Left Turns at Intersections: A Scooterist's Nightmare

In the most recent issue of Scoot!, I wrote an article about scooter safety. In it I noted that the most dangerous place for a scooter is an intersection. A car driver turning left in front of a scooterist/motorcyclist is the most common accident. For proof you need not look further than the news:
2/23/09: Man on motorscooter struck by car in Florida
2/27/09: Oakland Woman Arrested in San Francisco Scooter Crash
3/3/09: Woman Dies Following Friday Crash in Tennessee
3/11/09: Scooter Struck by Vehicle

Now, I don't bring this up to scare anyone. I know many riders who haven't had this type of accident. But, of those who have had accidents, this sort ranks at the top. It can also be a deadly accident.

What can you do to protect yourself at an intersection?

1) make yourself more visible: most motorists that turn left in front of a rider claim to have not seen the rider. Wear a bright helmet and clothing (especially with highly reflective trim) and keep your hand ready to hit your bright headlights and honk your horn. In congested cities like Los Angeles, I have flashed my lights & honked at intersections to make sure I am noticed.

2) mind your position in the road: if you are too far over or tailgating the car in front of you, you hinder your chances of being seen. Give a reasonable berth for other cars and for you to be seen, and escape if needed.

3) use your eyes: scan for cars in all lanes, and when entering an intersection look at the oncoming cars to gauge if they are looking for you or are otherwise distracted.

4) be scooter psychic: my way of saying that you need to develop a sense of human behavior based on body language of the drivers around you. For example, someone looking down at their cell phone most likely won't see you. A car in the oncoming lane that slows down at an intersection with a green light may still be turning even if they forgot to put on their turn signal.

For more tips on how to be a safer, smarter rider, check out my article in issue #49 with Carlos Alazraqui on the cover.

Scooterist Needs Your Help

From Scooter Relief:

[San Francisco] Bay Area scooterist Astrid Molzer-Gunter is in the ICU in critical condition after being hit by a drunk driver on Thursday night, riding home from a club meeting. Her friends from the San Francisco Scooter Girls have asked for donations to support what is clearly going to be an expensive and trying recovery.

Scooter Relief raised money for Scoot! Advertising Director Josh Rogers when he was injured last year which made it possible for him to pay some medical bills and living expenses while he was hospitalized and recovering from a terrible accident. It's a good cause!

UPDATE: It appears that Astrid had one of her legs amputated below the knee. This tragedy will probably involve lots of therapy and a mountain of medical bills. Please help if you can.

Things I Hope Happen in 2009

As I mentioned earlier in the week, I want to post a list of things to look forward to in 2009. It's not a forecast, just a wish list of sorts. Feel free to leave comments with your scooter-related wishes for 2009.

1) Another scooter sales boom over the Spring/Summer
2) Continued awareness of a scooter as a smart, economical transportation choice
3) More women scooterists!
4) More experienced, qualified riders who take proper training
5) Less scooter accidents, injuries and fatalities (see above)
6) Less scooter club politics and polarization
7) More FUN rallies
8) More time for April to travel to those fun rallies (!)
9) More scooterists making custom scooters (let's see some cool murals!)
10) More celebrities and influential folks coming out of the "scooter closet" [Let's hear it for Carlos Alazraqui, our current cover story!]
11) More cool riding clothing for the ladies
12) More motorcycle/scooter parking
13) More people subscribing to Scoot! (I can be a little selfish, can't I?)

Blog entry soundtrack: "The Shadow of Love" by The Damned

Rain, winter weather can be dangerous to scooters

This past weekend a scooterist in my area lost his life in a crash. Recent rain on a slick mountain road was to blame. Safety in riding is one of my main concerns when gong out in less-than-ideal weather. Often, I just skip riding if it is raining. I'm a notorious slowpoke, so you don't have to tell me twice to slow down. I've got nothing to prove; I just want to have fun getting to my destination.
Each year, Josh sends out a list of rainy weather riding tips. I'll reprint them here with some notes of my own.

Stay safe out there fellow scooterists!

1: Stay out of the middle of the lane as it is where cars drip oil and fluids making it very slippery.Very important during the first few rains.

2: As much fun as it is, try not to drive through puddles. It reduces your ability to brake and makes everything more slippery. Besides you never know how deep a hole may be under the puddle

3: Show extra caution when turning

4: Be extremely careful when riding over metal grates/plates and manhole covers they become very slippery. if you can avoid them, do so. Whatever you do don't slam on the brakes while you are going over one. Also avoid leaves as they can be slick and plentiful during fall/winter.

5: Make sure you have the proper tire pressure

6: Get a riding suit even if its one of those plastic rain slick things. The worst part about riding in the rain is getting wet.

7: Do not put your hands/gloves in plastic bags or the like as you will compromise your grip and may slip off of the bars.

8: Make sure all of your lights work, especially your taillight and brake light. Rain reduces visibility.

9: A fullface helmet will keep you dry and keep rain and road gunk from getting on your face or in your eyes.

10: An anti-fog liner in side your visor will keep your visor clear. You can also get antifog solution for eyeglasses.

11. A scooter skirt will keep your pants dry and your lower body warmer.

Did you know.....?

From this week's "Did You Know" corner....mo-pedding is against the rules for NBA players. Well, I think that also extends to scooters as evidenced by the recent hullabaloo with Monta Ellis, who recently became the highest paid player on the Golden States Warriors NBA team.

He soon after injured his ankle in a "mo-ped" accident and tried to cover it up since riding is a strictly prohibited activity in NBA contracts. Who wouldda thunk that riding was so dangerous as to be strictly prohibited.

Us scooter & moped riders are f*ing insane....livin' on the edge!

Maybe we should send Ellis one of our cool Scoot buttons?

More scooterists needs your help...

If you have received the recent issue, you have seen our article on Josh's accident and the immense financial hardship it has caused. Josh was so moved by the generosity of the scootering community that he wrote a piece on the importance of Scooter Relief.org.

Two new scooterists have joined the ranks of those who need help. Dan Hittenmark of the Rovers RC in Detroit was the victim of a hit and run accident. According to Scooter Relief:

He was taken up to St. Johns hospital over on Moross, with 7 broken ribs, his arm broken in 3 places, the wrist of his other hand broken, broken clavicle, and broken pelvis. He's already undergone a surgery or two to install metal rods in his arm to aid healing.

In spite of all of this, he's in good spirits ... clubmates have been making trips over to see him at the hospital and he's one gigantic bruise from the neck down.

[Dan is self employed] making custom engraved pieces to sell on eBay, which he can't do if he's completely disabled.

Portland scooterist Steve Sellers is a mechanic at P-Town Scooters and a heck of a fun guy. I first met him when he lived in my home town of Santa Cruz. Steve is experiencing some serious medial issues that are hard to address without insurance. Scooter Relief's entry for him says:

Our friend, Steve Sellers, went into the hospital on Saturday June 28, 2008 with congestive heart failure. While in the hospital he has suffered two strokes, one minor and one major. He was left paralyzed on his right side and unable to speak.
Although his situation is improving every day, his financial situation is only getting worse.

A couple of weeks ago, Josh told me he donated directly to Steve's fund, which says a lot since Josh is still recovering from his situation and isn't bringing in any money. I'll be sending in my contribution this week and encourage anyone who can spare some funds to help out these scooterists in their time of need.

Josh Walks!

Josh and Jon at R. Black signing over the weekend.

I realized that I hadn't posted an update on Josh's condition in a while. So here it goes....

Josh' recovery has been going fairly well. A few weeks ago, he was nearly walking unaided, something they said would take about 6 months. He was ahead of schedule, but had to undergo another surgery on his right knee which has all its CLs (ACL, PCL etc) messed up in the accident. So, under the knife he went, When he got out he was unable to walk again. Two steps forward, one step back. He has been recuperating and taking physical therapy. He can now hobble around a bit if he uses his brace. They gave him some heavy-duty pain meds, which he learned *must* be taken on time or else mind-crushing pain ensues. It looked like the surgery went well & he should recover nicely.

Josh's biggest concern is the nerve damage and lack of full motion of his left arm. It was a result of his shoulder being disconnected. The doctors hope that his nerves will regenerate and fix themselves, but no one knows for sure. Not much "therapy" for that, but they try to measure his progress with shock tests and other creepy sounding metrics.

Our next issue is at the printers and should be arriving this week. It has the story on Josh's accident and some great safety info. It should be in shops by the 2nd week of August, and to subscribers shortly thereafter. Keep an eye out for it.

Interesting article about crashing

I came across this article about why Patriot-News writer Jerry Dubbs no longer rides a scooter. He had a crash that put him off of riding for good.

When reading the headline, "Ex-scooter rider remembers thrill" I immediately thought that it was going to be a story about an inexperienced rider who got gun-shy after a spill, which, I guess it kind of is. Although after reading it, I felt bad for being so judgmental before I had a chance to read it. I gotta stop doing that...

I hear stories about people who ride and then have an accident and can't get past it. When I had my accident, I wondered if I would be one of those people. Would I be too scared to get back on? Would I be too paranoid to enjoy the ride?

Luckily, I wasn't. It helped that the circumstances of my accident were so odd that it was unlikely to be duplicated. But I also think that I had a few things going for me:

1) I was young, so I was able to bounce back relatively quickly
2) My injuries weren't serious. Painful as heck and I could barely drive, climb stairs, or raise my right arm up for more than 2 seconds, but they didn't require hospitalization or anything other than gauze, ibuprofen and time to heal.

3) I was surrounded by folks who had it a lot worse in the past. My boyfriend had broken his pelvis and had to re-learn to walk when he had his accident. Tony V had been in a coma from his accident. If they could ride again, it gave me inspiration to get back on.

3) I realized my mistakes. The accident wasn't my fault, but there were things that I could have done to mitigate the damage. Wearing better gear, remembering to put my gloves back on after a stop to the ATM. My injuries would have been much less had I prepared appropriately.

4) Knowing what I did right. I was glad that I wore a full-face helmet. I was pleased that I didn't put my hands out in front of me as I fell. I was calm enough during the accident to know that I should just ride it out and not panic.

So, I can see why I was able to bounce back. Jerry Dubbs mentions growing up in the late 50s & early 60s, which puts him more in my mom's demographic than in mine. I wonder if he rode with others who encouraged him to get back on a scooter? Ultimately, it boils down to this: it's a personal choice. Some people choose to get back on the scooter, others don't. Riding a scooter, motorcycle, horse, bicycle can be dangerous. How we deal with accidents is personal. At least Jerry didn't forget the good parts of his time as a scooterist.

How do we make car drivers aware?

I'm not one to get all uppity and self-righteous about cars vs. scooter as modes of transport. I often hear scooterists speaking with disdain about "cagers" as if driving a car was some sort of a crime. I own a car. I love my car, but I also love my scooters. So, for me it's not an either or, it's a case of what is appropriate for the situation and my mood.

This post comes from someone who drives both a scooter and car. When I drive and I see a motorcycle coming up behind me to split lanes, I move over in my lane to give the bike more room. When I see a group of scooters/motorcycles, I let them pass so that they can go on their way and I can go on mine. Also, when I ride my scooter, I do what I can to be mindful of the cars around me. I do whatever I can to make sure that they see me. I try to anticipate what they will do in order to avoid being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

So, it really upsets me to read so many news items of scooterists being seriously injured or killed by accidents with cars. When Josh had his accident in March, there was no chance against the car that came head-on into his lane. Any scooterists that has been scooting for an extended period of time knows the typical accidents:
* a car going in the opposite direction turning left in front of you especially at an intersection or when pulling into a driveway
* a car next to you changing lanes into your lane
* a car pulling out of a driveway

So my question is, how do we make cars more aware of scooters and motorcycles? How do we as regular folks make car drivers look for two-wheeled vehicles when they drive? I can't do that much with Scoot! as I'm preaching to the choir in the magazine. I have a few suggestions, but would love to hear what you think:

1) write letters to local newspaper editors about the need for cars to be aware of two-wheeled vehicles

2) Ask local news outlets (TV, radio, print) to cover motorcycle visibility, especially when a local rider is injured. News outlets focus on timely news, so such a local angle would make it a more compelling story.

3) Grassroots local efforts. If you belong to a scooter club, perhaps you can create a local campaign to increase awareness. Hook up with a local motorcycle club and have an event where you encourage car driver to be aware. Maybe appear in a parade and hand out fliers to increase awareness.

4) Put motorcycle awareness bumper stickers on your car to get folks in that element.

Got any other ideas on what we can do to increase awareness?

Safety Commandments

II was buzzing around this new site, For Car Drivers, from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation to raise motorcycle awareness among car drivers. They posted this list of "commandments" from the Vatican for drivers, which I found both odd and comforting at the same time...

The Vatican Weighs In

No wonder even the Vatican has called for a return to sanity behind the wheel. They've put their advice in the form of the following "Ten Commandments for Drivers" and we present them here not to endorse any particular religion but to demonstrate the universal concern over the needless waste of human life in traffic collisions:

1. You shall not kill.
2. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.
3. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.
4. Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, especially victims of accidents.
5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination and an occasion of sin.
6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.
7. Support the families of accident victims.
8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.
9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.
10. Feel responsible toward others.

Fundraiser for Josh

I went to the fundraiser for Josh on Sunday and had the oil changed on Scoot!'s SYM HD200. I find it a pain to change the oil without a chock r way to tie it down, so this event was perfect timing.

There were about 40-50 people there. Clubs like Vespa Club Los Gatos, San Francisco Scooter Girls and the Royal Bastards were there to see Josh, wish him well and have a BBQ & oil change session. Curt Fargo brought a fancy BBQ and his trailer filled with goodies and his tools. When I checked with him last he said that he had done about 10 oil changes in a row.

Curt was able to pause in the action to see Bosco (our postal volunteer and San Jose Vespa rep) get his head and grizzly beard shaved. That shaving raised about $500. That's great and he didn't even have to take his clothes off!

I'm not sure how much was raised on Sunday, but when I put my cash in I saw lots of $20 bills in there.

I'll see Josh tonight at our Scoot! meeting and will get an update on his condition and medical bills. For now, here are two pics from the event.

Local Fundraiser for Josh

Curt Fargo and Bosco (Scoot!'s volunteer mailman) have combined forces to do a fund raiser for Josh. If you are in the Silicon Valley and need an oil change, come on by.

DATE: Sunday April 6th

TIME: 11:00 AM Sharp Scooter Ride
1:00 PM Oil Changes & BBQ
4:00 PM Oil Changes Stop
5:00 PM We let Boscos Neighbors have back their complex.

LOCATION: 250 N 1st. Street
Campbell, CA 95008

This fund raiser is open to all, you can partake in any part or all of it. At 11am sharp we will be doing a local scooter ride (staying out of the hills) and afterwards at 1pm we will have a Hamburger, Hot Dog and Chicken BBQ. At 1pm we will also be doing oil changes on Modern Vespas.

All of this is FREE but hopefully you will ad some $$$'s to the donation can.

Reminder: Wear a Helmet

I often see article about scooterists being seriously hurt in crashes. Most of these articles I find through internet searches. I follow the link from the 2-sentence lead to find out if the article cites what type of gear the scooterist was wearing. Here is a recent one from the Arizona Republic:

2 injured in scooter crash

Zach Fowle
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 21, 2008 10:09 AM
A man and a woman suffered serious head injuries Thursday when a car collided with their scooter.

Charles Herin, 49, and Christine Flores, 42, were riding a scooter near 15th Avenue and Highland Road when a driver of a Volkswagen sedan failed to yield and crashed into them Thursday afternoon.

Herin is in serious condition and Flores is in critical condition. Neither was wearing a helmet, police said.

Those type of articles burn me up. Nothing about the reporting; everything about the stupidity of someone who doesn't take the most simple form of protection to heart: wear a helmet.

So, it sounds as if the accident was the car driver's fault. Even if the scooterists were practicing the best driving techniques, they couldn't help it if there was another person who is careless, stupid, clueless or just a terrible driver. Wearing a helmet and protective gear give you a chance. Not wearing a helmet puts you at a disadvantage.

Awed by the outpouring of love

I just checked to see what has been raised by the Scooter Relief fund for Josh and was amazed that it was over $14,000. It is really a very touching thing to see scooterists and others coming to the aid of another scooterists who is in a bad situation. I've heard that his contributions have even come from other countries. Amazing.

I visited Josh on Sunday and brought him cards and letters sent to him. He was very moved by how so many people cared about him and his situation. I imagine it must be boring, painful, frustrating, depressing, and dispiriting to be stuck in a hospital bed for weeks on end. Our friend Giggy went over and built several ramps so that Josh coul dmove around in a wheel chair. Hearing that almost made me cry. I know that Giggy is a kind an caring person, but the amount of effort people are making for Josh is truly touching. They are good tears, of course!



I took this photo when I visited him. He has a hospital-style bed and an upgraded Netflix membership. You can see the leg immobilizer on his right leg. He's got a good attitude, even if they had to cut his long hair to make it easier to care for. He said that even 2 weeks after the accident he still had road grit in his hair as he can't shower. Only sponge baths. So away went the hair.

Josh Update

Josh's wife, Katie sent out an update to his condition. I'll repost it here:

Hello to all!

Many of you have called or written to know how we are doing and what is going on, so I thought I would do another en masse email to cover all of my bases. I apologize for not addressing you all individually, but I sure you can imagine how long that would take! :-)

Josh is doing well, albeit struggling with the physical limitations of his injuries and the mental struggle of not being able to do what he wants, when he wants, and with any sort of self-reliance. He was discharged from Regional Medical last Monday and has settled nicely into my parents living room in South San Jose. Luckily for us, they had just finished a large-scale remodel of the back of their home and so the room was empty of furniture and large enough to accommodate the hospital bed and other accoutrement's required to help rehabilitate him. Delilah, our Olde English Bulldogge, has moved in with him to keep him company and lift his spirits (although she promptly had an allergy attack and now they have to take care of each other!) Our condo in Downtown San Jose was deemed "too small" for this new lifestyle, so I am desperately trying to find a one-story home that we can all move into together to help restore our happy little family unit.

Josh's mother, Lynn, has graciously come down from her home on California's Northern Coastline to take care of Josh while I go back to work. Her generosity and patience in managing his day-to-day needs and requirements has been more of a blessing than I could ever hope for. While she can't stay forever, I am certainly grateful for the weeks that she is putting in to get us "back on our feet". Since I have returned to work, life has seemed to evolve into a constant spin of driving, working, visiting and trying to sleep. Hopefully it will slow to steady pace that we can all keep up with much easier!

While we have somewhat left the woods, we are definitely not out of the forest yet. Josh's injuries turned out to be more severe than we had originally thought and will require additional surgeries in the near future. In total, he had a compound open-leg fracture to his left femur, a compound fracture to his left radius, a dislocation of his left wrist, a dislocation of his left shoulder, a fracture to his left shoulder, and he tore the ACL and PCL in his right knee. His left knee is badly swollen, but doctor's are suggesting an MRI in the next week or so to determine further damage. Surgery on his right knee is scheduled within the end of the month and he has an appt to go in later this week and have 20-something staples removed from his legs. This has drastically increased his recovery time, and we are now looking at 9-12 months before he can walk unaided....

All in all, we are doing well. Not fabulous, but not horrible either. This has definitely been a large transition for us and a test to our marriage, relationship, communication and friendships. We both so appreciate the outpouring of support and concern that has come our way and wanted each of you to know just how much love we have realized in these last 3 weeks. This will probably be my last update for some time; I don't want to crowd your inbox's with our every move! :-) Thank you again to each and every one of you for everything that you've done, emailed, called, etc. It's times like these when you realize the full-extent of your friendships with others!

Message from Josh

Got home from the scooterist meeting tonight & found this message from Josh:

I'm indeed out of the hospital. I'm at the in-laws in south San Jose
the door is open for visits.

You all know I'm pretty f*cked up. but I don't have many needs right
now I'll keep you posted on additional needs. I'd say same standards
apply visitors till 9pm

thank to everyone for their support and visits.
in short I'm not going to be mobile for 2-3 months and wont walk for 6.
everything is well on its way to being resolved but I just wanted you
guys to know where I was and that I'm OK (relatively)

just to ensure my safety I've only give the address to VCLG members
and April, so if you want to come pay a visit contact one of them and
we will tell you were you can find me. I heard there was a lot of
trash on the boards and I want to avoid any issues.

Let's hope he has a speedy an complete recovery...

Scoot! Keeps a Rolling, albeit slower pace

Just an update to how things are going at Scoot!.
Fisrt, Josh is still in the hospital. We hope that he will be released on Tuesday or Wednesday. He is having a better time with mobility and was able to get out of his bed with help and sit in a wheelchair for some time today. The hospital will not discharge him until he get in & out of his bed with only 1 person to assist him. He will recuperate at his in-law's home as their house is better suited to mobility issues. Thanks again to everyone who has expressed their well-wishes. It means a lot to Josh and our crew!

The magazine is moving along, although 1/3 of our team has been knocked out of the action. Our next issue is at the printers and we're trying to take over for Josh as far as running the office goes. Currently, we are only processing orders on Sundays and mailing on Mondays. I would suggests against selecting expedited shipping during this time as we cannot ship on that type of schedule.

The content deadline for the next issue is Mar. 15, so get in your contributions, soon. Rally reports, and Show Us Your Scoots contributions can be sent to me.

Well, I'm off to process orders & clean out the cat box. Ah, the fancy life of a magazine editor!

Josh Update

I spoke with Josh today & heard that they fixed his dislocated
shoulder (relocated it?) and discovered a fracture at that time. His MRI
confirmed that his right knee is messed up. An ACL injury, I believe.
So, these developments will only add to his recovery time.

must...get...some....sleep z z z zzzzzzZZZZZZZ

Further update on Josh's condition

I just got this email from Josh's wife, Katie:

Josh is having surgery tomorrow for a dislocated left shoulder and his
MRI today confirms that he ripped his ACL & ECL in his right knee.
Surgery for that injury will be in 3 weeks. This will drastically
increase his recovery period and we will now be looking at close to 9
months before he is walking. Still, can't believe he made it out
alive...

He had been complaining about lots of pain and no wonder...a dislocated shoulder for 2 days...ugh!and both legs with problems. I can only imagine how long it will add to his recovery.

I also heard from another scooterist who was airlifted from an accident that the cost was $26,000. I hope that the motorist has some excellent coverage. Keep it going, folks...

TGB Laser versus Lexus...guess who loses?

If you guessed the Laser, give yourself a pat on the back. This photo from Rich who stayed around long enough to see the scooter get pulled up the steep embankment that it had launched down.