Episode 68 – Scooter Safety Tips
SHOW NOTES: It seems that in just about every part of my life these days I am thinking about scooting. At the same time, I think more and more about how riding and safety go hand in hand. I think about is getting hit, even when I’m doing everything right. Several months ago, we were all confronted with what happens when things go terribly wrong. The news came that Josh Rogers of Scoot magazine had been involved in a serious scooter/car accident. The details were never clear until now as April Whitney has chronicled this tragic event in an article in issue #46 of Scoot Magazine. As she recalls, it was a spring ride in March, up a winding canyon road outside of San Jose, California. In her article, April quotes another scooterist who said that Josh had just passed him and a car coming the other way veered across the line into his lane and hit his scooter head on. Josh flew up, over the hood of the car, hit the windshield and fell to the ground just to the right of the car as his scooter went over a cliff off to the right side of the road. I thought April’s recollection of Josh’s questions about the accident were telling. As he lie waiting for the ambulance, he asked, “Did I F— up?” What is so amazing about this question is that I can imagine saying this myself, “what did I do?
For those of you who have studied rider safety or taken the motorcycle safety course you know that the majority of accidents are caused by another driver’s mistake. That is not to say that we don’t do some stupid things. Just look at all the evidence on you-tube where showing off doing a wheelie down the street or eating while they are riding is common. Three out of four motorcycle accidents involve another vehicle, wich is usually a passenger car. Most accidents happen at speeds under 30mph, at an intersection when a motorist fails to see you and turns left in front of your scooter. According to several leading web references in many of these accidents alcohol use is a common factor and the failure to wear a proper helmet and clothing result in many more serious injuries than necessary. No matter the rider’s overall experience, which on the average is close to three years, over half of the accidents occur when the rider has less than five month’s experience on their bike. I mention this is for all you beginners and many of you intermediate riders out there who are returning to scooting. So what should you do?
- Always wear a helmet, it is the single best piece of protective equipment you can use.
- Always wear gloves, even on a hot day.
- Wear over-the-ankle boots, preferably made of strong leather.
- Wear a jacket made of something sturdy like denim, nylon or leather.
- Last wear long pants made of a thick material that will resist abrasion and provide protection.
Despite all this, consider developing an attitude towards riding. For me some might say I am a defensive rider, I call it having a healthy dose of paranoia. In short, I consider every car a potential threat and I am always trying to anticipate the need to make an evasive maneuver. And whether it is true or not I keep reminding myself, there are a lot of boneheaded drivers out there.
By the way, thanks again to April for the update on Josh in Scoot magazine and you can follow his recover on the forums at the Scoot Magazine website. In addition, you’ll find an active community of scooterists talking about all kinds of scooter topics.
Music for this show is from the Podsafe Music Network and Ariel’s Publicity, featuring JD and Straight Shot
