Today's Question Blog

Are you a fan of pedal pubs?

Just witnessed a Pedal Pub roll after a high speed cornering attempt. No bueno. #ambulance !

A photo posted by rwalseth (@rwalseth) on

Photo by rwalseth via Instagram

Critics of pedal pubs seized upon Thursday's pedal pub crash in Minneapolis to vent their frustrations over the bikes.

Over at the I Hate The PedalPub Facebook page comments like Julie Tilsen's "nature weeding out the stupid" are typical.

The crash sent two riders to the hospital after the bike tipped while taking a corner at a high speed. Minneapolis Police have ruled that alcohol was not a factor in the crash. The driver of the multi-person bikes isn't supposed to drink alcohol. Passengers are allowed to imbibe.

The Star Tribune has this overview of the state and local regs:

Early this year, Minneapolis passed new regulations on what it called “pedal cars” — banning hard liquor aboard and requiring operators to obtain licenses ($59 per driver and $98 per vehicle), to operate before 10 p.m., to keep the noise under a certain decibel level and to keep passengers from becoming too rowdy.

Pedal pubs became legal in Minnesota about four years ago, when Rep. Steve Simon, DFL-Hopkins, pushed a law exempting a “vehicle that is operated for commercial purposes in a manner similar to a bicycle ... with five or more passengers who provide pedal power to the drivetrain” from the state’s prohibition on open alcohol containers in vehicles.

St. Paul also passed pedal-pub regulations in 2012. City and police representatives said Thursday that they do not know of any accidents involving pubs there.

Today's Question: Are you a fan of pedal pubs?

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