I don't agree that e-bikes are mostly a threat to themselves on the road. As a pedestrian running full-tilt I have relatively little momentum so can quickly and easily avoid or minimize/absorb the impact of colliding with bikes/e-bikes/scooters along with subsequent damage. We collide, we fall, we stop within a few feet, and from collisions I've seen its unlike the damage will be much worse than broken bones or a concussion. A vehicle OTOH has far more momentum and if the driver loses control it can very easily lead to major death and destruction. Last I checked vehicle accidents are one of the top causes of death stateside, and differing vehicle speeds the top cause of accidents so having slow bikes/e-bikes/scooters/etc on roadways seems illogical to me.
20 years ago a bicyclist ran a red light directly in front of my pickup. Thankfully traffic was light and at 45 mph I was able to swerve/drift the truck enough so that only my front corner hit the bike, sending the bicyclist down the side of my truck rather than underneath. Had we been in rush hour traffic things could've been far worse for both of us.
A side-note that I believe true, fascinating, and relevant is that purportedly human brains are somehow instinctually wired to preserve human life. Personally I've hit quite a few animals, lost several radiators to deer, and always intentionally avoided swerving (per driver's ed training) nor felt much worry before impact, usually just anger. Before hitting the bicyclist tho I both swerved and felt genuine fear, I believe bc he was human. Ive also never minded the smell of roadkill but struggled with the smell of human decomposition in the military. Both could just be me, but I suspect there's something to "instinct" that most would struggle to overcome in unavoidable collisions with bikes.
