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A Kashmiri Muslim family rides in Srinagar, India. Photo by AP
Scooters are a favorite mode of transportation in many parts of the world. The variety of uses for a scooter are only limited by a rider’s creativity (and bravery!)
The New York Times Globespotters blog wrote an ode to this humble vehicle, Riding the roads as the Romans do. The article helpfully provides a bunch of leads on where to get a good deal on a scooter rental in the Italian capital.
More interesting is the debate it sparked in the readers’ comments. Many were concerned about safety and Rome’s traffic, while others pooh-poohed these worries.
Taiwan, where I live now, has a very active scooter culture. I’ve ridden on scooters driven by locals and long-time expats. I’ve never attempted to drive one myself, for fear getting into an accident. All my Western friends here who ride scooters have been in accidents. They have the war stories and the scars to prove it.
I think local people all operate on the same wavelength. They instinctively know how the drivers around them will act and react. A foreigner driving into this is like introducing chaos into an orderly system. The local knows when to accelerate or brake depending on the conditions, but what if the foreigner reacts in a way no other local person would? That’s when accidents happen.
Do you have any idyllic memories of magical rides in exotic lands or harrowing tales of traffic gone awry? Please share your stories in the comments.
@Backpack Foodie & Kim:...
December 11th, 2009 at 4:01 am
Life is either a great adventure, or nothing at all. I’ll always go for the scooter
Great picture – many times I’ve tried to explain how a whole family can fit on a scooter in many parts of the wrold, but a picture is worth 1000 words.
December 11th, 2009 at 4:06 am
I can emphatically say both. When my wife and I were on our way home from China in July, we had the following experience, excerpted from my travelogue;
Finally the sun was setting and it was time we were on our way. We returned the bikes to the hostel, and as we stood on Nanjing Lu waiting for a cab, we were approached by a gentleman on a three-wheeled scooter who offered to give us a ride to the train station. It was the most terrific ride through traffic. We arrived much faster than we ever would have in a cab. Red lights were run with abandon, and we negotiated cars and pedestrians within an inch of clearance. It was well worth paying double the cost of a taxi for the sheer reckless joy of being such an exposed part of the crazy Chinese traffic mentality where lights and lanes are merely suggestions.
December 11th, 2009 at 7:10 am
In the early 1970s(!) I traveled from the highlands of Scotland to the islands of Greece for one year on a 150cc Lambreta motor scooter. Only had to change the gear wire twice from over-use. It doesn’t go fast, which is great, because you see and sense the scene better. In a car you have windows and so the outside seems like television half the time. Very mobile, intimate, closer to the land you are passing through than most other means of transport. Except one’s feet, of course.
December 11th, 2009 at 11:15 am
Scooters are a lot of fun and great for the environment. It would be best if travelers left the driving to someone else. Then again, you may want to “jump on” a scooter and see what happens. If anything, you’d have a great travel article about your scooter escapades!
December 11th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Hi Marcus,
I think in any place the locals will be used to and aware of the “local rules of traffic”. If you’re not then the chance of having an accident is greatly increased. I once heard the biggest cause of death for tourists is traffic accidents. As for Taiwan, road traffic safety is such a problem that most people who’ve ridden a scooter including locals has had an accident, and many people know someone who has died on the road. The death rate on Taiwanese road is three times higher than in Europe and the injury rate many times higher.
I once did a complete circumnavigation of Taiwan on a motorcycle. I was the passenger and my Taiwanese friend drove. Understanding the risks, we made a point of driving very carefully. We were lucky that there were no incidents involving other vehicles, but we did crash twice due to bad road conditions after a typhoon! Both times could have been bad, (the first time we came off and slid 10 meters through a mudslide and second time almost went off a collapsed road!) but luckily no injuries.
James.
December 11th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Hi Marcus!
Loved the story. As you know, I’ve had my share of scooter accidents, however my time in Taiwan wouldn’t have been the same without my wheels. I eventually gave it up when I moved to the big city. I agree with Vincent Eaton about scooter travel. It’s slow, but you really get to enjoy your surroundings. I often thing of a scooter trip that I did around Taiwan during Chinese New Year. It was a blast! I don’t know if I’ll ever go back to scooter riding…If I do, I’ll get a full face helmet.
Brynn
December 11th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
The scooters/moped/motobikes are a big reason so many tourists are injured and killed overseas. Southeast Asia is lax on helmets because no one wears them, and it is the only way a family can afford to get around when there is no mass transportation.
I was nervous initially in Cambodia but once I started I got used to it. Seeing a toddler wedged between a mother, father and older brother is something you’ll see all the time.
If you’re going to do when you travel, at least make sure that your travel medical insurance is up to date.
December 12th, 2009 at 4:29 am
Hi folks,
I love scooters! I love the cool paint, the retro styles,the liberty, the way you can get a good pair of NIKE shoes to match your helmet color and instantly out-funk all the people waiting for buses and the people in cars with no style who pick their noses in the privacy behind tinted windows. We expose our big smiley faces, jeans and grab our crotches. I love the way you can zip thru monster cars, down wee lanes and in a second have your best friend hugging on to you and chatting with their head hanging over your shoulder into the wind like a dog out of a car window.
I’ve been driving a scooter for four years and agree that most foreigners from North America in Taiwan are the absolute WORST drivers. But Canadians/Americans are probably the worst drivers in the world. I am proud to say that I drive really fast and yet defensively. I guess its because I’m from Quebec, but I’ve never had a single scrape in Taiwan after driving a scooter everyday after all these years.
December 14th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Marcus,
Hi…tres apposite. As I said when moved to S E Asia I made two rules. “Don’t don’t ride on scooters, and don’t drink the tap water.