Gas prices got you down? A scooter could be in your future.
Scoot over gas hogs, and make way for Vespas, Lambrettas and Hondas. More motorists are giving up cars, trucks and SUVs for motor scooters that get up to 100mpg.
A story in Friday’s Post-Dispatch has discovered that many first-timers to any motorized two-wheeled vehicle are checking out these frugal conveyances.
The Motorcycle Industry Council trade group says sales are up across the nation 300% over the last 10 years – and that is before gasoline topped $4 a gallon.
Many SUV owners are paying $100 for a fill up, while in comparison, you can fill up a motor scooter gas tank for less than $8.
“People who would never want a motorcycle, because of the size and noise, will buy a scooter,” said Jeff Bach, owner of the Extreme Toy Store, a scooter and motorcycle shop in Webster Groves.
With no let up in sight for high fuel prices, have you considered a motor scooter for your in-town commute?
Scooter accidents rise with gas prices, temperatures
Tuesday, July 15, 2008 3:06 AM
By Nicquel Terry
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
They’re popular, gas-friendly and stylish.
But doctors say the increasing number on the road is likely to mean more people coming into emergency rooms.
They’re motorized scooters.
Health officials say numbers on individual scooter accidents often aren’t tracked, but Mount Carmel West physician Jeffrey Thurston said he’s observed a spike in injuries from scooter accidents. Thurston, an internal-
medicine physician, said he has assisted more patients from scooter accidents recently than in previous years.
This leads “me to think we have more accident victims this year overall,” Thurston said.
Thurston’s observation comes in light of the Saturday night motor-scooter accident that left E. Gordon Gee’s son-in-law with life-threatening injuries and Gee’s daughter, Rebekah, hospitalized.
Dr. Allan Moore, 31, was operating the couple’s 2001 Vespa when it collided with a sport-utility vehicle in suburban Philadelphia. He was in critical condition yesterday in the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania with abdominal and head injuries. His wife and passenger, Dr. Rebekah Gee, 32, was in stable condition with a broken leg and other injuries.
Five scooter-accident victims have come into Grant Medical Center in Columbus this year, three of those this month, hospital spokesman Colin Yoder said. In all of 2007, five patients from scooter accidents were treated.
There is no breakdown by OSU Medical Center of its patients from scooter accidents; it combines that number with motorcycle- and ATV-accident patients.
But Steve Steinberg, a trauma surgeon at OSU Medical Center, said he expects the number of patients from scooter accidents to climb through fall.
Steinberg said rising gas prices and relatively warm weather this summer have made scooters desirable for many commuters.
“We are already over halfway to our volume (of patients on those types of vehicles) last year,” Steinberg said. “We are going to be well over last year’s (final) numbers.”
The majority of OSU Medical Center patients in scooter accidents this year were not wearing helmets and therefore suffered more serious injuries, Steinberg said.
“Some accidents are avoidable by paying attention to what’s going on around you.”
Steinberg also suggested that scooter riders wear helmets and avoid alcohol.
They also can take motorcycle-safety courses through the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
nterry@dispatch.com
Scooters are one of the most dangerous vehicles available. Think what would have happened if a “scooter” would have been involved in the accident which killed three people this week??? A person on a scooter on a highway has no chance whatsoever of surviving a high-speed accident. He is out there unprotected. No matter how safe a driver of a scooter is, it’s the other guy out there who is a threat to his safety and/or life.
Veronica
July 18, 2007
In regards to Dave Mishem, You sound like you have a good thing going with your bike. I was doing that for a long while to saving on gas and just riding my road bike. I have been doing that for the past 5 or 6 years and I gotta say cycling on the road was a perfect start for me since it got me use to being on the road only going 10 to 15 mph. If you buy a scooter you’ll find it pretty easy making the transition.
I have to agree with many other scooterist. Years ago just cycling on the road people would yell aweful things at me and I was going slower than the 49cc scooters. Now wheather I am cycling or on my Vespa people only say a.) How many miles do you get to a gallon on that? b.) I need to get me one of them? or c.) What does one of those things cost and where do I get one.
Scooter and even motorcycles are going to be increasing more and more as these gas prices spiral out of control. We all need to get use to the fact that we have to all coexist with eachother. Cars will alawys be on the roads and scooters and motorcycles will always be on the roads. Lets all just respect eachother and travel safely.
If interested in any scooter information feel free to visit the St. Louis Scooter Club @ http://www.stlscooterclub.com/ feel free to ask us any questions. Our members will be happy to talk with you all.
For anyone interested in meeting up with members of St. Louis Scooter Club, we meet at the Schlafly’s Bottle Works in Mapplewood every Wednesday at 6:15pm. It’s a fun little time. Feel free to stop by ask questions, take pictures, hang out, and possibly grab some dinner.
http://www.stlscooterclub.com/
I don’t own a Vespa/Scooter, but I love them. And am always happy to see someone riding one and think they’re a great option for short commutes or running around town on weekends. They are great on gas, easy commute, plenty of storage, etc. I’ve seen them and used them while in WDC, NYC, Europe and SE Asia, which are the more normal transporation overseas as opposed to expensive cars. While in SE Asia, I saw children riding on them by standing behind or sitting in front of their parents - yes, extremely dangerous I know but that’s their lifestyle.
My question to those of you who OWN a scooter, would you consider allowing your children to ride with you? Not on interstates, I’m sure, but to/from grocery store or in and around your neighbordhood for routine weekend errands. There are specialized seats that can be purchased, similar to a child’s car seat, and I’ve seen them used in Rome. Is this any less/more dangerous than a cart being pulled behind the parent’s bicycle?
I asked my wife and she said ,”no”. She said if I was going to get killed, then I should do it in style on my Harley.
Rob, my wife and I are planning on getting a scooter and having it as the third vehicle for right now. I think next year we will probably get rid of one of the cars - I put so little mileage on mine that it is not worth keeping it.
I went by a local dealership and the salesman told me that scooters are being sold about as fast as they come in. I’m going to stick it out until October or so to see if I can get a good deal.
It’s funny, but I’m due for a new commuting bicycle since I have so many miles on my 14 year old Trek. I looked around this year and all the bike shop owners I talked to said they have trouble keeping the utilitarian type bikes in stock since so many people are buying. I actually saw some Italian made commuter bikes with generator driven lights and full racks over at A-1, first time in 20 years of bicycling that I am seeing those types of models in the U.S.
Considering I commute 40 miles one way on 270 every day, a moped = suicide.
You guys can take all the MSF courses you want, but that doesn’t keep some distracted soccer mom in her 6000 lb SUV from knocking you into oblivion. A fender bender in a car isn’t serious, just about any kind of collision on a moped comes with an all-inclusive, free trip to the hospital.
You can’t deny physics…. 200lb scooter + 3000lb car = carnage.
I ride a Yamaha Majesty400 with tow-pac trike wheels I get about
58 miles to the gallon on my scoot
I belong to the SLSC since it started a year ago,I’m also their
oldest member I will be 80 my next birthday,I try to ride everyday
and also try to make all our weekly meeting held each Wed at 6:15PM
Schafly BW I was at the first meeting a year ago. If I do it a my age it show you age is not a factor
Visit us at our website http://stlscooterclub.com and if the Lord be willing will see you at the Wed night meeting.
And don’t ride faster than your angel can fly Wade 07/18/08
I think you might be missing the point here, JimBob. If you’re living 40 miles away from work, then move closer or get another job. That decision will be forced on you once gas gets high enough, so you might as well do it now before real estate in the exurbs becomes as valuable as Louisiana swampland.
The soccer moms driving 6000lbs SUVs are going the way of the dodo. We’re seeing more and more scooters and less and less SUVs with each passing day. Conservationists are discovering that working to increase the price of gas is an order of magnitude more efficient than education and voluntary initiatives, so don’t expect $2 gas anytime soon on the horizon. Personally I believe a “good” price for gas is about $8/gallon. When that happens, environmentalists will get everything they’re working for handed to them on a silver platter.
The “safety” argument has been one that dealers have used for years to get the scaredy-cats into bigger vehicles than they need. Once you have more scooters on the road than Hummers, that argument is extinct.