Recent scooter deaths raise safety concerns

Riders advised to use caution on roads

By SEAN PATRICK NORRIS, Staff Writer

Published 12/03/08

After two deaths in scooter accidents in less than a week, police are asking motorists to use more caution on the roads.

Judy Wright, 50, of Pasadena was the second motor scooter rider to die recently in a crash.

She was driving her Kymco scooter south on Magothy Beach Road in Pasadena at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday when she hit a Toyota Scion in the D Street intersection, county police said.

"It was a freak and terrible tragic accident," said Steven Goodman, Ms. Wright's nephew. "That was her transportation and she was never the type of person to depend on anyone else to get back and forth from work. She...

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Misinformed...big shock - 2008-12-05 15:51:05

T.Jackson, you were misinformed by just the type of clueless MVA authority that would be administering any new laws or regulations. MD law says that any scooter/moped with an engine smaller than 50cc's, most on the market today are 49.9cc's, do NOT need to be registered, and no helmet is required. They may be parked in the same manneer as a bicycle. For all intents and purposes, and in the eyes of the law, they are basically bicycles. Helmets are advised, given how badly people drive, but there is no law to the contrary...personally I'd like to see law enforcement spend their time looking for the people who are stealing scooters, not those riding them...

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Gideon W. - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral

the law - 2008-12-04 22:43:31

Back in the early to mid 90's I had a 50cc Honda scooter. Before I got it, I checked with the MVA and was informed I needed to register it, get a motorcycle license and had to wear a helmet. I see people riding low powered and high powered scooters with no helmets and no license plates - some of them on roads where they can't even maintain the minimum speed. I am not surprised at the deaths. Not surprised that scooter riding isn't being regulated, either. One would hope these tragic deaths will prompt law enforcement to uphold the law and prompt riders and drivers to be more cautious.

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T. Jackson - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral

Ramarro please! - 2008-12-04 19:10:49

Scooters are already regulated as bicycles as they have tiny engines. You want MORE rules and Regulations for bicycles too? How about a mandatory safety course for walking your dog or jogging? More idiotic government regulation, laws, taxes and permits solves nothing. Common sense and information works wonders though.

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Emma G. - West River, MD - Karma: Neutral

Bad drivers... - 2008-12-04 15:41:13

A bad driver is a bad driver, be it on a scooter or in a car. Laws can't change that...If you are on a scooter, you need to be ALWAYS aware of the cars around you, assume they cannot see you, and to a certain degree need to be aggressive/proactive...thinking how do I avoid getting hit? Also, people need to stay off their cell phones unless it's important. Twice I have been almost hit on my scooter, and both times the drivers were cluelessly jabbering away on their cells...

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Gideon W. - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral

Clarification - 2008-12-04 11:13:10

What IS the law for scooters? My experience is that riders range from adults using the scooter for a low-cost car alternative to kids upgrading from bicycles. I watch for them as I do bicyclists; unfortunately I often see with scooter drivers a casualness with traffic law (as well as the laws of physics) that make it difficult to share the road.

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John Myers - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral

scooters - 2008-12-04 06:00:44

As the scooters have greatly increased in numbers there should be some further rules for operation and certainly a mandatory safety training course. A course may well save lives whereas the rider has at least some comprehension of the machine, its limitations and road dangers.

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ramarro smith - windsor mill, MD - Karma: Neutral

Awareness - 2008-12-03 18:23:44

Folks,

Your SA/Situational Awareness needs to be turned up to MAXIMUM on a scooter. It's NOT a small motorcycle or a powered bicycle. Your brakes are not as good, it's not easy to 'dump' like a bike and you can't accelerate out of a situation. I love my Sun-L Scooter but one has to be extremely careful. Perhaps the Law can be changed to allow mounting of a strobe light on these vehicles for better visibility ?

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Emma G. - West River, MD - Karma: Neutral