why there are a lot of them (as in, a disproportionately high number, compared to what you would typically see driving on the freeway) parked on the street in our development.

BYD = Burn Your Driveway - giggle! That having been said, I wonder how long it'll be before the first scandal involving cheap, counterfeit battery packs in western brand EVs happens.

That would be an annoying extra expense if it hits our Master HOA's insurance policy. Annoying for those without EVs that is. As we have many residents with garage installed chargers and EVs (too many in fact, reached our electrical load capacity cause those models don't load share). They are considering some community load share ones in some designated spaces... so no doubt rather than owners eating the cost, the entire community would (including the insurance tack on).