Modern Buddy

So I'm pulling out of the supermarket yesterday in my pick-up- SORRY- too much to buy and it wouldn't fit on the scoot! Also looped in a trip to Lowes to save some gas- all the stops in one big loop! Anyways- as I'm pulling out of this market that's part of a bigger development, I see a scoot coming at me from the right, having just pulled out of Target. It was green and from a distance it looked like a Buddy! As he passed (I could clearly see it was a he- full face helmet, but tank top and shorts) I saw it was a scoot I didn't recognize, also that there was no plate, so it must be under 50 cc. I turned to follow him out of the development and the traffic signal that leads onto the main road was red, so I got excited that I could pull up next to the scoot and say hi! So he's in one of the double lanes that goes straight and as I'm pulling up to the other lane along side him, both of us stopped for a red light, I see him slow down, look both ways across the busy road, then rocket through the intersection, blowing right through the red light. And he didn't "not see" that it was red, it was red when we approached, he slowed to look, then ZOOM! He was across. I was pissed! All I could think was that this guy is riding around town, not following the rules of the road, giving us all a bad name, and next time I need the right of way or someone in their cage to give me a little road respect or courtesy, they'll think to the last time they saw THAT guy and lump me in with him, and cut me off or not give me my rightful place on the road. And it wasn't like the sensor wouldn't trip on a right turn or anything- there are 4 lanes of traffic stopped at this intersection- 1 left, 2 straight, 1 right, and all had cars at the stop line and all saw him do this. I was a little surprised at how annoyed I got. I guess it's because I feel that I'm an ambassador for 2 wheeled machines and my behavior goes a long way towards influencing people's perceptions of two wheelers and hopefully their behavior towards scoots, bikes, and MCs....

Thanks for reading my rant!

-Danny

I concur 100%

First of all, I completely agree with you.
Secondly (and not to be a smart***), I couldn't figure out for the life of me what a "rouge" scooterist is. Red scooter? Too much make-up? Then I realized that it was a typo and you were calling him a ROGUE scooterist!
No slam intended...we all do it.

Just fixed the sp...thanx!

Insurance companies do it all the time... 1/2 the time I get insurance cards faxed to me for a new Nissan Rouge

I think we're going to see a lot more of this behaviour, Penguin. As all these new folks buy scoots (and they really are non-scooter people because I don't know anyone who has been riding a long time who was most influenced by the fuel economy!), they'll bring their bad car driving habits to the world of two wheels. As Scrooge would say, their bad driving habits will help "decrease the surplus population" and then I won't have to deal with them anymore.

Plus, I'm trying to see all these new scooterists as a good thing because when they get bored with their scoots, they'll sell 'em cheap on craigslist and I'll be able to add to my stable.

Penguinboy wrote:I was pissed! All I could think was that this guy is riding around town, not following the rules of the road, giving us all a bad name,

We have a name for those people in my biz, ORGAN DONORS. I work in a hospital

siobhan wrote: Plus, I'm trying to see all these new scooterists as a good thing because when they get bored with their scoots, they'll sell 'em cheap on craigslist and I'll be able to add to my stable.

Or at least, you can always get the remaining parts and put together your own tricked out scoot.

I've seen two riders like this locally. I don't even know what kind scoot the first one had because it was banged up so bad, missing some body panels while others were held together with packing tape. I think I saw the same guy riding earlier in the season and all I can say is I'm not surprised. (Darting about, over curbs, unpredictable and haphazard.)

The second guy was on a little Honda scooter. (Metropolitan?) The first time I saw him was the depth of winter and he had a smoke hanging out of his mouth and a 12pack of Old Swillwake on the floor boards. The next time I saw him he was missing the rear right body panel.

pcbikedude wrote:

Penguinboy wrote:I was pissed! All I could think was that this guy is riding around town, not following the rules of the road, giving us all a bad name,

We have a name for those people in my biz, ORGAN DONORS. I work in a hospital

They're true heroes, risking themselves and driving crazy to their death, then saving a child's life with a donated organ.

Penguinboy wrote:So I'm pulling out of the supermarket yesterday in my pick-up- SORRY- too much to buy and it wouldn't fit on the scoot! Also looped in a trip to Lowes to save some gas- all the stops in one big loop! Anyways- as I'm pulling out of this market that's part of a bigger development, I see a scoot coming at me from the right, having just pulled out of Target. It was green and from a distance it looked like a Buddy! As he passed (I could clearly see it was a he- full face helmet, but tank top and shorts) I saw it was a scoot I didn't recognize, also that there was no plate, so it must be under 50 cc. I turned to follow him out of the development and the traffic signal that leads onto the main road was red, so I got excited that I could pull up next to the scoot and say hi! So he's in one of the double lanes that goes straight and as I'm pulling up to the other lane along side him, both of us stopped for a red light, I see him slow down, look both ways across the busy road, then rocket through the intersection, blowing right through the red light. And he didn't "not see" that it was red, it was red when we approached, he slowed to look, then ZOOM! He was across. I was pissed! All I could think was that this guy is riding around town, not following the rules of the road, giving us all a bad name, and next time I need the right of way or someone in their cage to give me a little road respect or courtesy, they'll think to the last time they saw THAT guy and lump me in with him, and cut me off or not give me my rightful place on the road. And it wasn't like the sensor wouldn't trip on a right turn or anything- there are 4 lanes of traffic stopped at this intersection- 1 left, 2 straight, 1 right, and all had cars at the stop line and all saw him do this. I was a little surprised at how annoyed I got. I guess it's because I feel that I'm an ambassador for 2 wheeled machines and my behavior goes a long way towards influencing people's perceptions of two wheelers and hopefully their behavior towards scoots, bikes, and MCs....
Thanks for reading my rant!
-Danny

Completely disagree. Sure, the guy was an idiot. But no one can give me a "bad name" but myself... Period! And I think most mature people have enough sense to know that just because someone rides (or drives) a particular vehicle like an idiot doesn't mean that everyone who uses the same type vehicle is also one!

I once had the misfortune to travel on a Greyhound Bus with an idiot driver who insulted his passengers and picked fights with them. Does that mean that ALL Greyhound drivers are like that? Hardly... Most are pretty cool!

Nuff' said..

i absolutely agree and chalk it up to adding to the reason so many (most?) people think of scooters as toys. Toys aren't required to play by the rules. you can make up your own.

I don't know why I'm becoming so cynical, but I get more and more irritated at people who think my scooter isn't road safe...or who think I'm "crazy" for riding it out on the road. I wonder if those same people would think I was crazy if it weren't a scoot, but a motorcycle. Probably they'd think it was fine and that is what frustrates me. It's the same dangers. Same visibility issues. Same road rules. Same! gah! (and while it might be technically legal to do so, I do not ride my scoot on the highway. I'm not comfortable with that).

I don't agree or disagree; however, as discussed in other threads, it is legal for motorcycles to run red lights depending on city laws, like if three cycles have passed and the light hasn't changed, or if you are aware the light doesn't trip, you can make a stop then run the light. Also, with bicycles, you can come to a complete stop and blow through red lights - maybe he got confused.

Granted, if he were an aware cyclist, he would have known you were at the light with him and waited for it to turn.

Here's what I bet was going on.

I'd wager that this person came to scooting from riding bicycles. Especially if it's a 50cc scooter and he/she read that "mopeds" follow the same rules as bicycles, they were probably skipping the light like they would on a bicycle. I don't remember off the top of my head if it's strictly legal or not - to "run" a red light or stop sign on a bicycle - but I do see it all the time and I used to do it when I rode my bike on the road. The bicycle blurs that line between pedestrian and vehicle in some people's mind and so they think they can get away with it. All that is to say, I'd wager this is a person who is used to riding bicycles on city streets and thought it was OK to do so on their scooter.

I see your point, but there will always be unsafe idiot drivers no matter what vehicle they're driving. I'd like to think that people look at me and think, "Say, that kid's a swell driver! I heart me some scooters all of a sudden!". But the reality is that most people are too preoccupied with their own interests to notice any good in other drivers...they tend to only notice when others make mistakes.

It's a bummer that this cat is out there being dangerous, but don't let it bother you. Just be as safe as you can yourself and keep doing your best to show cagers that we are an intelligent and safety-minded crowd...that's the most important thing you can do. And who knows, maybe someone will see your good driving and forget about that other guy.

siobhan wrote:I think we're going to see a lot more of this behaviour, Penguin. As all these new folks buy scoots (and they really are non-scooter people because I don't know anyone who has been riding a long time who was most influenced by the fuel economy!), they'll bring their bad car driving habits to the world of two wheels. As Scrooge would say, their bad driving habits will help "decrease the surplus population" and then I won't have to deal with them anymore.

I don't think this is fair, and it's more than a bit elitist and mean-spirited, if you ask me. I'm saving up for a scoot, and it's mainly because of gas prices. So what? Folks have the right to purchase transportation that will serve to save them money, and to argue that these same people are somehow bad for everyone who happened to buy a scooter before they were popular is absurd.

If being a "scooter person" means acting like an elitist douchebag, then count me out.

=M=

I have been known to bend the rules a bit on my scoot.

The worst I've done has been to violate a "no right on red" after sitting through 3 cycles of the light and not getting my turn. I was super cautious and there was no traffic.

A close second would be the ocassional lane spliting, using an empty turn lane to get to the front of a very long lane, if it's super hot, raining, or need to catch up with my scooting partner.

I also confess to wearing a tank top this week in 100 degree weather.

I'll bet he moved to Boston from Worcester. They breed lousy drivers there. (And I should know, I learned to drive from a Worcester driver!)

Yeah- Worcester drivers are pretty bad, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING compares to RI drivers!

It stinks when drivers of any vehicle (no matter the # of wheels) does dumb stuff on roads but that doesn't mean the next time I see a Toyota (for example) run a light I'm going to assume all Toyota drivers are bad. I agree that when you're part of a smaller community (but growing!) like scooter-hood, some people might see one bad scooterist and decide that all scooters are crazy...but...you just need to watch out for yourself and scoot as smart as you can. Stupid people are everywhere and allowing one dumb person to create or enhance a general stereotype is giving that one dumb person waaaay too much power.

That being said, I agree with some of the defensive newbies' comments as of late. I've wanted a scooter for 5 years but never thought it was possible. The craziness of gas prices is what insprired me to do more research and that is when I found out getting a scooter WAS possible. Just because I'm new and just because I'm new during the horrid gas price issue timeframe does not mean I'm not a "real" scooterist. I'm new...not stupid...and not a jerk. SURE, I might make some newbie mistakes but heck I'm wearing protective gear and sticking to super local streets until I complete the MSF in July. That means I've had my scoot almost a month and have put only 30 miles on it. I'm trying to be careful and respectful yet still enjoy my time and admitting I'm a newbie these days almost feels like a bad thing...like I'm being judged. Can't we all just get along? HOWEVER, on the other hand, most people on this site have been super supportive and helpful. I guess my point is to just be careful about what you say and how you say it. I want friends and supporters...not name callers.

Love,
Proud and appreciative Newbie.

In so far as one jerk lousing it up for everyone else or not, well, an argument can be made for both points of view.....

Most folks realize that the actions of an individual should not be used to prejudge a larger group. So, when dealing with people at this intellectual level, one fool does not a stereotype make.

Other folks, however, automatically take the opposite position, and, in doing so, prove themselves the true fools. So, it really takes at least two jerks for the stereotype to be formed.

Unfortunately, in this world we seem to have more of the latter than the former. Hence all of the lovely "isms" - racism, sexism, ageism, and now, possibly, "scootism"?

As for me, I always try to avoid stereotyping; except when we're talking about cagers with cell phones!

Regards,

Charlie