I'm new to all this scootering at the grand old age of 30 ( yes my mum never let me have one!) and yet to still do my cbt, but when it's completed was wondering how much danger am I actually in of a serious or fatal accident with another road user? ( car bus etc) Anyone have any story's?
I don't want to put you off but owning/riding a scooter immediately classes you as a 3rd class citizen which entitles car drivers to pull out on you all the time with the "i don't give a sh*t cos I'm in car and won't get hurt if you slam into the side of me" attitude, as already said, LOOK, LOOK, LOOK at the road ahead, position yourself on the road, don't get boxed in, don't get in a dangerous position. Get out there and enjoy it,if you don't do it now, you'll regret it! Just think about the first time you touched a ladies breast, I bet you didn't think twice about how much trouble you could get yourself into doing it!
if your worried about injury/death etc so much really dont bother. at some point you WILL crash or come off. its fact. had my most serious crash earlier this year. speeding renault clio with a driver on the phone doing over the speed limit, hit him head on with me doing around 30mph, he was doing 40mph or 50mph cant remember. he came into my lane basically. i went flying. scooter was absolutely unrecognisable. front end was literally crushed in. it was so bad the outer front panel was touching the seat and the front wheel had pretty much been destroyed. the side panels cracked. if i hadnt gone flying when i did my legs would of been crushed and i wouldnt be able to walk now. my injuries were kinda bad. broken leg, broken arm. broken ribs. cuts, scrages, roadrash everywhere. i couldnt do anything for myself apart from sit in bed all day playing on the computer. had to have help with most things. everytime we put our gear on, everytime we switch on our engines and ride off, were taking a huge risk and we all know it, thats a part of biking/riding a scooter. dont want to put you off as honestly i would never let anything stop me from riding, its one of the best things ever. the feeling etc. the biking community is amazing also. injurys and crashes are just a part of the whole experience.
best piece of advice i got when i started riding was - assume that everybody else out there on the road is a idiot and expect the unexpected, be prepared for them to do idiotic things. look out for yourself.
Marsh is right, car drivers are tossers when it comes to scooters. I ride an 1100 to work and back, not so many problems, but the odd driver does still pull out without looking. On a scooter however it really is a different matter altogether. They just don't seem to see you, or think you are a kid bladdering around. Some things you should take into account: Always ride with your headlight on, day and night. Full beam during daylight hours is good for you. If a car driver says anything about it, then good, that means at least he has seen you and isn't liable to hit you. Wear something like a hi-vis vest. Make sure your scoot can do at least 40mph; this will allow you to keep up with most of the traffic flow and not get tangled up in the gutter. Lastly, learn to look ahead further than you ever have before, learn to anticipate what the car driver is going to do before they know it themselves, look for head turning, steering wheel movement, anything that is a tell tale sign that they haven't seen you yet. Apart from that, keep your wits about you and happy scootering
My advice is simple, Don't put yourself in a position where you get so concerned about the danger you 'could' get into- i've met a few like that/that won't even go out of their front door for worry which sponsored in the long-term can lead to paranoia, If you havr concerns getting otr fully licenced,recognise them AND address them- this will give you a more affirmed sense of confidence,which will hopefully in the main keep you on the road with a modicum of trouble free riding and over time help you comprehend how you being on the road works in relation to other road users.
I've been riding for almost 40 years. I had a couple of offs in the early years but I only ever had one crash with another vehicle - I put my Honda into the back of a Ford Capri at about 75mph in 1976. The only blood injury was a cut to my nose, but I did things to my spine and have lived with pain ever since. I take stronger pain killers most days than most people have ever touched. But I still ride both a scooter and a bike. From my experience: Hi Viz is a waste of time. Do NOT use full beam headlight in the daytime - it is both antisocial and illegal and, paradoxically, makes it more likely that you are not observed. Ride carefully - do not follow too close - leave no less than 2 seconds between you and the vehicle in front, always be prepared to slow or stop - remember that it is better to give way than to risk a collision. If you choose to filter in traffic queues, don't go blinding through small gaps like some teenage tit, go sensibly.
I found wearing my hi-viz jacket on the scooter somewhat of a help, drivers more or less went around me in a decent way. And i was only doing 30-32 mph. And the high beam on a scooter aint that good to be classed as antisocial in my opinion. Headlights/high beam in bright sunlight on a scooter makes you stand out. Take a look at the cars these days, or at least since 2011, that have daylight running lights. You notice those more because of the lights. A lot of european countries have laws, Poland for instance, that require you to have your lights on all the time. And clear the snow off the roof and bonnet of the cars. Really should have that one here.
I found wearing a high-viz makes you a more visible target for other road users- an because they do see you a little better / that they have a tendency to close in an buzz you more often, other than that I usually only wear one if I go out for an early morning ride,so's the police who may happen to clock me.think i'm an early morning commuter instead of someone out for an early morning breath of fresh air an decide to intrude on a pleasant moment in the interest of routing out an obvious danger to society as a whole. .
Quote "they have a tendency to close in an buzz you more often" Qoute Na, thats only where you live Mark. I was down Wapping High Street last week, in a dirty great big truck, and they still did that to me. Mind you, they soon moved
As said above, treat all other road users as tho' they're idiots and be prepared for them to do the unexpected...just ride defensively, use common sense and most of the danger will take care of itself. All too often tho' I see bike riders...mostly on small CC machines riding the rear of a vehicle in front. Any unexpected action by that vehicle and they'd have nowhere to go but into the rear end...many too not wearing anything decent in the line of protective gear (or worse still t shirts and shorts in summer). IF you MUST ride the rear end at least ride it to one side (not in the gutter side either coz its full of crap and potholes) at least you have somewhere to go if things dont go to plan. On small CC stuff the main problem is not being able to keep up with traffic flow...everyone wants a piece of you. I followed a 125 into Nottingham Monday night. It was pitch black on the A60 at some points. My car has good xenon HID lights, so instead of trying to out pace the biker i kept fairly close (prob 2 car lengths) This allowed him to see further up the road and benefit from my lights...plus it also stopped the idiots behind from harrassing him and trying to overtake as its afairly tight single carriageway. Ultimately, it didnt cost me anything and didnt really slow my journey either
+1 - well said about having somewhere to go - if you ride at the limits of any capability (be it braking, cornering, visibility, the edge of the tarmac or whatever) you leave no room for error. Amen brother! Not just snow off the roof, but all these car drivers who think that a 6" square of windscreen is enough to clear and drive down the road.
I've found following a couple of lengths (bike) + enough time it would take to correct a missed gear OR time it would take to get back on course swerving to avoid rut,bump,etc.in the road good timekeeping for following behind someone., Used to be the 2 second Ohh F..k rule. .
