Keep reminding people: Don't rent scooters and don't dive without DAN accident insurance!

[ggunn]

Rather than a blanket statement telling people not to rent a scooter, like the somewhat overblown title of this thread, I'd suggest guidelines similar to what's below...

The point, I believe, was to give general advice, and for the majority of gringos going to Cozumel on vacation "don't rent a scooter" is good advice, IMO.

 

[scrane]

There is danger in about every place you can look. Most everyone on here is some sort of adrenaline junky to some extent. Yet we can dive our whole lives with proper care and encouragement, training and development.

This is a pretty big assumption. I, personally, dive to relax and to learn. I don't believe I have dove with any adrenaline junkies in Cozumel. Maybe I'm just lucky.

 

[ggunn]

This is a pretty big assumption. I, personally, dive to relax and to learn. I don't believe I have dove with any adrenaline junkies in Cozumel. Maybe I'm just lucky.

Yo tambien. I can do without adrenaline inducing diving.

 

[MMM]

People online often tell folks not to rent scooters. If you are not a regular scooter/motorcycle rider at home, then I agree that Cozumel is not the place to learn, practice or ride for the first time in ages. If you are a rider, then to me Cozumel is no worse than riding in the States. I understand some riders disagree with this, and that's fine, but I really can't see how since drivers in the U.S. also drive erratically, distracted, drunk, and angry (plus usually faster, plus more teens driving, plus numerous tractor-trailers and RVs creating blind spots, etc., etc.)! To me you hear a lot about scooter accidents in large part because: (1) mainly, they rent scooters to people who do not have motorcycle licenses (yes, experienced riders can have accidents too, but the great number of novices skews things hugely); (2) a number of people drink and ride -- always a bad combination; and (3) the sheer number of scooters means that you will, of course, see more scooter accidents.

In any event, cautious riders always assume that drivers will do crazy things, and they usually do

• Watch out for topes (speed bumps that range from worn away to massive plateaus, and may or may not be painted yellow, and may or may not be marked by a sign - or the sign may be covered by a tree);
• Watch for drinking and/or lost tourists driving rental cars or scooters, especially in the mornings after the cruise ships get in and people hop in rented cars to head south -- and about half of those folks will head north mid-afternoon, and the other half will make the full loop around the same time;
• Watch for sand that gets blown onto the road, sometimes far from any beach; know that the paths into many beach clubs and Punta Sur are dirt/sand and rutted, so can be quite tricky on 2 wheels; don't try to go up north on the dirt road on the eastern side of the island where even dirt bikes get bogged down;
• Watch for other scooters passing on either side, especially in town;
• Watch for dogs in the neighborhoods, as many/most roam freely;
• Watch for bicycles, tricycle carts, scooters and cars with few or no lights or reflectors at night;
• Watch for stop signs that may be to the left or right side of the road and may be covered by tree branches;
• I would not ride too close to the right side, as often vegetation will grow into the road a little and often leaves and other debris are near the edge;
• I would suggest renting scooters with larger wheels from reputable rental agencies, such as the Honda Dios rented by HTL Rentals or Rentadora Isis, among others, as these are more stable than those with smaller wheels.

One other thing I would add to your "watch out for" list because it is a common cause of moto accidents here..."watch out for people about to open their car doors to exit the vehicle." Many don't look to see what is coming up behind, or they fail to see the cyclist or scooter in a blind spot. Car doors that have been hit in this manner have a distinctive dent that you see a lot, since the car is still drivable. In fact, there are two on my block.

 

[ggunn]

One other thing I would add to your "watch out for" list because it is a common cause of moto accidents here..."watch out for people about to open their car doors to exit the vehicle." Many don't look to see what is coming up behind, or they fail to see the cyclist or scooter in a blind spot. Car doors that have been hit in this manner have a distinctive dent that you see a lot, since the car is still drivable. In fact, there are two on my block.

When a car and a scooter try to occupy the same space at the same time, the car usually wins.

 

[BRT]

One other thing I would add to your "watch out for" list because it is a common cause of moto accidents here..."watch out for people about to open their car doors to exit the vehicle." Many don't look to see what is coming up behind, or they fail to see the cyclist or scooter in a blind spot. Car doors that have been hit in this manner have a distinctive dent that you see a lot, since the car is still drivable. In fact, there are two on my block.

And the other side of that is to always look in your mirror before opening your car door. I have that down to muscle memory when in Cozumel.

 

[dlofting]

I know about this attitude that bikes are dangerous, and ya they can be, but the most dangerous thing about the bike is the rider. The rider needs to be playing his part as a definsive, small, unprotected vehicle. You anticipate, scan, predict, evade.

I think the most dangerous thing about riding bikes is the other guy. Yes you can mitigate that somewhat, but as another poster said, what is a fender bender in a car can be a serious injury on a bike. That's what steers me away from them, at least on public roads.

I've riden off road and so have my two sons. Our grandchildren are learning on a 50cc bike I just bought. They'll ride off road too because there the biggest danger is the rider and that can be managed by training, practice and good judgment.

 

[lionfish-eater]

I saw an accident live in real time.

Scooter rider stopped at stop sign and looked down the oneway street to see if anyone was coming.
Saw no one coming and proceeded through the intersection.
They were immediately struck by a car driving the wrong way down the one way street.
The scooter driver failed to look both ways and was injured.

Then things got really crazy.

The driver of the car stopped, jumped out and after a minute she said she would be right back and started to run away.
She said she left food on the stove and didn't want the house to catch fire.

The crowd stopped her at first, but then she opened the back door of the car to show her young child in a car seat and she said she would leave her child there and go shut her stove off.

She came back after a few minutes as the police were arriving.

The injured rider was able to stand but left for medical attention.

Morale: Always look both ways before crossing the street.

 

[Redfoot]

Like many other things, I try to look at Risk vs. Reward- is the risk of getting hurt, badly injured or killed worth the reward of enjoying a day scootering around a beautiful island? For ME, the answer is no. As others have said, the higher rate of scooter accidents is directly related to the higher concentration of scooters on Cozumel- I don't like my odds when I look at it that way. On the same token, are there higher rates of dive accidents on Cozumel due to the higher concentration of scuba divers? I don't have the facts, but scanning the accident & incident sub forum, I would say that the rate of diver accidents on Coz is no greater than other destinations- to me, an acceptable risk vs. reward tradeoff.

I own a 1986 Honda Spree that I restored, as well as a full size cruiser motorcycle. I have reduced my time on two wheels drastically in the past few years, as the risk vs reward has not been there. Too many crazy, high, distracted and insane people driving around. Not to mention the road conditions. I prefer to get out of the city and ride country roads- not without risk, but to me, a more acceptable and rewarding experience.

 

[brsnow]

Like many other things, I try to look at Risk vs. Reward- is the risk of getting hurt, badly injured or killed worth the reward of enjoying a day scootering around a beautiful island? For ME, the answer is no. As others have said, the higher rate of scooter accidents is directly related to the higher concentration of scooters on Cozumel- I don't like my odds when I look at it that way. On the same token, are there higher rates of dive accidents on Cozumel due to the higher concentration of scuba divers? I don't have the facts, but scanning the accident & incident sub forum, I would say that the rate of diver accidents on Coz is no greater than other destinations- to me, an acceptable risk vs. reward tradeoff.

I own a 1986 Honda Spree that I restored, as well as a full size cruiser motorcycle. I have reduced my time on two wheels drastically in the past few years, as the risk vs reward has not been there. Too many crazy, high, distracted and insane people driving around. Not to mention the road conditions. I prefer to get out of the city and ride country roads- not without risk, but to me, a more acceptable and rewarding experience.

I certainly wouldn’t rely on this forum for accurate data of risk reward on Cozumel.