Lessons from a Scooter Rally Crash!

Not Bad For a Cubicle � Archives � Crash!

Well, Jes and I passed our Motorcycle Safety Foundation Beginner Riding Class today. We are both glowing with pride, and have already scouted out a parking lot near our loveshack where we can continue skills practice. It was frustrating, stressful, and a whole lot of fun. We are also talking about taking the Experienced Riders Course this Spring. I would like to emphasize for those who might be in a similar situation to myself, that if you've taken the MSF class but many years ago, it's never hurts to take it again. I was shocked and appalled by how much I'd forgotten since I last attended. And Santa is seriously looking at some better safety gear for Jes's upcoming B-day.


So here's a timely post on Scooter safety. There is a lot of good stuff here. It is easy to think that a Scooter is safer than a motorcycle, and a lot of people skimp on protective gear and training on a scooter who would never consider such economies if they were on a "real motorcycle." Well there are aspects in which scooters are safer (easier dismount, lower average speed) and there are aspects in which they aren't as safe (smaller wheel size, generally not as advanced braking systems.) Anyway, enough of my preaching, I'll let someone else take the pulpit, and preach as only a reformed sinner can...

Safety Gear should be a maximum priority for all ridersThat includes more than just a helmet. While I’ve felt that a helmet was essential since I got my first scooter (when I was still young and thought I was bullet-proof), I’ll now expand the essential equipment list to include at least a riding jacket and a pair of gloves.
In retrospect, I cannot explain why I was willing to mitigate the risk of cracking my skull open but accept the risk of bruising my muscles & scraping my skin off the rest of my body. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that I used to street skate and went down hard several times, sometimes with a lot of road rash, sometimes with none. This time around, though, it seems like it hurt a lot more than it did back then. This may just be a side effect of being Not Young.

via 2strokebuzz