Scooter in the City
Sep 4th, 2008 by Leo
Or an alternate title could be “My Morning Commute – Scooter version.” I don’t know the guy who made this video but I’m going to keep an eye out for an old white Honda cub because I know this route well (the later parts going into Manhattan anyway – he should have taken the upper level). The beginning is slow – and the production values are O so seventies, so you might want to just let it load and then jump 2/3′s of the way thru…
This is something that you absolutely cannot do on a motorcycle (or even any of the bigger scooters). I’ve tried. The lanes are too small and the trucks too big here. Even though the speed is nothing like the guy on the last YouTube video – I think this guy is his scooter alter ego.
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I just had a great conversation with another motorcyclist about scooters. This is a great example of why they rock. This guy has skills. And he isn’t an asshat.
So when will we get to see your commute Leo?
I disagree. I’m a motorcycle and scooter rider, and any “passing on the right” is ‘A-grade’ stupid, especially between cars next to intersection corners and curb-cut entrances to businesses along the same road. That guy is looking to become a statistic.
Don’t confuse “luck” with “skills”.
Hey Zac – I want to find an easy (read cheap) way to mount my camera to something on my bike. Any ideas? But after all that trouble it might not be so impressive – although I wonder if these videos make the riding look more aggressive than they are because you don’t get much peripheral vision.
Robotribe – you might be right, but everyone in ny winds up passing on the right because the left lanes (on local streets) get backed up with cars trying to make left turns. The only alternative is to sit in line with the cars and trucks. Maybe an exception can be made to the no-passing-on the right rule – if the cars are either completely stopped or going very slowly – and there are no intersections…
I can’t speak for NY since I’m located in SoCal and lane sharing/splitting/filtering is accepted under the law “if done in safe manner”. It’s only allowed between lanes of traffic going in the same direction, i.e. anywhere but the right and left-most sides. I understand the need if there’s an issue like an accident or something like that (I passed on the right this morning because of an accident blocking the lane), but the rider in the video seems to be just sayin’ “f*** all” to whatever comes his/her way.
As a longtime cyclist whose had two friends doored by parked cars (one friend of a friend killed) and myself almost taken out COUNTLESS times by people making right turns without hesitation, I only criticize with the because I’ve seen the reality of the worse case scenario.
Too each their own, of course.
I’m a noob to the NYC bike commute, to be sure. (Only doing it about a month — though have driven a car in the city for a long time.) My tactic is to (wherever possible) look ahead to which direction the upcoming intersection permits, and use that as my guide (one of them) to what a driver may do.
Though I’m sure it doesn’t need saying here, turn signals are meaningless in NYC. I like to look at how the cager is behaving. (Tailgating the car in front? Looking to the side? Driving faster than traffic and weaving lanes? Painted yellow with roof lights? Probably gonna turn.)
That was a great video. We all understand it is dangerous and that is what makes it great. If it just showed the guy sitting in traffic it would be worthless as entertainment. While his tactics are not the safest I believe that all of us who read this blog can appreciate the skill it takes to maneuver through NYC traffic. I don’t think anyone would call what he is doing safe (I probably wouldn’t consider riding a scooter in traffic conditions like that as ‘safe’) but he moves through the traffic with the confidence that is needed to get through. I will compare it to the “My Morning Commute” video or any of the Ghostrider or Escape from Stockholm videos. Safe?-NO Entertaining?-YES. Think of these videos as Hollywood type movies or Jackass for that matter. Definitely something the kids at home should NOT be trying.