“One would think that any product with this burning potential would not be legal to keep selling to more customers. It make take a few Class Action lawsuits by the surviving family to teach manufacturers this lesson.”
I have a story for you from my time living in Chicago in 1970 and 1971. At the time I lived in a one bedroom apartment in a building of the style called 4+1. That meant the lowest level was a garage for the tenants’ cars and the upper four levels were apartments, mostly one and two-bedroom. Being located near a CTA station and only about four blocks from the lake, it was a nice place to live. I had a 10 speed bicycle that I stored in my apartment, as many other tenants did with their bicycles.
Now, fast-forward to 2023 and imagine a similar building, also occupied mostly by young professionals, many of whom will have Ebikes by instead of pedal bikes. It’s not hard at all to imagine numerous horrific fires originating from those individuals charging their bikes’ lithium batteries. I suspect lots of landlords in similar situations are going to include lease causes that prohibit storage of Ebikes. Also, I suspect the insurers of those landlords are going to be putting causes in the insurance that require the landlords to prohibit Ebikes. Further, I suspect the lenders who finance such apartments will be equally anxious to prohibit such dangerous possessions. In other words, not much good for the Ebike industry.
You’ve reminded us of why every new tenant needs to look closely at that rental agreement before you quickly scribble your name down. Some personal property may not be authorized for use at that location, and for valid reasons.
Some new tenants may see the restrictions, but plan on violating the agreement anyway, under the assumption that no one will ever know about it. People do that all the time with pets, sneaking dogs and cats into their room.
Your experience also makes me miss the fun of bike riding.
Right now, my foot and leg problems make bike riding not something I can do w/o pain. Oh well, things could always change for the better. I didn’t like riding in heavy traffic though. Some drivers can become Road Hogs and not want to share it. People you would never expect to be that territorial.