People seem to have an issue with the scooters
I wrote about the electric scooters being legalized in the state the other day and received so many comments, mostly against the scooters.
It seems that I'm one of the few who likes them. I don't see a problem. And many of you claim to have been accosted by wayward scooter drivers. Luckily, I've never witnessed that.
I usually see them on the street, but even if they are on the sidewalks, they take the space of one person, it's not like a car is driving on the sidewalk. One lady says they take the space of motorcycles on the sidewalks. Do they?
One person said, "The scooters are dangerous, kids shouldn't use them, people don't wear helmets, they are on the sidewalks . . ."
Miami has one of the most successful scooter programs in the country in terms of usage rates. There is a 60 day pilot program going on at the moment. According to Commissioner Ken Russel, "Each scooter is used more than five times a day on average. In the last two months, 300,000 trips have been made on our streets and sidewalks."
The program will be evaluated but it seems to be working for short trips, which is what people seem to be using them for. A lot do ride them for fun or to just try them out for the first time.
Some of the money raised through the scooter program will go to more bike lanes.
When we were kids we rode bicycles all over the place, without helmets. We left the house in the morning and came home when the street lights went on at night. There was no way for our mothers to reach us all day, we were just out and when we returned, we returned. Now everything has to be regulated, even who, when and why people ride scooters around town is being dissected. I guess when bicycles were invented there were those who felt the same about them.
All that being said, Hoboken has had its first arrest as scooter ridership soars. Apparently a guy was riding the scooter against traffic and he struck a pedestrian.
posted by Tom Falco at 4:00 AM
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10 Comments:
I’m with you Tom, I like the scooters!! Makes me smile every time I see people riding them. Clever way to get around, no sitting in traffic or air pollution. I hope they are around to stay!!
I'm concerned for people that use them... due to drivers texting and paying more attention to their phones than the road. We read about bicyclists getting hit. It's only a matter of time until there is a horrible accident involving someone on a scooter. How about if they MUST use bicycle routes when/where they exist. That might be a little safer
People who comment negatively are probably older, and/or jealous & envious as these electric scooterist exude confidence & a certain dress code stating "I'M SUCCESSFUL".
Yes your photo shows itall. 2 people on a scooter, no helmet. Hey doesn't anybody see that "the emperor has no clothes"?
It seems like the common complaint of all of the people that are against the scooters is their concern about the safety of the people riding them. I have a simple solution that will 100% address that concern: If you are concerned about the safety of riding a scooter around then DON'T RIDE THEM and DON'T LET YOUR KIDS RIDE THEM. Other then that, stop trying to tell people how they should live their lives. If other people want to take the risk of riding the scoters, good luck to them.
Scooters are a great way for people to move around but there is still much needed in the way of education and infrastructure for them to become mainstream. In a perfect world there should be dedicated lanes for bicycles and scooters, this way they are not on sidewalks or on the street. At the same time for users to properly follow the rules they need to know them first.
Funny to see that the picture that accompanies the story is showing improper use of the vehicle. And about helmets, for the most part the people I've seen using these things are adults and at that age you are pretty much entitled to make your own decisions.
As an older adult, who is hard of hearing, I have had a couple of scarey encounters with people riding bicycles on the walking/biking path on Old Cutler Road. They have come up from behind me and almost run me down, because I did not know they were there. And, they yelled at me for being! For not getting out of their way. Scooters on sidewalks present the same peril. It's as important to protect pedestrian spaces as it is to have bike lanes that protect cyclists.
My issue is not with the safety of the people that ride them, it is with the safety the pedestrians that can no longer walk down the street without having to dodge the jerks that ride them down the sidewalks. A grown adult traveling at 10-15 mph is a lot of force if it hits a pedestrian. There has already been one very serious injury in the Gables to a woman that walked out of a furniture store in Coral Gables and unknowingly into the path of a scooter flying down the sidewalk. The people riding these scooters should not be riding down the sidewalks, but since people in Miami feel entitled to do whatever they want, they cruise down the sidewalks endangering and inconveniencing pedestrians, I root for these riders to fall and crack their heads open, that would be justice.
Scoters, skate boarders, bicyclist, vehicle & truck drivers, roadways, highways, byways, airwaves, tweeter, Facebook, social media, space traffic & satellites. What's the problem? Jobie Steppe
I hate this scooters, i been about to get hit by this twice this month on the sidewalk, we have to do something about, every time a go for a walk with my kids im looking everywhere to not be surprise by this fast scooters, please lets do something, if they use the street i dont really care what happend to them, but not on the sidewalk.
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