STAY SAFE—NO MOPEDS

[Dave Dillehay]

Like almost every day here in Cozumel, people get hurt on mopeds. Today was particularly gruesome with two riders just south of the ferry pier, sliding under a parked taxi. Besides pot holes, aggressive taxis, when the street is wet you just can't hit the brakes, like it was this morning. In my 30 years here I have been warning about this—there is just no way for one rider to be assuredly safe, worse with two riders. The mature lady was out of it in the median with the man seeming ok, ambulance on its way when I passed.

Dave Dillehay
NOW ONLY VILLA ALDORA

 

[DeltaWardog]

I have to shake my head at this every time I'm in Cozumel. I've been riding motorcycles for 20+ years and I won't even think about getting on a scooter when I'm on vacation. Here are some facts I wish people knew before they decided to rent a scooter:

A 10mph fall hitting your head on concrete can kill you.

The most likely first point of contact your body has after coming off a motorcycle is the chin. How many full face helmets have you seen people wearing in Cozumel? What's your budget for dental reconstruction surgery?

Contrary to popular belief, motorcycles / scooters take longer to stop than cars do. Even worse when the road is wet or sandy.

Clothing disintegrates like tissue paper on contact with asphalt at speed. If you're going anywhere over 15-20 mph part of your body will become a meat crayon.

Just say no to scooters when you're on vacation.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

We actually love renting scooters whenever visiting Little Cayman.......but then there is basically no traffic!!

 

[Karloss]

Not saying this is what happened but if you don't ride at home, don't wait until your on vacation to start. I've seen this happen in Panama City Beach and I am sure it happens at many other tourist locations.

 

[Rob9876]

Oh shoot, is it time for this again? Seems like it hasn't been that long since the last "ride scooters and die" thread.

Different people have different experiences, but I ride motorcycles and scooters at home and traveling and don't find Cozumel any more dangerous than other places - actually easier than many. I'd say riding scooters in Cozumel is great IF you are an experienced rider AND you know what to look for in Cozumel (sand, hidden stop signs, topes, vegetation growning into the road, etc. -- I believe I did a longer post on this the last time, or the time before).

So my opinion would be to not ride a scooter if you are a novice rider or you haven't learned about the island's road quirks. Otherwise, to me it is a risk assessment like riding on 2 wheels anywhere else.

 

[deepsea21]

Yeah, I've no interest in renting a scooter anymore on Coz. Did that when I was young and dumb. Had a lot of fun on them but still, young and dumb. Tourists and locals alike are injured and killed on them on a regular basis and often times it is not the scooter rider's fault, they somehow get hit or run over by someone else driving something larger which certainly isn't a good thing.

After you've been visiting the island long enough and passed by enough people laying in the street with a smashed scooter somewhere within say 20' of where they are laying with people around trying to render some kind of medical aid before the police and medical responders show up you'll realize it's not a good idea. And, for what a day or multi-day scooter rental will cost ya you can take taxis about everywhere you'd want so I don't see the point.

A few trips ago I watched a tourist couple on a scooter try a U-Turn on the main road kind of across from Mega (wife and I were actually entering Deja Vu). For some reason or another the driver had the throttle wide open, lost control and went smashing into a parked scooter in front of the shop knocking that over and breaking things on both scooters and they both ended up falling over on top of it. Then all heck breaks loose as the local scooter owner that just had his parked scooter trashed comes running out of a shop nearby as he must have heard the crash and I thought we'd see some tourist gringos get their asses kicked. However, Antonio in the shop comes out and manages to restore some sort of order while all wait for the police to show up and figure out who is gonna pay for what. Luckily no one was hurt but who needs that?

Obviously that was probably a 1st time scooter-renter who for some reason or another starts to lose control doing a U-turn with those tiny diameter tires and things get wobbly and he freezes up with the throttle wide open... May as well be trying to ride a wild miniature horse for the first time.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

Boy.... times have changed for sure.... Back in 1995 on a trip to Coz, it was a different world. We stayed at the Coral Princess and dove with Pepe Scuba....just four of us on a fast 6-pack.... awesome diving... no cruise ships, nice cab drivers, etc.

But to get back on topic, I distinctly remember my wife and her girlfriend renting a scooter to drive down to the Pharmacia Azul and they came back with a shitload of Valium and Percocet. I'm sure they were wearing flip-flops, bikini tops, no helmets and singing all the way there and back. Sometimes you just gotta live!

PS...... for all the safety Nazi's....... why is it that you don't wear a full faced helmet here in the states every time you drive your car? They are 100% proven to prevent / reduce head injuries in case of a car crash!!!!

 

[mstevens]

I'd say riding scooters in Cozumel is great IF you are an experienced rider AND you know what to look for in Cozumel (sand, hidden stop signs, topes, vegetation growning into the road, etc.

We ride Ducatis in the US and used to own 3 scooters at home in Cozumel. We’re also experienced scooter riders with a 150 cc Vespa in the US. We ARE experienced riders, of both motorcycles and scooters. We ARE familiar with local roads and with evolving conditions. We had proper gear (boots, gloves, full-face helmets, etc.).

It’s just too dangerous now to ride scooters on the island. There are too many cars. There are too many tourists driving, often very poorly. We’ve sold our 3 scooters. Only one survives un-totaled.

Mr. Dillehay knows what he’s talking about. People who live on the island see a truly constant barrage of scooter crashes, with many deaths and gruesome injuries.

 

[mstevens]

why is it that you don't wear a full faced helmet here in the states every time you drive your car?

We have full-face car helmets, which are not the same as motorcycle helmets. We wear them on the track. The track is not the same as the road - there are no intersections, there’s no oncoming traffic, and the other drivers have a demonstrated skill level. Many motorcycle riders decry the loss of peripheral vision and hearing from helmets. While that’s true in cars as well, there’s much more structure as well as restraints to reduce injury in case of a crash.

The risks due to reduced sensory input are disproportionately greater compared with the risks of head injury in case of a car crash. Track risks are very different from road risks, and there often aren’t padded dashes, airbags, and such to mitigate those risks, so helmet risks are justified on the track.

I’ll bet you’ve done little to no helmet-wearing in passenger cars.The physical environment inside many passenger cars is unconducive to helmet-wearing. There are many cars that simply don’t have the additional headroom to accommodate a helmet for taller drivers. In many cars it can be difficult to turn ones head helmeted. There are no such impediments on motorcycles.

They are 100% proven to prevent / reduce head injuries in case of a car crash!!!!

Can you please provide a reference for this?

I’ve done a ton of brain injury work (roughly 30:1 motorcycle vs. car) over many years and am not aware of this data. Among other things, I think it’d be extremely difficult to find a significant data set of people wearing full-face helmets who’ve been in automobile road crashes.

I don’t refer to my patients with smooshed brains “risk nazis”. Why does my trying to reduce the number of them make me a “safety nazi”?

( I will cop to being a bit of a Grammar National Socialist and wield my Apostrophe Puller on your errant apostrophe.)

 

[DandyDon]

PS...... for all the safety Nazi's....... why is it that you don't wear a full faced helmet here in the states every time you drive your car? They are 100% proven to prevent / reduce head injuries in case of a car crash!!!!

I wear an Impala and always have my seat belt on. I've been wearing seat belts since 1964, long before buzzers or legal requirements, and they have saved me in a rollover.

Sadly, one teenager was buried nearby this week after being ejected from a rollover and the other teenager was charged with manslaughter for drunk driving.

Mr. Dillehay knows what he’s talking about. People who live on the island see a truly constant barrage of scooter crashes, with many deaths and gruesome injuries.

Yep, never rent or ride a scooter on Cozumel island, not matter how cocky you are.