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Post by usmcdoc on Feb 5, 2012 8:35:30 GMT -5
Talk about a liability suit! This a statement from a Scooter sales site...
"Not only does this motor scooter cost less than a car, but it can also out maneuver any 4-wheeled vehicle. Imagine driving through a traffic jammed street, slipping in between stopped cars and getting to your destination early, unlike those in their cars, who will surely be late. There are so many economic advantages to this gas powered scooter that they can't all possibly be mentioned here."
Wow brilliant suggestion! Yer traveling 35 mph bobbing and weaving around cars.....until somebody opens the door to check out the traffic jam.....move their vehicle or any of a number of other things. *SPLAT*..... I think I am gonna try it....I've always wanted to see what the underside of an 18 wheeler looks like... :stumped:
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Post by stepthrutuner on Feb 5, 2012 9:23:46 GMT -5
It would be cool if lane splitting were legal everywhere as it is in California. I assume good drivers there learn to watch for two wheelers. Yeah, it is dangerous if cagers aren't aware of the situation but it is practiced in many countries all over the world.
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Post by thunderkat59 on Feb 5, 2012 9:45:41 GMT -5
with reservations I must agree with the scooter people. My scoot(bicycle too) gets me around the city way faster than a car. Its up to the rider to assess risks and ride accordingly, but as a tool, I feel the scoot cant be beat !
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vvtr
Scoot Enthusiast
Posts: 243
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Post by vvtr on Feb 5, 2012 10:05:50 GMT -5
is legal here, within reason, as long as the rider exercises caution and respect for other road users...
last year, going through the centre of london, i couldnt believe the difference on the ped.
the 2-3 mile journey through the blackwall tunnel can take hours in the car, but on the peds we hardly slowed at all.
is a bit of a dodgy ad though.... sort of like selling a bike on the strength of its ability to wheelie or pull endos lol!
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Post by Fox on Feb 5, 2012 10:17:54 GMT -5
I'm in Los Angeles and I do it sometimes but not at 35. It's more scary to me riding down a narrow street next to parked cars cause car doors fly open more when they are parked than when they are traveling or stopped in traffic but when I'm splitting lanes I do worry about that.
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Post by lauriejennifer on Feb 5, 2012 10:39:51 GMT -5
I am all about lanesplitting. It's statistically safer. You are more like to get squished when you're lost in the pack. In countries where lanesplitting is legal (most of the entire rest of the world, outside of America), studies show that .03% of motorcycle crashes occurred when the rider was lanesplitting. Compare that to the over 30% that happened when the rider was hit from behind.
There are safe and reasonable ways to lanesplit. There are things you watch for, tricks to help you stay more visible, etc. I am all about it. Better to go to the front and get out of there, rather than stay trapped in the pack of slow moving death tanks being piloted by distracted drivers. Car drivers these days are like drunken bulls in a china shop.
Think of it as taking the express lane at the grocery store. You have fewer items, so there's a special line for people like you. The also benefits the people with a big cartful of groceries, because it's one less person in their line. They can whine about it being "not fair," but that's a very silly, childish understanding of what "fair" means.
The "someone will open their door" thing is practically urban legend. About all you'll get is the occasional honk. Most people aren't going to commit a felony in front of a bunch of witnesses. And if people are truly that angry about it, then they should probably start riding. Two wheels moves the soul and is epic stress relief.
Here's how I lanesplit. It's all about speed timing (not too fast or too slow) and watching your lane position compared to the cars on either side. Avoid pacing in a blind spot and try to pass when cars are side by side (they are less like to attempt to change lanes if there is a car in the other lane and not a "gap"):
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Post by 90GTVert on Feb 5, 2012 10:47:52 GMT -5
From spending too much time on YouTube lane splitting seems fine in an area where it's legal and people are accustomed to it if you stay alert and cautious. It would terrify me here. I'm lucky if I can drive a car in my lane without another car creeping over or cutting me off. Riding on the shoulder on the scoot people drift over at me, and that's with me having basically a whole lane. No way I wanna be in the middle of these drivers.
For faster scooter vs car or bike, M13 on YouTube did a comparison of him riding to work in Taiwan on his scooter and his Ninja. I can't seem to find it now, but the scooter was faster. Kinda different circumstances though. He can lane split on either 2 wheeler, but scooters get their own lane there and stuff like that. Of course if you live in the country like me, a 50cc scoot is way slower to get around. Traffic is not a concern, speed is.
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Post by lauriejennifer on Feb 5, 2012 10:52:36 GMT -5
I would only lanepslit on my lil scoot in the inner city, in heavy traffic. Like you said, there's just not enough power there. On the motard, though? That's a different story. You have the horsepower and the epic oversized disc brakes to get you out of trouble.
It's all about watching people's mirrors and front tires, too. That's a great visual clue that someone's about to do something dumb. And a lot of people seem to be out of blinker fluid these days...
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Post by lshigham on Feb 5, 2012 11:42:35 GMT -5
You guys want to try lane splitting when there's only one lane for each direction, that's certainly hairy. Still, it's possible and I'm not the only one round here that does it.
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Aaron420e
Scoot Enthusiast
2008 Keeway F-ACT Racing
Posts: 430
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Post by Aaron420e on Feb 5, 2012 13:05:43 GMT -5
You guys want to try lane splitting when there's only one lane for each direction, that's certainly hairy. Still, it's possible and I'm not the only one round here that does it. I've lanesplit on two lane roads before but, I don't make it a habit. (against oncoming traffic) I do lanesplit all the time but only if I feel safe. I am always paranoid that someone is going to not see me and rear end me. Much safer inbetween cars. |
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vvtr
Scoot Enthusiast
Posts: 243
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Post by vvtr on Feb 5, 2012 13:26:11 GMT -5
You guys want to try lane splitting when there's only one lane for each direction, that's certainly hairy. . here's some typical uk single carriageway roads, last summer. the ride came to an abrupt end when the guy on the yellow vtr hit a bridge :/ vimeo.com/26889435 |
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Post by jmkjr72 on Feb 5, 2012 13:34:15 GMT -5
and in the rest of the work people are more aware of 2 wheelers then in the us
we are a car auclter not a 2 wheeler culture like europe and asia
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Post by lauriejennifer on Feb 5, 2012 13:39:28 GMT -5
They may be "more aware," but, like I said, even in areas where it's legal, rear end accidents still account for 30% of motorcycle crashes, whereas lanesplitting is only .03%. You would think they'd have a better time seeing you when you're right in front of them, but no. Also, the sort of "glancing blows" at relatively low speed that account for most lanesplitting accidents are not nearly as dangerous or deadly as becoming a motorcycle sandwich, or having someone try to turn in front of you, because they thought you were a "gap" between the car in front of you and the car behind you.
I lanesplit *because* I know they're not watching for me. You don't want to end up like this guy:
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Aaron420e
Scoot Enthusiast
2008 Keeway F-ACT Racing
Posts: 430
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Post by Aaron420e on Feb 5, 2012 14:20:12 GMT -5
I lanesplit *because* I know they're not watching for me. You don't want to end up like this guy: Thats what I'm afraid of. At least he was OK. |
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Post by lshigham on Feb 5, 2012 14:31:00 GMT -5
You guys want to try lane splitting when there's only one lane for each direction, that's certainly hairy. . here's some typical uk single carriageway roads, last summer. the ride came to an abrupt end when the guy on the yellow vtr hit a bridge :/ vimeo.com/26889435They aren't typical roads, they are in far too good a condition :rofl: |
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