I’m totally for a speed limiter on those. They’re insanely dangerous because of their small wheels. One wrong move and you’re flying. I took a tumble off one at just 12 MPH and fractured a vertebrae. And I count myself lucky, because I had a helmet on that took the brunt of the impact to my head. Plus they’re frequently ridden along multiuse pathways by people who have received zero direction on how to not piss off pedestrians. Fuck cars and everything, but that doesn’t give a pass to scooters with bad riders.
Roads used to be multiuse pathways until cars started killing so many children that politicians, with urging (money) from the auto industry, passed laws giving the gasoline engine sole right-of-way. Where you walked or what type of vehicle you used was suddenly regulated in favor of cars.
Sure they’re just a hazard to themselves on roads. The problem is that they are used on a wide range of paths, many of which have no real speed regulations of their own. So what’s to stop some yahoos from blowing through a multiuse path at 30 MPH (50 kph)? And that’s far more hazardous than other human powered transportation like bicycles, which have better steering and stopping distance.
There was a chunk of debris in the roadway (I was traveling in a bike lane at about here northbound). I routinely hit much worse on my bike, but the bike can correct and continue on its merry way. For the scooter it was game over from the moment I hit the debris.
I advocate that people should learn falling/tumbling at a young age. IMO many minor accidents become serious ones, just because nobody knows how to fall properly. I recently fell off a bike at 0mph, and injured my shoulder, just from falling incompetently.
I think the severity of the crash was increased by having a fairly weighty backpack on. Usually with a bike, I’m carry that weight in panniers.
I am an avid cyclist, so I’ve certainly fallen off my bike (a lot less recently). As for major injuries, the first was a broken jaw when I was 7. I was using a wonky method of braking that eventually caused me to fly over my handlebars. That was a very, very expensive accident. The other was a broken arm. My wheel had the previous day hit a rock, disrupting a spoke. As I started off the next day doing a turn, the spoke broke and the wheel caught on the fender. I went down hard, exacerbated by the turn. So yeah, happens to the best of us.
One thing I will say about falling is that I’m so, so glad that I consistently wear a helmet. I’ve had some accidents where there was a quite audible smack as the helmet, not my head, hit the pavement.
I’m totally for a speed limiter on those. They’re insanely dangerous because of their small wheels. One wrong move and you’re flying. I took a tumble off one at just 12 MPH and fractured a vertebrae. And I count myself lucky, because I had a helmet on that took the brunt of the impact to my head. Plus they’re frequently ridden along multiuse pathways by people who have received zero direction on how to not piss off pedestrians. Fuck cars and everything, but that doesn’t give a pass to scooters with bad riders.
Roads used to be multiuse pathways until cars started killing so many children that politicians, with urging (money) from the auto industry, passed laws giving the gasoline engine sole right-of-way. Where you walked or what type of vehicle you used was suddenly regulated in favor of cars.
I don’t disagree, but low to mid speed paths should not have scooters without regulators on them.
Around here scooters use the road and it works fine.
Sure they’re just a hazard to themselves on roads. The problem is that they are used on a wide range of paths, many of which have no real speed regulations of their own. So what’s to stop some yahoos from blowing through a multiuse path at 30 MPH (50 kph)? And that’s far more hazardous than other human powered transportation like bicycles, which have better steering and stopping distance.
However dangerous a scooter is for the rider or people interacting with the rider, cars are orders of magnitude more dangerous on both accounts.
How did it happen?
There was a chunk of debris in the roadway (I was traveling in a bike lane at about here northbound). I routinely hit much worse on my bike, but the bike can correct and continue on its merry way. For the scooter it was game over from the moment I hit the debris.
You fell badly and landed on your back? Horrible.
I advocate that people should learn falling/tumbling at a young age. IMO many minor accidents become serious ones, just because nobody knows how to fall properly. I recently fell off a bike at 0mph, and injured my shoulder, just from falling incompetently.
I think the severity of the crash was increased by having a fairly weighty backpack on. Usually with a bike, I’m carry that weight in panniers.
I am an avid cyclist, so I’ve certainly fallen off my bike (a lot less recently). As for major injuries, the first was a broken jaw when I was 7. I was using a wonky method of braking that eventually caused me to fly over my handlebars. That was a very, very expensive accident. The other was a broken arm. My wheel had the previous day hit a rock, disrupting a spoke. As I started off the next day doing a turn, the spoke broke and the wheel caught on the fender. I went down hard, exacerbated by the turn. So yeah, happens to the best of us.
One thing I will say about falling is that I’m so, so glad that I consistently wear a helmet. I’ve had some accidents where there was a quite audible smack as the helmet, not my head, hit the pavement.
Thanks to judo I know how to properly land and I agree, it’s a really conviniente knowledge to have, even more if you’re as clumsy as me. xD
The difference is that with a scooter you cant kill anyone.
Hmmm, I doubt that. Those need to be regulated too. They can cause death on a smaller order of magnitude, but they can.
Fuck titanic SUVs & pickups just for the sake of having a big car.