Hey, new to scooters/wife scared

[Rooster77]

Hey, i'm new to scooter, i spent the last 3 years, scrimping', savin' to buy the best stuff for my scooter. this month i was going to get all the machining done, and mock up my new hi po fuely engine. then it happened, i live in a small town and a guy on a scooter was a victim of a hit and run-unfortunately he passed. Now my wife wants me to sell everything. I'm confused, so i'm asking all you veteran scooter guys if it really is as dangerous to ride a scooter as all my family or friends are telling me. or is it just like any other motor vehicle? i really dream of getting it done and getting the wind in my hair. so help if you can. Rooster

[Admin]

Welcome to the forum!

[ForCom5]

New rider here. So I guess you take my two cents as you please.

Riding is inherently dangerous because aside from a helmet (if you even wear one) and other protective gear (which most who even wear helmets forgo) you have nothing else to protect you from an impact. Physics will win the battle between you and the asphalt. Numbers seem to point to most of my rides being OK, but there's a lot more risk involved than driving. Even a subcompact vehicle with a crumple zone, airbags, seat belts, etc...

But really...as someone who used to only drive to get where they were going...I don't want a car. I enjoy riding much more than a car...rain, risk, rednecks and all. I've yet to have a close call, but I know it only takes one bad move (likely by someone else) and that's that; no more paying taxes for me.

So yeah, it's not safe, and neither is driving a car by some numbers. So it's the matter of questioning whether or not you wanna worry the SO, or just wait until the heat dies down from the unrelated incident and just carry on.

[Rooster77]

thanks, i rode motorcycles when i was a kid so i know about wiping out. i figured just make sure you're just a little faster then the idiots, i was/or am building my scooter so i can race it to at events. so i guess i'll check the statistics, and if they are good reassure her. but my state is the second highest for bad drivers. but i do miss 2 wheels and wind. thanks

[ForCom5]

According to some slightly dated numbers, your ride stands a 99.9333% of being accident-free!

A small article that may be useful.

Personally, I don't think you should have to eliminate a pretty decent passion because of small wrinkles like this. Still, your call m8!

[cheapeto]

For myself, when I first got my scooter, I realized I needed more information. I took our states MSC and it turned my unsafe feeling into a much more enjoyable sensation as those guys take you through a bunch of maneuvers that you will need at some point or another.
It was a fun 4 days, 2 of them we talked safety and how to stay safe, and 2 all riding.
At the end, I got my license, and the confidence to ride from my house to North Carolina, and back, with no issues what so ever.
It really helped me.

[Rooster77]

Hey thanks, that really helps-i should check out if we have something like that.

[bull]

First, WELCOME to the forum!

Anyone that rides a scooter or motorcycle is at risk of injury from accidents and now with insurance scams on the rise everywhere, intentional incidents.

I've been riding for many years and only laid a bike down once, because of loose gravel on a concrete entrance drive. However I have been intentional targeted several times where others tried to run me off the road. In June of last year I was targeted for an insurance scam because the car driver thought I was riding without tags and would pay off to avoid reporting.

The article linked above has a few facts wrong, specifically the speeds at which a rider gets injured are 6 mph as documented by Dernmark Scooter crash testing agency. this link:



With everything suggested here you should definitely take some class in defensive driving tactics for scooters / motorcycles, also anything that you can do to make yourself more visible and audible will help along with video recording while riding should be done.

To address your wife's concern: Injuries, even fatal ones can and do happen all the time, and it doesn't require someone to be riding a scooter, motorcycle or trike.

[Irish]

You have to decide if you want to just exist or enjoy life! Who wants to live forever & die wishing that you had done the things that you had wanted to. That's my $.02. I've been riding since I was 15 & I'm 72 today. I've had many BAD accidents. They even pronounced me dead at one hospital (Frisbee in Rochester NH ) I might think twice but I've never had a chargeable accident. If things were my fault , I might have a different view on things! Life is full of dangerous things! You have to decide if your going to live with them or wish that you had. Irish

[wheelbender6]

"You have to decide if you want to just exist or enjoy life!"
Well said, Irish. Welcome to the forum, Rooster.