Should I buy my daughter a scooter / moped?

pigpen

I did read your posts.. you hadn't read mine or you would know the examples I offered were close family members and wouldn't have said my nephew was killed because he was incompetant, which may not be how you meant it to sound but that is how it read.. and the husband of a friend (traffic officer).. all I could see was you passing blame for accidents to the bike riders. Esp. in quoting a portion of a post without reading the background.

Given the recent events in my family I am sure you can understand this is pretty emotive for me anyway (the court case regarding my nephew is ongoing 16 months after his death )

onlyroz

Of course you can ride defensively, to minimise the chance of accidents, but there are a few things that some of us are forgetting here - firstly this thread was about the merits of a 16 year old riding a moped. Not a chance, in my family, I'm afraid. There's a world of difference between a youth who has just passed their test (or is even driving provisionally) and an experienced adult. And also (as many have said) there are going to be unavoidable accidents which, by their nature, will be much worse if you're riding a bike than when you're in a car. And of course nobody's perfect and people do make mistakes (I've bumped cars into my fair share of bollards) - but the chances of walking away from a bike accident are much slimmer.

anguk

My OH is an amputee, at the artificial limb clinic he goes to all the other amputees have either been involved in some sort of freak accident, have a medical condition/illness which has resulted in an amputation or moped/motorcycle riders.

I was once told by a cbt instructor that there's 2 types of rider, the ones who have had an accident and the ones who are going to have an accident. And mopeds are called Donor Mobiles by many A&E staff.

Would I buy my son or daughter a moped? No way.

pajama

I would never buy my daughter one. Went to pick her up from college today to be turned around by the police because the road was closed due to an accident. When daughter caught me up further down the road I asked her why was the road closed and she said a lad had been smashed into by a car. His helmet was on the floor all smahed in and she said his motorbike was a wreck. Would never settle if a child of mine was out on a scooter.They may ride it perfectly well, it's the other drivers that worry me.

wongstack

Thanks for all the replies

I have decided she can only have one if it is a cabin style scooter, or one with a roof, like this



The normal one she wanted was only £550 brand new, 50cc

The one with the roof costs £3,500

I told her I'd match whatever she saves so we'll see how we go

By the time she's saved up she will probably be old enough to get a car anyway

[Deleted User]

tbourner wrote: »

No, you prepare to stop but plan to continue (as you should always do on the road), and move over to the side of the lane you're in. If he pulls out you can either stop (if there's space/time) or just go past on the far edge of your lane - the only possible way you would get in trouble is if you're going too fast, and the truck pulling out to completely block your lane happens in a time that is shorter than your stopping distance.

pigpen wrote: »

Pile of crap... ...

Actually the technique describe above is in the police motorcycle handbook.

Alias_Omega

Yes, is my answer.

At 16, I had a 50cc motorcycle, it wasnt until i was 20 that i decided to pass my car test.


A cheap known brand 50cc scooter will do, aslong as its cheap enough to repair / replace with TPFT insurnace.

Many a time i would come off the bike at low speeds through my own stupidity, or in bad weather during winter. I rode that bike in sun, rain, snow, ice. I was fine though, as i had all the protective gear.

It wont protect you when its hung up in your bedroom, as i was told...


My answer is yes..

Alias_Omega

and now a post for the "Anti-Bike" posters....


Through my whole family, we have had bikes. When my mum was pregnant with me, she had a Honda C90 bike, when i was 16 i had a bike, when my sister was 16, she had a bike, when my brother was 16, he had a bike.

When my wife was pregnant, she went on the back of my bike, and when my son is big enough (hopefully aged 4), i will buy him a bike (PW50) too. Infact, as a write this he has a 3/4 size electric motorbike in the garden.


If you have never been a biker, or been on a bike then you will never know what the true risks are. You do of course have the "power ranger" idiots who appear to think they are on the racetrack on a sunday afternoon which bring the biker name down, but also you have the day-day riders who commute to work & back as its not economical to run/own a car.

Not every accident is caused by a biker, or even by a car driver. Riding a bike is hazardous by having 2 wheels, but no worse than a cyclist is. You still have to consider cars that pull out, diesel spills on the road when wet, the hazards of cold weather / winter riding. But you also have the ability to dodge in and out of traffic, and enjoy the nice weather in the summer.

Motorcycles can be as dangerours as Cars....its the idiots that is in charge of them that causes the problems.


A 3/4 year old's perfect motorcycle (including stablizers - Picture taken from Google)

tbourner

peachyprice wrote: »

tbourner is obvioulsy lucky that he has never encountered such pillocks on the road, but to suggest that they are so easily avoided is frankly insulting to those of us who have family members who have.

Well I've been on the roads for 12 years, I must have met some of them, I've certainly met people who pull out in front of you, don't indicate, speed, cut you up, and obviously the potentials who are on the phone, txting and eating!!

pigpen wrote: »

I did read your posts.. you hadn't read mine or you would know the examples I offered were close family members and wouldn't have said my nephew was killed because he was incompetant, which may not be how you meant it to sound but that is how it read..

Actually I chose not to respond to anything mentioning personal experience, as I know my way of explaining things has a way of causing offence even in real life and not just on forums - that's why the one time I did quote your story I apologised in advance for any offence (when I posted the YouTube link).
Again, I'm sorry if I've caused any offence I don't intend to, that's why I keep saying there are exceptions to every incident, and there are always things you won't be able to control. But my main point is simply that the MAJORITY or accidents COULD be prevented if the rider knows how to do it - I don't mean being incompetent or being unaware, I mean being trained in the correct way to avoid accidents - Bikesafe and RoSPA and IAM courses can do this. There are people who have been riding for 40 years who still don't have this knowledge so it's nothing to do with being incompetent.

Also, in case you were wondering, I don't consider myself a know it all, I'm still scootering on my CBT, I haven't even done my full licence let alone any advanced courses, so I'm in the most danger on the roads and know full well I'm likely to be knocked off at some point - that's why I wear full gear and why I've spent hours researching advanced techniques.

[Deleted User]

tbourner wrote: »

...

Also, in case you were wondering, I don't consider myself a know it all, I'm still scootering on my CBT, I haven't even done my full licence let alone any advanced courses, so I'm in the most danger on the roads and know full well I'm likely to be knocked off at some point - that's why I wear full gear and why I've spent hours researching advanced techniques.

I have been riding for years. I have a full licence and done both road and off-road training, including advanced techniques and I know there is always new stuff to learn.

When you pass your test try doing an off-road course and you will see how easy it is to ride on the road in comparison. Helps if you are taller though, at 5' 8" (tallish for a woman) I can only just touch the floor on off-roaders. You will also learn loads of techniques useful for riding on road too.