Take Scooters seriously?
11 Sep, 2008
31 Comments 
As the price of petrol remains high, many of us are looking at alternatives. While none of us at CarAdvice would dare show up to work on a scooter (a crime punishable by being made to sit in the corner!), VACC, the peak automotive industry body in Victoria, is urging the state governments to wake up and take scooters seriously.
VACC Executive Director, David Purchase said in a statement today that he believes scooters are a cheap, efficient and accessible mode of transport and the state governments need to give scooters the same respect as other vehicles on the roads.
He may have a point. Statistics show that sales of the top ten scooter models in Australia have risen 57 per cent during the first six months of this year, compared to the same period last year.
“But the federal and state governments are still to recognise the true importance of scooters. As well as a cheap alternative to cars, scooter use benefits the environment because they leave a tiny carbon footprint, they reduce congestion on roads and they reduce pressure on city parking spaces.” Mr Purchase said.
Just how exactly can scooters be better recognised? By adding so called “Safe Routes” designed specifically to allow scooters to travel via designated paths. Mr Purchase also believes the addition of safety boxes, access by scooter riders to certain designated bicycle lanes and allowing boxed turns on certain busy intersections will go a long way to promote safer scooting.
Although a somewhat bias question to ask our legion of car fans, but what are your thoughts on the increasing number of scooters on Australian roads?
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September 11th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Most cars I see in the city have one passenger. But, that one passenger has a partner at home and maybe a few kids as well. So if you were to buy a scooter you would have to either own a car as well or be single with no kids. How many self respecting aussie blokes can see themselves riding to work on a scooter, as you said a crime punishable by death.
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September 11th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Sydney city should be like Paris, Florence and the likes around the world, scooters and commercial cars in city centre only 9AM-6PM
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September 11th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
The death toll on the roads will increase significantly if these become mainstream. There are enough people on the roads today that still struggle the grasp the concept of driving. Take away two wheels and things will go pear shaped very quickly.
If two cars hit each other they normally come to a stop. If one scooter hits another, they will career off in another direction until they hit something else and this will create a domino effect with other scooters….. ever whatch the tour de france and the guy at the front takes a spill?
If the government is looking to reduce the surplus population this is the way to go……. this will also help the environment as there will be less people on the roads after they are all dead.
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September 11th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
If a car hits an SUV, the SUV wins. If an SUV hits a truck, the truck wins. If a truck hits a large earthmoving thing, the thing wins. Maybe we should all drive earthmoving things? What’s their L/100 km? Or maybe I’ll just buy a tank.
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September 11th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Don’t worry about it, buy your SUV, we are all stuffed anyway. Consume as if you don’t care.
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September 11th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
At least scooters are better than road cyclists.
It really annoys me when Im stuck behind a cyclist because there’s not enough room to overtake. Especially when a few metres to the left of the road there is a CYCLING PATH!
Sure in some roads the cyclist has to ride on the road, but when there is a dual lane cycling path on the other side of the kerb I die a little more inside.
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September 11th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Yes…it is economical…But too dangerous
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September 11th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
How is it that you can have a comment with no swear words, with full use of proper english and spelling, and yet it get blocked by the ‘your comment is awaiting moderation’ widget. I’ve even taken out all the words that contain letter combinations like swear words, like m a s s ive. Yet it still gets blocked. So I’ll try my response paragraph by paragraph.
I ride to work on a motorbike (dignity couldn’t suffer a scooter) and you do save a lot of money on fuel and tyre wear, but as was mentioned you can’t live with just a motorcycle (well some do, but not many), as you still need a car for shopping, etc. Personally I think a lot more people should consider riding more often, its a lot more fun than mindless driving and cheaper. Most people that I see drive by themselves, so they are driving 1.3 tonne of car to carry their 80kg selves. HOWEVER if a lot more people are going to start using scooters/motorcycles then in my opinion L’s training will have to be ramped up a lot, currently to get your L’s (and hence get on the road yourself) it is far too easy as all they are testing you on is that you can handle the basic controls in ideal conditions with no traffic. Clearly this is insufficient. Learner training centres don’t expose L platers to riding on the road under supervision of an instructor because of possible litigation if a L plater gets wiped out, but that doesn’t make the alternative of L platers experiencing their first road ride the day they pick up their first bike any better.
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September 11th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
2 wheeled transport will be the solution to a lot of current congestion/environmental issues, however I don’t think the current licensing system is ready for a large increase in scooters/motorcycles.
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September 11th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
There also needs to be a huge attitude change with scooter riders. I see far too many scooter riders who have absolutely no protection on except their open faced helmet with their scarfe around their neck who have obviously been sold the european cafe style vision. Sure a lot of motorcycle riders don’t wear enough gear either, but some scooter riders (probably more drivers than riders, all they do is twist the handle and it goes) are death statistics waiting to happen because the cool image that is sold to them is the turtle neck skivvy and scarfe wearing metros e x ual with his/her open faced helmut riding to the local cafe.
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September 11th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
My last point is why only focus on scooters? Motorcycles offer the same benefits but with the extra versatility of being able to easily ride at highways/freeway speeds. However knowing past trends motorcycles will once again be treated as the scurge of the road and the cause of all of societies wrongdoings.
People spend huge amounts of money to buy a weekend track car that accelerate to 100kmh in under 5 sec, and rave about how porsches let you feel so connected to the road. Almost any motorcycle will achieve the same thing for less than $10k. You can’t feel anymore connected to the road than when your knee is actually touching it as you lean the bike almost onto its pegs. Car enthusiasts are really doing themselves a disservice if they never touch a bike in their lives.
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September 11th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
The law in Vic. should be changed like S/Aust. and QLD? where you can ride a small cc scooter on your car liceanse
The fact is that scooters/motorcycles are way to expensive to register and insure, might as well just get a car [cage] seeing they are near enough to the same cost.
Cheers
F-0
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September 11th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Geine,
You do know this website is called Australian car Advice? Scooters and motorbikes are impractical for the majority, and generally irritate most road users by creating there own lanes and riding between cars stopped at the lights. Anything that can’t accelerate at reasonable pace on a highway would be driven over. Have you seen what a human looks like after they have come off a bike at speed, regardless of what they were wearing or how much rider training they have done, it isn’t pretty. Excuse me if a value my life more than saving a few dollars on fuel.
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September 11th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Salesman,
Yeah, I’m aware, I’ve frequented this site for quite a while, because I love cars AND motorcycles. Why do people think these are mutually exclusive? Motorcycles can’t accelerate on the highway? Hmm, my speedo must be broken, I swear it showed me accelerating to overtake a truck that was dumping dirt everywhere this morning on the way to work, and that was on the highway.
Yes motorcycling is more dangerous than driving, the fatality rate is 20 times higher. About 80% of the later training that motorcyclists get is about danger avoidance and mitigation, ie learning to predict cars doing stupid shit and reducing your risk before the risk occurs. Of course the danger is not just cars, its anything, potholes, oil slicks, animals, dirt, etc. You can still ride in such a way as to reduce this risk, not to the level of a car, but still much lower than the 20 times statistic would indicate.
Irritating road users, you mean car users right? Because cars irritate motorcycle users. Cyclists irritate us both. It goes two ways, we share the road after all. Traffic filtering, well its not illegal in Australia (although crossing a white line without indicating is, making legal lane splitting almost impossible) but in a lot of countries it is legal, why, because it eases congestion. Motorcycles are faster than most cars, so if they are at the front then it doesn’t hold up traffic, it actually eases it. It annoys you because you’re stuck in traffic and they aren’t, if they hit your side mirror then deal with it the same way you deal with any accident.
Frugal, I have no idea what bikes you have been looking at, but for less than $10k you can get a pretty good sports tourer that be more than enough for most people. Just like you don’t need a mercedes C63 to drive to work, you don’t need a superbike either. Registeration is cheaper, and insurance is around the same. So no, it does cost a lot less than a car.
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September 11th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
What the Federal Govt needs to do (somehow) is to legalise small electric or petrol push bikes above 200 watts, say to 500 to 1000 watts Australia wide. Without costly registration and other fees maybe even subsidise a third party insurance scheme.
These bike are extremely frugal on fuel/maintenance and are very cheap to buy or make often less the $1000 and certainly below $2000 all up.
As a city short distance commuter they are ideal and safe as they can go on cycleways etc.
At the moment they are illegal above 200 watts in most states and the marginally useful at that low power rating.
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September 11th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
I totally agree with the comments made by Genie. Also being a frequenter of this site and like genie I love all forms of automotive excellence be it 4 or 2 wheels.
The benefits to traffic and the environment if more people rode scooters and motorbikes would be great. There is no denying that there are some cars on the road todya that can match the fuel consumption of a sportbike, but nothing on four wheel matches the traffic congestion.
The realities are that for the vast majority of our transport needs we do not need a four wheel, multiple seat vehicle, large cargo (ie more then a backpack on a bike) capacity vehicle.
With improved rider training, shifting of general Australian perception of motor and scooter bike riders a lot of benefit could be gained.
Salesmans comment ref acceleration I think is geared towards the 25-50cc scooters and I agree if you cannot accelerate and match the speed of traffic flow on a highway you should be banned.
Oh and too Genies comment ref protective clothing attitude change in Scooter riders! HERE HERE!!!!!60km on tarmac vs skin…. I know which wins… Leather or Kelvar lined denim is the only way.
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September 11th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
why not rename australia “Bangkok” and bring the
“Tuk Tuk’s” over as Taxis too. Pffffft!!!
some people struggle to drive cars which are far more stable than bikes/scooters.
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September 11th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Andrew M I think part of the problem is that in a car you really can just switch off, especially if you have an auto, and I think that inattentiveness is what causes a lot of accidents. On a bike the desire for self-preservation is a remarkable concentration aid. Having said that, I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who simply will never possess the skill to safely control a motorcycle/scooter ever, no matter how hard they try. Thats where a revamped and more thorough learner riding course would come in by weeding those people out.
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September 11th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Genie,
fair comment on switching off causing the accidents.
stats prove you are most likely to crash on a straight road or close to home.
i only buy manuals myself because it feels like you are actually driving it
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September 11th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Personally i think it’s too dangerous to ride a scooter in Australia. In many Asian countries, scooters are very popular and all over the road, yet due to the heavy congestion leading to lower vehicle speed (something like 30-40km/h), accidents tend to be quite minor and non life threatning. Whereas here in Australia, with the exception of peak hour traffic, we drive around at 60km/h for the majority of the time. Imagine having a crash in a scooter at 50/60km/h.
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September 12th, 2008 at 7:35 am
Alan,
But that is in part the point, with more motorcycles and scooters part of the biggest fatality aspect of falling off a bike is greatly reduced… that is hitting the large lump of 4 wheel metal going in the opposite/same direction or telegraph pole/armco fence (different issue there). I have never fallen off on the rd (touch wood) but I have come off on a racetrack sevral times over the last 20 or so years of riding both street and dirt at speeds well in excess of 60km/h. As Genie and I have said, with the right gear on, 60km/h is extremely surviveable with minimal to no injury. Also the stats for scooter fatalities in Asia… better not look at those… for the very reason I list above, wearing of protective clothing is almost non existent and I can tell you the figures of serious and fatal injury in Asia are not pretty, 40km/h speeds or not!
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September 12th, 2008 at 8:35 am
I had an accident nine years ago on a road bike that left me with a separated a/c joint, broken thumb and i have on going knee problem, a dog darted across the road in front of my while doing 70kph, my motorbike experience is extensive as a lad I grew up on a farm. So please don’t tell me you would be a better rider if the training programs were more intense. If one of my sons grew up to be a bike rider I would be very concerned. Bikes have their place and i think that is on a track. In saying that every one is initialed to their own opinion.
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September 12th, 2008 at 10:13 am
Salesman with all due respect to you, “extensive experience” “riding on a farm”… sorry do not always add up to someone actually being a “skilled” rider. Taking nothing away from your accident, I lost a friend in much the same way on the M5 several years ago because of a run away dog caused a car to swerve and collected my friend at 110km/h… a no win situation. But to say that rider training would not reduce accidents / make for better riders is totally contradictory to everything that this and many other motor enthusiast sites promote… that driver/rider training improves skills, awareness and develops reactions that are benefitial to the operator of the vehicle in an emergency, rather then detrimental. I try to do advanced rider training on a annual basis and every time I get better and learn something that I have either become slack in, or did not know and hopefully will make my reactions instinctive in an emergency and potentially life saving.
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September 12th, 2008 at 11:09 am
I have a registered DR-Z400. It now rarely sees tar twice a year because I’ve had a couple of close calls with cars pulling out in front of me, following too close, or just plain not seeing me.
There’s a chance of getting cleaned up no matter how alert/good you are. I’m only talking about a small city like Albury/Wodonga, I’d hate to see what Melbourne is like to ride in.
Now the bike is used exclusively for camping trips.
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September 12th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Thanks Mat, I fear my point on rider training wasn’t thought trough. More to the point, no matter how much training or how skilled you are accidents happen. I am sorry for the loss of your friend. All other things aside I simply prefer the protection offered by four wheels.
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September 12th, 2008 at 11:25 am
The real thing I hate about scooter riders is their lane splitting. I can get sport bike riders doing it as they get off the mark quickly and get out of the way. Scooters however are slower than the average car and block traffic flow as they bumble over our shocking roads as they obliviously put down the road. The pictured Vectrix though looks pretty decent and is quick off the mark, shame it is so expensive.
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September 12th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
What a great idea! Imagine the deaths of so many half wits. I think this suggestion is worthy of a Darwin award. Spend money on an extra ‘vehicle’, that exposes you to the weather as well as death or serious injury and cannot carry the weekly shopping. This is an idea worthy of a politician! Let the VACC rue!
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September 12th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Need a Luxury Scooter Tax to cover costs associated with hospitalisation.
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September 12th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
What about all the factory workers on their petrol assisted bush bikes.LOL
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September 14th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
I too was a very experienced motorcyclist. It was more a part of my life than you could imagine. It wasn’t in my blood, it was and still is my blood.
Unfortunately, no amount of advanced training in the world can make you less prone to being in a collision with any other vehicle on the road. When someone does something stupid and you have 100th of a second to respond, by the time you do, you’ll probably already be in the ambulance.
I love biking, I’d never knock it over driving. My injuries from my accident were a lot worse than some of you have mentioned. So you would think I would. But the one thing that stops me from riding at the moment (besides money) is knowing all too well that someone up the road might not see you coming because they ran a red, failed to turn their head when changing lanes, etc. And that really makes it difficult when in 1 second your life can go from high-flyer head mechanic for an awesome race team to being in a coma, not being able to walk for 12 months and being a total miracle that you can be here today posting a silly comment an a car blog.
If riding is to be made safer, then everyone’s attitude on the road has to change.
I only ride on tracks now. And enjoy a career in IT. But I’m trying to edge my way into this site so I can review some cars and other vehicles.
Oh, and scooters. Didn’t anyone tell you guys at CA. They’re like fat chicks. Fun to ride, until your mates cach you on one.
SteveC
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September 14th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
You’re all too right SteveC, no amount of rider training will eliminate the risk of someone elses mistake potentially altering your life forever. For riding to be safer the attitude of all road users would have to change. I remember reading that motorcyclists are statistically the safest car drivers, due to the many defensive riding skills you have to learn to survive, most of which you can apply whilst driving. Maybe if everyone was made to do a basic rider course as part of a learning to drive a car that would at least create more awareness of riders on the road. Probably not practical, but even if only 10% of people understood how well a motorbike can fit in a blind spot before they changed lanes without a head check rather than after they have hit them, then the road would a lot safer, for everyone.
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