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

[Friedolays]

This just makes me laugh. I'm guessing you haven't been to the island yet? I was not asserting superiority, however, I was replying to a post that did exactly that.

Yes, people have their own opinions, judgments, values, etc. - just as you do, and just as I do. I do speak from 20 years living full time on the island, witnessing scooter accidents DAILY, having to assist many divers through the years who did not heed the warnings because "they've been riding motorcycles for decades" or "I've rented scooters all over the world" and had terrible accidents and consequences.

For the record, I owned scooters in addition to my car the entire time I lived on the island. I rode sometimes for fun, sometimes to zip around and get errands done faster, sometimes because I knew parking was an issue where I was going. I had a few accidents myself, fortunately nothing major. There did come a time in the last few years I decided to give up the scooter because I had seen too much and to me, it was no longer worth it - that was my personal values and judgment kicking in. I had a car and felt much safer in it for a variety of reasons.

SO sure, just about anyone can rent a scooter on the island, but heed the warnings and rent with informed consent.

"Operator must preform a very strict inspection on the scooter before agreeing to rent ( your motorcycle operating training will have provided you with strict guidelines)"

To this point, do not expect that any scooter you rent on the island will pass inspection, unless it is literally brand new. The maintenance and upkeep on these is atrocious. Remember, you are not in the USA anymore and the rules are different.

Wear a helmet, pants and shoes. Absolutely do NOT wear sandals.

Agreed, AND you will see idiots with no shirts, flip flops or barefooted, and bathing suits more often than not.

Maintain awareness, be free from distraction.

This was the giveaway that you probably haven't been to the island yet.

Have good insurance.

This won't help you much with a scooter rental or hospital bills. Your insurance may reimburse you for out of network medical costs, but don't expect the Mexican hospital to file a claim for you. You won't be leaving the hospital until your bill is paid in full

So, you rode scooters all over cozumel by the sounds of it. Eventually you came to a moral obligation, to deliver a message based on what you have seen. What you have seen is horrible, there is no doubt, anyone could agree.

What strikes me as sad is that people can be so oblivious to dangerous activities, usually out of lack of experience or lack of intelligence. But What strikes me as even more sad is when situations like this exist within a community and no one does anything about it.

Telling people about the dangers and death you have frontlined and had to endure, caring for these victims does not help anyone. Nor does just telling people not to do something that they

A. Not only have the right to do
B. Are not going to listen to you, for multiple reasons. And maybe even think you are kind of going Karen

You dont tell people not to dive to 120 feet, cause its more dangerous than 60, do you? Doubt it. Do you realise that your logic of being an instructor can actually be transferred to many other aspects of life?

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.

The worlds always been dangerous and it hopefully always will, because if there is no danger than there is no freedom.

Tell people about how to be safe and educate them about the risks if you are so concerned. If they dont listen, well they had informed consent.

And.. I've been to Cozumel twice, soon to be thrice, in less than a month away!! I do not appreciate your condescending attitude towards others here or myself. We are a community and it should be treated as such, forums like these are about the last place left on the internet where all decency has not been lost, lets please keep it that way.

 

[Lorenzoid]

You dont tell people not to dive to 120 feet, cause its more dangerous than 60, do you?

No, you don't "tell them not to" just as nobody in this thread is telling (that is, commanding) anyone not to ride a scooter. Rather, you might inform them and advise or recommend to them not to dive to 120 feet. I have appreciated the advice and recommendations in this thread and not interpreted it as "condescending."

 

[Friedolays]

No, you don't "tell them not to" just as nobody in this thread is telling (that is, commanding) anyone not to ride a scooter. Rather, you might inform them and advise or recommend to them not to dive to 120 feet. I have appreciated the advice and recommendations in this thread and not interpreted it as "condescending."

What if the dive to 120 feet has been well planned and protocols put in place, the diver being experienced, certified and capable? Would you not encourage him to challenge him or herself and pursue their goal.

Some lady telling people that experienced motorcycle riders with decades of riding expertise are basically idiots who are going to get wrecked in coz.

I am a 3 decade motorbike rider, who has been riding a 1290 KTM Super Duke R for a couple years.

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. People who ride bikes and dont understand these principals end up wrecked.


Its peculiar and absurd. So is accusing me of not having had been to Cozumel because i did not agree with her logic or approach.

Im outskies here, lol!
Be safe, stay safe.

 

[ggunn]

So, you rode scooters all over cozumel by the sounds of it. Eventually you came to a moral obligation, to deliver a message based on what you have seen. What you have seen is horrible, there is no doubt, anyone could agree.

What strikes me as sad is that people can be so oblivious to dangerous activities, usually out of lack of experience or lack of intelligence. But What strikes me as even more sad is when situations like this exist within a community and no one does anything about it.

Telling people about the dangers and death you have frontlined and had to endure, caring for these victims does not help anyone. Nor does just telling people not to do something that they

A. Not only have the right to do
B. Are not going to listen to you, for multiple reasons. And maybe even think you are kind of going Karen

You dont tell people not to dive to 120 feet, cause its more dangerous than 60, do you? Doubt it. Do you realise that your logic of being an instructor can actually be transferred to many other aspects of life?

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.

The worlds always been dangerous and it hopefully always will, because if there is no danger than there is no freedom.

Tell people about how to be safe and educate them about the risks if you are so concerned. If they dont listen, well they had informed consent.

And.. I've been to Cozumel twice, soon to be thrice, in less than a month away!! I do not appreciate your condescending attitude towards others here or myself. We are a community and it should be treated as such, forums like these are about the last place left on the internet where all decency has not been lost, lets please keep it that way.

Ummm... what? This topic has come up many times and it will again. All I and others are trying to do is to make it known that riding a rented moto on Cozumel is more risky than one might think if all they have to go on is their individual experience. Moto accidents on Cozumel happen all the time and most of them involve tourists, a lot of whom have never been on one before and/or are drinking and/or are being reckless and cavalier about the risk they have taken on.

Scooters feel very safe until something goes wrong and when something does go wrong it does so very quickly; when my brother had that accident right in front of me he went from happily cruising along to tumbling down the shoulder of the road in about one second. When the front wheel of the scooter got sideways in the sand there was nothing he could do.

So, anyway, all this is is advice. We can point out the risk, but it is up to you if you wish to take it on; just be aware of it.

 

[DandyDon]

I suspect that many hear from friends who survived scooter rentals and had fun, then decide that they might try it. The rental agencies are happy to rent to anyone.

 

[Lorenzoid]

What if the dive to 120 feet has been well planned and protocols put in place, the diver being experienced, certified and capable? Would you not encourage him to challenge him or herself and pursue their goal.

I would not get all upset if someone else were to recommend that person not do the dive. We are entitled to widely varying opinions here. Some of us are more risk-averse than others. Even if I believed another person was being too risk-averse in their advice not to do the dive, I wouldn't tell them so, in that way. If I wished to add my own opinion, I would just add my counter-reasoning why I believed the diver could do the dive safely and leave it at that. As for "encouraging" people to challenge themselves by doing something with some degree of risk, I feel I should walk a fine line. The decision is ultimately up to the individual. We as forum members can provide information and opinions that may help them reach a decision.

I don't know anything about the risks of scooters in Cozumel other than what I read here. In addition to all the cautionary comments, I appreciated the couple of comments in which someone explained how they believed they could (or did) safely do some scootering in Cozumel.

 

[rmssetc]

I've been riding motorcycles for about 40 years, including extensive riding in places in the world where the traffic and road conditions are much worse than Cozumel. Some days, Philadelphia even qualifies as "worse".

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, which I use for myself, and which are why I don't ride in Cozumel:

• If you're not experienced with a motorcycle or scooter, Cozumel is not a good place to learn.
• If you are an experienced rider, consider whether you normally ride at home under the same conditions as you would in Cozumel.
• Consider traffic, road quality, motorist & pedestrian behavior.
• Consider the vehicle condition, possibly significantly different controls [warning to motorcyclists: if you're on a scooter, you must actively resist years of training and "muscle memory" and avoid trying to pull in the clutch when gently coming to a stop!],
• Consider the gear you wear when riding "at home" (and why) and the fact that a well-fit quality helmet, boots, gloves, full-length pants and a riding jacket probably aren't available with a rental scooter.

Remember, gravity works just the same way when you are on vacation!

 

[waterone]

While I realize the risks it looks like fun and I plan on renting next time. Real life Frogger here I come.

I would have rented them on the last occasion, but I enjoyed walking around with a margarita always in hand which probably doesn't goes as well with driving as some people think..

 

[Lorenzoid]

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, which I use for myself, and which are why I don't ride in Cozumel:

Well said. And while I agree about the title of the thread, I think we can all get past that.

 

[Rob9876]

I'll hop in and give some advice on scooters in the hopes that some info might be helpful to those who decide to rent scooters, but I'm not interested in debating this tired issue.

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 -- at home or abroad, pretend your are Jason Bourne and everyone is trying to kill you. In addition to this general caution, I would offer the following specific advice:

• 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.

Riders, like divers, are used to assessing and mitigating risks. I hope this post helps those experienced riders who decide to rent a scooter in Cozumel. Now, I'm going to run for the hills before I get flamed by anti-scooter folks!