Safety of scooter riders

[klingon]

I cringe when I'm riding my bike and come across a scooterist hugging the gutter and looking all nervous. I want to give them a hug and invite them out into the rest of the lane. It's an interesting response because the exact things that make me feel sorry for them and all protective towards them, are the things that make other drivers all aggressive and mean.

A scooter rider riding on the left looks small, vulnerable, hesitant and they look like a victim. Some people respond to that by being extra kind to them, and some people become extra mean.

So if you do need to ride on the left of the lane (up a hill or whatever) make absolutely sure that the rest of your non-verbal signals say "I'm a confident rider. I'm choosing to ride on the left - but if you try to bully me I'll rip your head off!"

[CookMySock]

A scooter rider riding on the left looks small, vulnerable, hesitant and they look like a victim. Some people respond to that by being extra kind to them, and some people become extra mean.

That is because some people are humans, and some people are animals.

So if you do need to ride on the left of the lane (up a hill or whatever) make absolutely sure that the rest of your non-verbal signals say "I'm a confident rider. I'm choosing to ride on the left - but if you try to bully me I'll rip your head off!"

Yeh. Or just ride everywhere looking like you are going to kill everyone.

Steve

[Tank]

I ask, as I leave my lights on fullbeam the whole time, and really have no problems with people pulling out in front of me. I'll dip them at night, or on request, but as you say - very few requests. It's pretty clear to me I am much better off with my lights up.

I would take the bulb into Repco or Supercheap, and ask them about it. Quite likely they will have all sorts of suggestions. Be careful using a much much more powerful bulb like a 55/100 as you will almost certainly damage the wiring or melt the headlamp unit. Alternatively, try to find a HID conversion for it, as the bulbs run very cool and draw only 35watts, and are MEAN bright. Just make sure theres no other electronics nearby as the HID inverters seem to EMP everything within kui of themselves - nasty.


Steve

Its been asked in many threads and you have never answered DB. How the hell does someone IN FRONT of you going the same way get you to dip your lights ????

Slightly different on a scoot (being that they are only there a few seconds) - but assuming you are travelling at the speed of traffic - there is nothing more annoying than having a fool with their lights on full sitting behind you. Its very inconsiderate riding. esp when you have upgraded to something like HIDS?

Would you find it acceptable if someone did it behind your wife if she was riding?

[OutForADuck]

Personally I think if I watched a video of myself on my Madass I'd vote for removing me in the interests of public safety rather than beingworried about cars being a safety issue for me!!!

[MarkH]

OK in the sense that they don't know any better.

Well I did say for non-bikers.

But honestly I do recommend to anyone that asks my opinion that they get their learners and buy a 125cc scooter instead for the luxury of more speed & power. They may then get keen and another biker is born!

50cc scooters are just too limited in their usefulness in my opinion, not really up to the task for anything other than 50kph zones.

BTW:
400cc scooters are up to the task of riding from Auckland to Christchurch in one day, then down to Winchester for a bike rally, then Winchester to Palmerston North in one day, then back to Auckland the next day. 2400kms in a 5 day period.

[Dave Lobster]

BTW:
400cc scooters are up to the task of riding from Auckland to Christchurch in one day, then down to Winchester for a bike rally, then Winchester to Palmerston North in one day, then back to Auckland the next day. 2400kms in a 5 day period.

And if anyone wants one.. I'm going to be selling mine soon.

[SARGE]

the Mrs. (the General) got taken off on a roundabout 6 months ago.. nearly twice since..

when i was teaching her to ride, i would follow about 50m behind and saw some asshat aim for her and try to take her out..


i caught the clown..

he wont do that again soon

[MisterD]

Its been asked in many threads and you have never answered DB. How the hell does someone IN FRONT of you going the same way get you to dip your lights ????

I thought that was what rear fog lights were for - unfortunately my NZ new Forester doesn't have the buggers...

[Dave Lobster]

Yet, if you live out west, the front ones are on PERMANENTLY. Odd..

[Ptur5054]

I have to agree with all your comments. Especially the point about safety clothing. It was a hot day to day in Dunedin (yes we get them) I was tempted not to put on my Joe Rocket jacket but I did and must say I felt a bit of a dork especially when I saw at least three jokers in shorts, jandels and tee shirts. Then they weren't going to be doing 90 up the motorway. I just hope they don't come off, even at 50k they would at least have some very nasty scrapes.

[Danae]

I wind through the domain on my way home from uni in auckland, and I was following behind a van that was behind a scooter. This van was obviously tired of keeping to the speed limit and actually crossed the double yellow lines AROUND A CURVE to pass this poor scooter. She nearly jumped off out of fright.
Unfortunately (especially up hills) cars like to follow as closely as they can cos, I dunno, maybe they want to push you up the hill. I just stick to the center of MY lane and let the jackass behind me boil in his impatience and ignorance.

[Dave Lobster]

I just stick to the center of MY lane and let the jackass behind my boil in his impatiance and ignorance.

And he/she'll take that frustration out on someone.. are you sure it wont be you?

[Bowden]

I just got a 1996 Honda dio 50cc scooter today, my old scooter was unfortunatly crashed by a mate, so today was my first actual riding experience, what a rush! For someone who's never ridden before it's an eye opening experience, but the car drivers(cages?) are as bad as I've imagined!

Obviously not all of them, you get bad appleS on every tree etc, but who gave all those bad apples drivers licenses!, I'm not new to driving, and I've had my full for around 5 years now so I'm not new to the road game, but it seems if you ride a scooter, everyone thinks your a young teen with no idea of road rules, luckily the dio does 65-70 top speed, and it's just had an overhaul, new rings etc so it has a fair amount of get up and go, so I take off and drive center lane, driving to the speed of traffic, even at 65 some idiots still want to overtake so maybe these individual drivers are just impatient?

[XRVrider]

Hi. Finished restoring an old Jawa 50 scooter recently for the wife to ride to work. We didnt have it going too fast to begin with so assholes were passing her up the inside and all sorts of crap. We made an expansion chamber and tuned her up a bit and shes now faster and she has less hassle. I am too big for this bike but test ride it a bit and Ive had cars passing me when Im doing 50kms just 20 cms away on a 2 lane one way street... theres a whole other empty lane beside me... dumb bstards.

Now I have couriered on motorbikes and bicycles in London for long periods, so I dont stand for silly shit, so slap their cars and give them the fingers... everyone who puts my safety at risk gets this treatment, as I would expect the same if I did it to them. Many interesting incidents in London, one or 2 ugly ones but 99% of the time you just get out of the way of everything, but jeez NZ car drivers are some of the least considerate anywhere. So I say stay in the middle and keep 2 fingers over the front brake and expect the worst. LIGHTS ON. ;-)

Cheers all.

[Flange]

Some thoughts on the preceding few pages:

I wonder how many of those scooter and motorbike riders bitching about cars following hard on their tail and crowding them out in their lanes, have been guilty of following cars too close and lane splitting themselves ? Bikers tend to be their own worst enemies in this respect and I'm well aware that some four wheeler drivers hassle bikers out of a misplaced sense of retribution for previous inconsiderate treatment by bikers. Now would be a pretty good time to start breaking the cycle.

By and large I agree with the concept of riding in the centre of the lane, even on a slow scooter. Usually, to do so is the lesser of evils. But in doing so it's real important to be as considerate to following traffic as possible and to make it as easy as possible for them to get past, without putting yourself in danger.

I'm going through a pretty interesting experience at present in that my wife began her riding career just four months ago. She rides a SYM 250 so it's well capable of cruising faster than the open road limits. I started riding in 1963 so I've had plenty of time to develop a very acute sense of what's safe and what's not on a motorbike. Believe me, it is a seriously scary thing to watch someone close going through the learning process. THE MOST DANGEROUS SITUATIONS WHICH JOCELYN GETS INTO INVOLVE HER TRAVELLING SLOWER THAN THE TRAFFIC STREAM ! Anybody travelling slower than the traffic is in danger. Period. The greater the speed differential, the greater the danger. Speed doesn't kill, speed differential does.

As for lights on high beam, well, if your lights are so feeble that oncoming bikes and cars are NOT pissed off by them, then do yourself a favour and get the unroadworthy piece of s**t off the road. Roll on warrants of fitness for mopeds. Roll on too a requirement for handling skills testing for moped riders.

Further to the lights on high beam thing, studies have indicated (sorry about the unsubstantiated statement but Google it if you're curious) that high beam lights spoil distance perception for oncoming riders and drivers, moreso when the bike has twin headlights, tending to make others think you are further away than you really are. You might just be doing yourself a dis-service by riding with lights on high, most particularly in poor lighting conditions or in the rain.


Finally, it's a fact of life that cars and large four wheel drives DO have right of way over bikes by virtue of the fact that the rider will always come off much worse in a crash. By all means do try claiming your rights as a tax paying road user within the rules laid down in the Road Code, just be prepared to pay the price in pain, mutilation or even death for doing so.

Cheers
Flange