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Scooter Driving Safety Issues
By Mitch Johnson, Sat Dec 10th
Scooter drivers of all ages, just as automobile drivers, have aresponsibility to take safety precautions before jumping behindthe wheel. For young scooter hobbyist, parents are alsoresponsible for making sure their child driver has a basicknowledge on how to function the motor scooter. Supervisors ofscooter riding and the drivers must always know the propersafety equipment to use and use it. Though motor havethe ability to serve multiple purposes, they are growingespecially fast in popularity among commuters in areas such ascollege campuses and congested downtown areas. People traveling to near by neighborhood locations and to shortdistances for errands are also finding the convenient use ofmotor for commuting. The advantages driving a scootercan offer are very obvious to some people because of thelifestyles they lead. Probably the favorite perk motor scootersoffer commuters is the different ways using one can save money,such as by nearly eliminating gas costs and creating additionalfree or work time by allowing you to avoid traffic. Each advantage of driving motor is valuable to manypeople, especially in large, metropolitan areas, but those whohave used this method of commuting have also been met with someresistance. Motorists who routinely travel by scooter know, orshould know, the safety laws and regulations in their area butunsafe situations still tend to rise more often than they ought.When driving the most problematic situations occur whenautomobile drivers do not notice or choose not to recognizescooter drivers as a legitimate vehicle. Motor are legal vehicles to drive on regular roads andthe traffic laws and rules of the road are typically
the same asthose for other cars and trucks. This being the case, by law,there should not be a situation where a regular sized automobileover takes a motor scooter in a manner they would not use if itwere an equal sized automobile. Awareness of the regulations ondriving motor is most likely the primary reason forroad vehicles to violate scooter's right of way. Since driving on legal roads is not a practice usedwidely in all of the nation, motor scooterist must remain alertfor any harmful situations. For starters, anywhere you driveyour motor scooter a helmet should be in your attire. While outdriving around town it is advised to wear bright colors and usea whip flag. Both of these precautions increase the chances thatother vehicles will see you and react properly. The rear and brake lights on your motor scooter are importantfeatures that can also raise the awareness of your presence toother drivers. During day and night the tendency of automobiledrivers following behind your scooter is to become distractedfrom any turns, signals or actions you are taking. Havingbright, consistently working brake lights help trailing driversto notice the move you are making, or plan to make. Some avidscooter drivers have installed a flash lamp that is alsoactivated when the brakes are applied.
The flash lamp continually flashes brightly, each flash onlyfractions of a
second apart to warn following vehicles of thescooter driver's intent. |
