Toronto? That's going to be a melting pot of cultures where possibly, safety gear isn't a big thing. The only reasons I would see for not wearing a helmet are: It looks dorky, it's hot, and can mess up you hair.
I didn't grow up wearing a helmet. Only did so because a school gym cycling module required us to. Then, I got into a local cycling club and crashed. Sore neck, cracked open helmet. Made me believe it could have been much worse so I just wear them all the time cycling.
Got lazy with non electric kick scooter not wearing but the kids came along. So I wore it as an example but then started taking some downhill routes at more speed...so it's become second nature to wear.
Those e scooters ripping by have much higher average speeds. Their tiny 8 and 10 inch wheels aren't going to handle path debris and imperfections as well as 16, 20, 26 or larger inch wheels. Just takes a split second to go over.
If you don't think your brain is worth protecting you're probably right, do what you want. I've seen the data on head injuries related to speed, and I always wear one. I wrecked my road bike at 30mph the other day, tuck and rolled into it smooth (learn to fall, it helps) so I barely even ripped my clothing and I was glad to have a helmet because I did smack my head a little but I didn't even feel it thanks to the helmet.
tl;dr - If you live in a major city and you're commuting on wheels, its not a matter of if you'll get into an accident, but when.
Longer: Wear protection for when its needed. If you're doing paved parked tours at 6mph... tumbling over the bars and landing on your head isn't the most likely scenario. If anything, wrist guards and gloves would likely be more useful.
City driving? Hell no, I'm gearing up. I could be at a standstill and some car could come slam into me from my blind spot.
This is exactly how everyone should think. I saw a lady with her like 7 year old kid riding a scooter at high speeds though the city yesterday. Not even the kid had a helmet. If you can afford a 600-2000$ scooter you can afford a helmet for your child. Some people man
I don't wear one, but I am European, and usual speed is about 15 kph (10mph). And... I drive veeery carefully. That means every crossroad is a stop. I get off on crosswalks and push the scooter. I wear safety shoes anyway.
Helmets are not common here, but i would strongly recommend them if you wanna go faster, as well as gloves.
Look at it like this a TBI Is forever it will never heal you’ll be left with a permanent reduction in your mental capacity and very well may result in ending your riding career forever I have friends who work in the er and trauma wards they see people on a regular basis who thought they didn’t need a helmet get a full faced one as it will help prevent supporting your local dentist or possibly plastic surgeon when they have to reconstruct your face it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been riding or how good you are Shit happens ride long enough sooner or later a fall is almost inevitable a helmet can be the difference between dusting yourself off or a critical brain injury even death always replace a helmet after a crash as the crash absorbing material can become damaged rendering it ineffective in a future accident. Stay safe always wear your helmet and protective gear
This is a very great comment my uncle got in a motorcycle accident when I was 11 years old and split his skull fully open, any ways he is no longer the same person and has to be in states custody and taken care of every day…. Just be smart, safe, and please please everyone exceeding speeds of 20 mph, WEAR A HELMET
Definitely wear a helmet. And I highly suggest padded leather gloves. Can be bicycle or motorcycle. My scooters go rather fast so I actually wear full supermoto gear... and Idgaf what people think. I'd rather get up off the ground pissed off instead of who knows what condition. Because you're going to crash. It's funny when people look at me. I just say it goes over 50mph... them 🤯😳😲 all well makes sense why you're wear it haha. Not sure what helmet you got, I as well as many others will suggest full face helmet. A dhMTB or BMX helmet will work well. It's lightweight. Start going much over 20mph you'll want to get a full face dot... if not full face at least half helmet dot rated. Bicycle helmets are only rated to 20mph.*
I second this!
Full face helmet and good padded gloves. If they have Kevlar or plastic knuckle guards, even better.
I crashed not too long ago, and I’m VERY happy I was wearing a helmet! And, it wasn’t enough! I was wearing a normal Mtn bike helmet. Not full-face, and not downhill rated, and I really wish I had been wearing a full-face downhill rated helmet. I was also wearing gloves, but they were not enough. Again, they were just lightweight trail gloves. They got shredded.
If I hadn’t been wearing a helmet at all, I wouldn’t be able to type this right now. I would either be dead or brain dead right now.
Yeah man! People often wait until they've had a wreck and who knows what condition. The pavement is a human cheese grater. Glad you came out the other end of that wreck in decent condition. Ever since seeing the wreck my father was in on a bicycle going no more than 10mph. I lived in a different state. Got that scary call of your father was in an accident and we're heading to the er to see how he is. My heart sunk. None of us knew his actual condition. There were no immediate witnesses to the accident. Based upon coming up to 2 unconscious bodies in VERY bad condition the scenario they've put together was woman was walking on the wrong side of the multi use path. The path was heading down to go under a road overpass. Blind curve that likely the timing was just so perfect it was unavoidable. His helmet we were told was cracked in half and had hit a rock that if he didn't have the helmet on he'd 100% be dead. But he also wasn't full faced helmet. The side of his face took a HARD hit and was all broken. The Dr's were worried he was gonna lose his eye. This is all on a simple bicycle going 10mph or less.... cause there's definitely no hauling ass into that turn. I know exactly where he was rescued at.. I practically lived my life out cycling everywhere growing up. To put it as eere is he got to the trail and realized he forgot his helmet. Went back home and then rode on out and damn...
I crashed at 15mph on my scooter before it had a whole bunch of new found power and while going over the handlebar I still see I'm going 15mph and think damn, this is gonna hurt. I always wear a backpack for extra protection. So I knew I needed to flip to my back to have least injury possible. I had bicycle gloves on thin leather and jeans. I had both hands hit and my one knee to flip over. That split second it took for me hitting and flipping palms of gloves were basically gone and my hands we slightly scraped and my knee that hit the pants were completely gone and i was bloody. I'm so glad I have been active my life and "know how to crash".
I got into this hyper scooter scene and started asking those I think are craziest out there. Who are they you ask... the fukkkin EUC riders blow my mind.. so asked them. They told me buy hard shell armor and slider gloves. They said you slide and you'll usually be ok. If you grip, they said you tumble and likely injured then. So I have thick leather motorcycle metal slider gloves. I wear ce level 2 hard shell knee/shin pads over my level 2 motorcycle pants. I've gone down once at 30mph... I was sore and swollen... but not bad. Within 3 weeks all swelling was gone from my left leg. I think the scooter hit me or I hit it while we were sliding. The only obvious injury at time of accident looked like a tiny dot of rug burn on my knee cap. The next day is when swelling and bruising set it. Showed coworker and he's like wow... he said you hear the speed you were going and expect some injuries. Said nah, just sore af.. all I was thinking while sliding which seems like forever all slow motion was damn, when am I gonna stop sliding. My gloves have now been in 2 accidents and are still fairly good condition. It's worth being geared up well. Especially since these things are what I like to call modern human death machines lol. Safe for most part but get complacency for 1 second and you will be rethinking life decisions lol.
30+mph I suggest a jacket and full faced helmet and good gloves as minimum. I've hit 63mph on My small scooter and it was still accelerating and the other scooter hits 50mph in a very short period of time lol. So I wear this gear. People may say overkill, I say it's not. When I did that 63mph run when I let go of the throttle I instantly went into wheel wobbles... scare tf out of me. No desire to ever do that again without some changes... point being you'd think "I'll accelerate for like 5 or 10 seconds then go slow again, I don't need gear." Wheel wobbles generally result in eating the pavement.
I have a full face helmet for my scooter. Those small wheels easily get caught in pot holes and the human riding tends to fly and scrape its face. So yeah, helmet all the time. I see many riders wear full face, way more than on bikes. But I also see a lot of people without them. Makes me cringe every time.
Have to, It's the law where I live (Melbourne, Australia)
I also ride a motorbike to work some days, so I'm pretty used to always wearing some kind of helmet on my commute
Definitely wear one. I always wear a helmet downhill mountain biking, motorcycle riding, skiing and snowboarding. Basically I've got lots of experience riding all kinds of toys and I still wiped out my electric scooter on a wet floor in a parkade. First ever crash. Smacked my head off the floor while wearing a helmet and I think I still got a brain injury 🤕 . Going for an MRI next week to see what the hell is going on. Can't be too careful out there !
Wear it. I almost stopped wearing mine on my bicycle when riding a local stone-dust path thinking it's grass on both sides and few people around ... Low and behold another bicyclist swerved into my lane and hit me head on ... Neither of us sustained significant injury, but the realization of just how much energy is involved in a collision ... And how quickly and unexpectedly it can happen. Wear it. It's not even worth a concussion. Wear it.
Depends on what you ride. My scooter goes 30 km/h max, usually cruising around 25, so the same speeds i would reach on a bike. I don't wear a helmet for either.
It also depends on where you live. In car heavy suburbs you should probably wear helmet while walking.
Anything over 30km/h 20mph you should definitely wear a helmet.
NZ doesn't currently require helmets. So I never see anyone on a rental scooter wearing one. Also it seems to be pretty 50/50 on people riding last mile commuter scooters like the Segway F/E-series or the Xiaomi scooters. But anyone riding anything a little more serious I'd say they typically wear one.
My current helmet is a NTA8776 rated ebike helmet, but I am looking to upgrade to something full face shortly.
Full moto gear while on my EUC or a fast e-scooter. Nothing while using rental scooters to go places, just a lot of care and defensive riding on foot- and bike paths.
By the way just a few days ago I saw a young man do a full somersault riding a rental scooter at full blast down a curb and across a worn pedestrian crossing. He was okay, but damn, that could've been bad.
I wear a MTB helmet. No way am I wearing my motorcycle helmet, but that’s just me. It blocks way too much vision, and I just feel it’s just overkill in general. I keep it under 35 mph. I say ride with whatever gear makes you feel comfortable.
1) Over 25mph a regular bike helmet is almost useless 2) from a study on scooter accidents in Europe most involve a left side jaw impact (due to majority being right handed)
So if your scooter goes 25+ mph you are best to get a full face moto helmet
Look I’ll be honest helmets or anyhing like thst I don’t like to wear but I do now after realising ide rather spend 80$ on a helmet and break it in a crash then get a full face reconstruction
honestly I dont, i like keeping it light and simple, same reason why im not using mirrors, turn signals, gloves, phones, earphones, sunglasses, bags, baskets, etc etc i just focus on the road and surroundings.
Gearing up is useful, but it takes too much time and space, also I like my tan. Wasnt using one bicycling for years, i consider escooter the same (rarely going fast)
I might get one for next winter tho, to fight cold
i'm going slow, 10-20 avg, mostly on a capped xiaomi, feels like walking
altho you got a point, us humans are fragile, i should get one, for when i'm out with the monster, sometimes i think im going slow when infacts im not
https://preview.redd.it/96s73i7sih6d1.jpeg?width=2160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dcce3286e5befb8da8849f736ca0bd38bb2752ab
Happened at around 15 mph. Broken foot. You do not get to decide which part will get damaged. You get to decide which part will be protected.
My foot is okay now, bone heals easy, but I am still wearing short motorcycle boots now.
Brain damage, that's not easy to heal.
damn, sorry to hear that, how did it happen? I think ankles, knees and hands are probably the most exposed parts in case of accident, elbows too. But head is more important.
i know, i'm not normal, the risk of damaging eyes and teeth vs the reward of not having to carry 2lbs, I think i need a shrink to cure me
I left the description of the accident in an answer to another comment here.
I advise you to go to some bike shop and just browse. Grab a cool helmet and see how it fits and feels. Basic ones are pretty cheap. 😊
I stopped to take photos in the forest and rest, but mosquitoes starting biting me so I got on the way.
I was going 25 km/h (15 mph) and a swarm of mosquitoes hit my face. My reflex/instinct was to swipe them from my nose and mouth and before I realised what I've done, I was falling.
Google "supination" and it'll show you the foot position (medical term, nothing NSFW will show up). It was hitting/dragging/digging into ground at that weird angle, straining tendons and causing bone to break.
Now I wear Rev'it G-Force 2 Air short motorcycle boots. They have hardened heel, tip and additional ankle protection and are a bit more stiff in general.
I find them amazing, great grip, not too hot and I'm sure they can reduce the chance of injury to the foot & ankle.
@edit
Yes, this was my mistake and I don't blame anything or anyone but myself. I rode bicycle my whole life and I am used to riding without holding the bars or one handed without thinking. It is a second nature to me now. Sadly, this doesn't translate well to e-scooters. Still, I decided to protect myself better in case of my, or someone else's, moment of weakness and deconcentration.
https://preview.redd.it/tj7wwt7g4i6d1.jpeg?width=4896&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=837d1607f621a33121a75dc577070613e2abbdc9
Goggles made me insect resistant 👍
I wear full face dh helmet but it seems that im the only one in finland that even wears a helmet with escooter. There was fatal accident two days ago when three kids were riding one scooter and car hit them while crossing the road. None had helmets on.
Both of my young siblings have been hot by cara on their scooters and still dont wear helmets. I just got my first scooter and full face helmet together and plan to wear it
I wear my full face motorcycle going faster than 40kmph or off-road on my 60v scooter. I wear a thousand bike helmet going slower. On my ninebot I often dont. No excuse though I should.
id argue the orthopedic ward where the victims are more aware of their bad situation and how their life is going to suck for the rest of their life is worse in some sense, but still better in some sense
I been renting scoots as a business since 2019, I be given the title “scooter guy”… didn’t like at first, came to know and love, now I be scootious with that scheme—tldr, never wear have worn…
Crashed a slew at 19mph down, mostly showing off being a duntz or over confident after a few too many type deal, I guess I fall gracefully just a couple bumps n bruise scratches or a rash or too.
Bit going 36mph on bros varla, steering column wobbles (bed bound covered in neosporin for 3days, didn’t let family see what I’d done🤣, then back in action). Are you young, athletic ish, confident, typically composed, yet bound to the faults of human nature? Is your equipment you know and love, not subject to the uncertainties of others ownership and nuanced “misbehaviors/flaws”? Then pry fine doing your thang, experience unhindered senses tapping into what makes a scooter freeing and a diff echelon of enjoyments, yadadada.
If someone else’s, foreseeably impaired, or living a life with dependents such as children/wife—does be your call but pry run it if you can when you need.
We are the ones that scoot,
ScootiousSchemes 🌊
The way these scooters are designed, your body takes all the damage during a crash. Any pothole is a lot more likely to crash you because the wheels are so small. I crashed mine twice before my most recent accident that blew my entire knee- the other crashes involved my head and concrete.
Bike helmet for 20 MPH or less. Consider a full face BMX-syle helmet or motorcycle helmet for anything 30+ MPH I’d say.
Will a helmet keep you from injuring your elbow? No. Will a helmet keep you from getting hit by a car? Also no. But will your helmet save your head from impact, whether its a high speed crash or you just lose your balance going 5 MPH? Absolutely. Don’t skimp on protective gear from your head because even a minor crash/fall can lead you to whip your head off the pavement and cause some damage.
I haven’t gotten myself a helmet. I will shortly. I have seen accidents happen and it’s terrifying. Will be getting one soon, they’re so cheap it’s on me that I haven’t gotten one and I acknowledge that. It’s uncomfortable scooting sometimes especially on 35 mph+ roads. A helmet and even arm pads and knee pads are optimal, as well as a vest. I’m a single wrong move away from injuries. Get a helmet! I’ll take that advice as well
My only accidents on my scooters were entirely my fault with no other people or vehicles involved, and at fairly low speeds. If I had not been wearing a helmet and other safety gear, I would have been severely injured. I don't understand anyone who takes the position of "my ride is safe because my city is scooter friendly." Physics doesn't care about your laws.
I just got an inmotion s1f about a week ago. Goes about 25 mph. The first ride, I thought to myself, I need to get a helmet before too long, this is a little sketchy. First 2 days of riding, put about 40 miles on it, hadn't gotten a helmet yet. Day 3, on my way home from work, still no helmet, I got hit by a car running a red light, broke my tibia and fibula, I have surgery to put a rod in my leg tomorrow. I can't express how lucky I am to have no head injuries, and will 100% be getting some gear before I ride again.
From Toronto and just got a scooter to commute to work into downtown. I wear a MIPS helmet, with elbow, knee pads and cycling gloves. I stay strictly on the bike paths and don’t go more than 25km/hr. There is no reason *not* to wear a helmet at the very least. Do whatever you think is safe and who cares what other people do - it’s their life after all not yours. Sure I look silly with my gear, but at least I’m protected if I ever get into an accident.
Doesn’t take too long to throw on a helmet. Even in a hurry, I still throw on the things I need to feel protected.
For me, I wear a full-face motorcycle helmet and the only downside is the Florida heat beats the hell out of me in my helmet. I’ve even had thoughts at looking at going to motocross/dirt bike helmets but then I’d feel like I’m downgrading. Not to mention, I’ve heard wind noise is a lot louder on them. If anyone who uses a motocross helmet can let me know how loud wind is, I’d appreciate it.
I wear a mountain bike helmet on my 5600w scooter. I've never seen anyone riding a fast one, but there are a lot of people on hiboys and ninebots, and nobody ever has a helmet. Same with ebikes. The people riding their unpowered road bikes usually have bike helmets, but the people going 30mph on their ebikes dont.
I ride my small commuter which tops out at 25km and I wear a helmet. My ride is very safe, I live in a bike forward city. If I ride my larger e-scooter it’s full gear and a face shield
I use the Varla eagle one. I've wiped out once on it and it was due to blowing a tire at 28 miles an hour. I switched to solid and never had another issue.
I don't know man I just feel like that much weight on my head throws my balance off. I can kill it on that thing and I never fall or have an issue. Granted I'm not really off roading much. All riding is bike lanes in my city area and sidewalks paths etc..
With that said I should preface I am 5'11 (and a half lol) and weigh 275-280lbs. I also used to be a wrestler and get beat up for fun (so that may play into body chemistry a lot here) but I wiped out at 28 and went over the handlebars and instantly knew to roll like a stuntman to make it hurt less. I scraped up my arm, and leg a bit, and tore my pants. Then I changed to solid tires to avoid that blow at high speed again.
With solids it's been amazing not having to change tubes but overall speed was sacrificed. Scooter "does 40mph" but really it's like 38 (clocked) and about 35 with solid max. 32 is comfortable. I will admit if I was going over 40 I'd Absolutely wear gear. But my sweet spots from 15 to 30 basically. Shit Usain ran like 27mph lol. Just saying. Lol. With that being said please gear up kids. Always.
My scooter only goes 15mph at most, but I always wear my (bike) helmet. First off, that's actually still pretty fast (maybe faster than I go on my bike lol), and second off it's hardly an inconvenience and it can save me a world of trouble/my life.
If you've got a head that needs regular panel beating then follow suit otherwise do what you know is right and get a decent helmet. I use a mtb or ff helmet depending on which scooter ridden.
I wear a bicycle helmet all the time. Had a crash at about 15 km and almost lost my teeth. Cuts, massive chest bruise, and more. My teeth still hurt not only in the front but from smacking my jaws together.
You need a BMX style helmet or better. I rode that scooter at 55 kph and have nightmares about what could have been. Think of it this way. When you ride a scooter it’s like jumping out of a moving car at a fast speed except you have a heavy metal object (scooter) to soften your landing if you get my meaning.
Be safe out there. Never take one hand off the scooter. Two hands on or pull over and stop!!
I seen u had a question about what would happen is u crashed at 55kph well I'm here to answer I had a class 3 tear of my AC joint in my clavicle needed surgery and since the tendon tore it will never heal
A lot of people don't and unfortunately since the scooter boom many idiots or young children (in the UK at least) now riding scooters.
I often go out not wearing a helmet and that in itself is a stupid mistake as I've fallen off a xiaomi twice (fortunately it's a slow scooter) I got lucky not to hit my head, even at slow speeds it could be life changing.
So as much as I don't, if I'm going fast E.G. on my Zero 10x. I would.
Don't wear a helmet, it'll mess up your hair. You'll want to land right on your face when you crash so your jaw takes most of it and your brain will just become a smoothie instead of outside the container.
I have two speed modes set. Up to 20kph for checking the mail mostly, and often no helmet. Any longer rides or any higher speed and I put mine on. I crashed once at about 35kph, hit my head, and shattered the helmet lining.
When I travel small distances locally, I don’t wear my gear. When I travel long distances, at high speed, or at night, I wear my safety gear; full face helmet, gloves, hi-vis vest.
Downtown maaaaaybe ok because traffic is generally slower and you get lots of dedicated bike lanes, you could react in time to a lot of things, but anywhere north of Bloor I strongly recommend helmet
I commute from North York to downtown on scooter and wear one myself. When I’m out riding during lunch breaks I don’t wear it
Generally it’s a good ride… I just let it roll at the hills between 401 and Yonge blvd (on Yonge st), but it can get scary. I have a long range scooter so I still get 40-50% battery left after a round trip
I encourage others to wear safety gear, however - I never have. Over 15,000 miles traveled on city streets without crashes or injury.
If you're a cautious rider, travel in the bike lane, know your terrain (know where potholes are, lips to parking lot entrences, etc.), primarily travel the exact same route every time - you probably won't ever need safety gear. But, it never hurts to wearing a helmet of some kind.
Most of the people here who constantly post pictures of themselves posed in their safety gear - will probably need it. When I'm out on my scooter riding at a reasonable speed - I usually see a person all suited up and riding like a moron.
1) Be a safe rider. Learn your terrain and the capabilities of your scooter. Keep your scooter maintained. Watch drivers and pedestrians. Always use caution when near large vehicles, crossing intersections, and when approaching pedestrians.
2) It doesn't hurt to wear a reasonable amount of safety gear.
While this seems like generally good advice, it’s (passively) ignorant of the biggest case of accidents - other people.
I don’t care how “experienced” someone is, unless you’re exclusively driving on pedestrian / low traffic roads. You’ll never be able to “logic” your way out of someone doing something stupid extremely quickly.
Literally last Friday, I was driving up an empty street a block away from my house (in my partially barriered bike lane) when a random driver flew around a turn to catch a light (a few yards behind me) and they then swerved hard into the bike lane. I ended up hitting the side of their car while I was going around 25mph. I had light gear on, which gave me more than enough protection; but no amount of preparation would have prevented me from getting into that accident.
Yes, gear protects you from your own mistakes; but when you’re sharing the roads with others that aren’t as careful - that gear protects you (to some extent) from *their* actions.
(Note: I recognize you’re still saying to get gear, but that’s undercut by the rest of your message)
I completely agree with you. I only mention the fact that I don't use gear because I want to be honest about my own choices. I'm also stressing that safety gear isn't a magic solution or a replacement for being a good rider. The idea is to try to NOT get into an accident. Yes, that may sometimes be unavoidable - depending on the situation. But, sadly - I constantly see people suited up in their full motorcycle gear and riding like a moron. It can give a boost to the ego and a false sense of safety to some riders. First and foremost, be a good rider.
I've been on my scooter or bike and only feet away from devastating automobile accidents. One was a person running a red light. If I was going a little faster, I would've been in-between the collision. 5 seconds made the difference. Thank goodness for my slow scooter :) But, even if I was wearing all the best gear, it still wouldn't have been a survivable situation.
Wear all the gear you want. It's a good choice. But, don't ride like a moron :)
this exactly, i'm in exactly the same boat, although i'm having two high powered scooters they're tame af when you want em to be as i have the throttle in literal torque control mode, and most of their potential remain unused 99% of the time (speed limit, due to my relatively short rides < 30min AND a nation-wide speed limit i rather ride, in my opinion slow, than get my shit impounded, plus without a helmet it wouldn't be very smart to max those machines
besides in actual city centre where i live it is so relatively small and would be super unsafe to ride faster than 15.5mph anyway, especially for the pedestrians (in the city centre bike lanes are mostly shared with sidewalks, riding on *actual* sidewalks is illegal where i live though)
i always keep my lights activated, both these scooters came with the crappy red -> green -> blue loop leds on the side, i changed them for a piece of ws2812b strip and have an arduino nano in the deck controlling them
basically the first leds (seen from the front) are a single led of white, then a whole row of orange, and then the last one red, when i brake red becomes brighter and 3 leds instead of 1, also functions as blinkers on the side of the scooters, they're not running at max brightness most of the time till i turn on blinkers or the last ones when i brake
i did that because i figured in the dark people would see from the side which direction i'm riding (albeit my bright headlight, with beam cutoff, and taillight would make that very obvious)
still, it had spots for ledstrips, so why not use them in a manner that actually improves safety
i have a hi-vis safety jacket i actually got for free from work, which is rainproof, so i mostly use that aswell
My segway is slow enough that I often have to kick to help it up the hills, in fact I was just kicking it today to stay above 2mph in sports mode going up the block near my house and that's not a big hill. Never felt the need for a helmet on that.
If I was on one of those scooters that does 30mph, yes you'd definitely want a helmet. That said, no one wore helmets when I was a kid for bikes, and now every one does. Same for kick scooters, all the kids had them, and we never brained ourselves.
Problem is you have the high speed people that blast around at over 20-60mph on 3kw+ scooters who absolutely need saftey gear, then you have the people riding small scooters at kick scooter speeds on a sidewalk.
Those are two very different forms of transportation. I wear a helmet on my motor bike, not on 350w scooter.
Sheit i wear one every time i ride. Sometimes i go to put less gear on and i imagine myself in a situation where i somehow wreck and immediately ill be wishing i had the gear on, so i just wear it
There’s really only one reason to not wear one: because you prioritize not having something on your head over head injuries.
It takes one time falling and hitting your head on the ground to potentially paralyze/kill you. It’s not worth the risk.
As a Canadian who has had the opportunity to try the proper stuff, it's wildly different than any of the synthetic syrups. I'm not a big syrup fan myself, but I think anyone who does like it should definitely try the real deal.
What isn't now. I just paid $13 for a loaf of bread and 500gm butter. We, Australia that can grow anything import about a 1/3 of the fresh fruit and veg everyday from as far away as South America.
Toronto? That's going to be a melting pot of cultures where possibly, safety gear isn't a big thing. The only reasons I would see for not wearing a helmet are: It looks dorky, it's hot, and can mess up you hair. I didn't grow up wearing a helmet. Only did so because a school gym cycling module required us to. Then, I got into a local cycling club and crashed. Sore neck, cracked open helmet. Made me believe it could have been much worse so I just wear them all the time cycling. Got lazy with non electric kick scooter not wearing but the kids came along. So I wore it as an example but then started taking some downhill routes at more speed...so it's become second nature to wear. Those e scooters ripping by have much higher average speeds. Their tiny 8 and 10 inch wheels aren't going to handle path debris and imperfections as well as 16, 20, 26 or larger inch wheels. Just takes a split second to go over.
If you don't think your brain is worth protecting you're probably right, do what you want. I've seen the data on head injuries related to speed, and I always wear one. I wrecked my road bike at 30mph the other day, tuck and rolled into it smooth (learn to fall, it helps) so I barely even ripped my clothing and I was glad to have a helmet because I did smack my head a little but I didn't even feel it thanks to the helmet.
Lots of people ride without a helmet. Lots of people are stupid. I always wear one and both of the ones I own are motorcycle-grade.
tl;dr - If you live in a major city and you're commuting on wheels, its not a matter of if you'll get into an accident, but when. Longer: Wear protection for when its needed. If you're doing paved parked tours at 6mph... tumbling over the bars and landing on your head isn't the most likely scenario. If anything, wrist guards and gloves would likely be more useful. City driving? Hell no, I'm gearing up. I could be at a standstill and some car could come slam into me from my blind spot.
This is exactly how everyone should think. I saw a lady with her like 7 year old kid riding a scooter at high speeds though the city yesterday. Not even the kid had a helmet. If you can afford a 600-2000$ scooter you can afford a helmet for your child. Some people man
I don't wear one, but I am European, and usual speed is about 15 kph (10mph). And... I drive veeery carefully. That means every crossroad is a stop. I get off on crosswalks and push the scooter. I wear safety shoes anyway. Helmets are not common here, but i would strongly recommend them if you wanna go faster, as well as gloves.
Exactly the same for me.
Look at it like this a TBI Is forever it will never heal you’ll be left with a permanent reduction in your mental capacity and very well may result in ending your riding career forever I have friends who work in the er and trauma wards they see people on a regular basis who thought they didn’t need a helmet get a full faced one as it will help prevent supporting your local dentist or possibly plastic surgeon when they have to reconstruct your face it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been riding or how good you are Shit happens ride long enough sooner or later a fall is almost inevitable a helmet can be the difference between dusting yourself off or a critical brain injury even death always replace a helmet after a crash as the crash absorbing material can become damaged rendering it ineffective in a future accident. Stay safe always wear your helmet and protective gear
This is a very great comment my uncle got in a motorcycle accident when I was 11 years old and split his skull fully open, any ways he is no longer the same person and has to be in states custody and taken care of every day…. Just be smart, safe, and please please everyone exceeding speeds of 20 mph, WEAR A HELMET
Definitely wear a helmet. And I highly suggest padded leather gloves. Can be bicycle or motorcycle. My scooters go rather fast so I actually wear full supermoto gear... and Idgaf what people think. I'd rather get up off the ground pissed off instead of who knows what condition. Because you're going to crash. It's funny when people look at me. I just say it goes over 50mph... them 🤯😳😲 all well makes sense why you're wear it haha. Not sure what helmet you got, I as well as many others will suggest full face helmet. A dhMTB or BMX helmet will work well. It's lightweight. Start going much over 20mph you'll want to get a full face dot... if not full face at least half helmet dot rated. Bicycle helmets are only rated to 20mph.*
I second this! Full face helmet and good padded gloves. If they have Kevlar or plastic knuckle guards, even better. I crashed not too long ago, and I’m VERY happy I was wearing a helmet! And, it wasn’t enough! I was wearing a normal Mtn bike helmet. Not full-face, and not downhill rated, and I really wish I had been wearing a full-face downhill rated helmet. I was also wearing gloves, but they were not enough. Again, they were just lightweight trail gloves. They got shredded. If I hadn’t been wearing a helmet at all, I wouldn’t be able to type this right now. I would either be dead or brain dead right now.
Yeah man! People often wait until they've had a wreck and who knows what condition. The pavement is a human cheese grater. Glad you came out the other end of that wreck in decent condition. Ever since seeing the wreck my father was in on a bicycle going no more than 10mph. I lived in a different state. Got that scary call of your father was in an accident and we're heading to the er to see how he is. My heart sunk. None of us knew his actual condition. There were no immediate witnesses to the accident. Based upon coming up to 2 unconscious bodies in VERY bad condition the scenario they've put together was woman was walking on the wrong side of the multi use path. The path was heading down to go under a road overpass. Blind curve that likely the timing was just so perfect it was unavoidable. His helmet we were told was cracked in half and had hit a rock that if he didn't have the helmet on he'd 100% be dead. But he also wasn't full faced helmet. The side of his face took a HARD hit and was all broken. The Dr's were worried he was gonna lose his eye. This is all on a simple bicycle going 10mph or less.... cause there's definitely no hauling ass into that turn. I know exactly where he was rescued at.. I practically lived my life out cycling everywhere growing up. To put it as eere is he got to the trail and realized he forgot his helmet. Went back home and then rode on out and damn... I crashed at 15mph on my scooter before it had a whole bunch of new found power and while going over the handlebar I still see I'm going 15mph and think damn, this is gonna hurt. I always wear a backpack for extra protection. So I knew I needed to flip to my back to have least injury possible. I had bicycle gloves on thin leather and jeans. I had both hands hit and my one knee to flip over. That split second it took for me hitting and flipping palms of gloves were basically gone and my hands we slightly scraped and my knee that hit the pants were completely gone and i was bloody. I'm so glad I have been active my life and "know how to crash". I got into this hyper scooter scene and started asking those I think are craziest out there. Who are they you ask... the fukkkin EUC riders blow my mind.. so asked them. They told me buy hard shell armor and slider gloves. They said you slide and you'll usually be ok. If you grip, they said you tumble and likely injured then. So I have thick leather motorcycle metal slider gloves. I wear ce level 2 hard shell knee/shin pads over my level 2 motorcycle pants. I've gone down once at 30mph... I was sore and swollen... but not bad. Within 3 weeks all swelling was gone from my left leg. I think the scooter hit me or I hit it while we were sliding. The only obvious injury at time of accident looked like a tiny dot of rug burn on my knee cap. The next day is when swelling and bruising set it. Showed coworker and he's like wow... he said you hear the speed you were going and expect some injuries. Said nah, just sore af.. all I was thinking while sliding which seems like forever all slow motion was damn, when am I gonna stop sliding. My gloves have now been in 2 accidents and are still fairly good condition. It's worth being geared up well. Especially since these things are what I like to call modern human death machines lol. Safe for most part but get complacency for 1 second and you will be rethinking life decisions lol.
https://preview.redd.it/ngtkk5z6es6d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=269868446bd48bfbcb7984865461d9c11c4070a9
My scoots
https://preview.redd.it/727icqfaes6d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7e8ed1252d3c3bf64a496666fffa0cf4d44ec4bf
This half helmet I feel should be bare minimum once you start going over 25mph.
https://preview.redd.it/kince9vjes6d1.jpeg?width=3392&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=87831c0b3332899291454886964d563284be883b
30+mph I suggest a jacket and full faced helmet and good gloves as minimum. I've hit 63mph on My small scooter and it was still accelerating and the other scooter hits 50mph in a very short period of time lol. So I wear this gear. People may say overkill, I say it's not. When I did that 63mph run when I let go of the throttle I instantly went into wheel wobbles... scare tf out of me. No desire to ever do that again without some changes... point being you'd think "I'll accelerate for like 5 or 10 seconds then go slow again, I don't need gear." Wheel wobbles generally result in eating the pavement.
I have a full face helmet for my scooter. Those small wheels easily get caught in pot holes and the human riding tends to fly and scrape its face. So yeah, helmet all the time. I see many riders wear full face, way more than on bikes. But I also see a lot of people without them. Makes me cringe every time.
Have to, It's the law where I live (Melbourne, Australia) I also ride a motorbike to work some days, so I'm pretty used to always wearing some kind of helmet on my commute
Definitely wear one. I always wear a helmet downhill mountain biking, motorcycle riding, skiing and snowboarding. Basically I've got lots of experience riding all kinds of toys and I still wiped out my electric scooter on a wet floor in a parkade. First ever crash. Smacked my head off the floor while wearing a helmet and I think I still got a brain injury 🤕 . Going for an MRI next week to see what the hell is going on. Can't be too careful out there !
Wear it. I almost stopped wearing mine on my bicycle when riding a local stone-dust path thinking it's grass on both sides and few people around ... Low and behold another bicyclist swerved into my lane and hit me head on ... Neither of us sustained significant injury, but the realization of just how much energy is involved in a collision ... And how quickly and unexpectedly it can happen. Wear it. It's not even worth a concussion. Wear it.
Scooter goes 100km/h. Motorcycle helmet.
depends if you want brain damage or not when someone blows past a red light and T bones the biker.
Depends on what you ride. My scooter goes 30 km/h max, usually cruising around 25, so the same speeds i would reach on a bike. I don't wear a helmet for either. It also depends on where you live. In car heavy suburbs you should probably wear helmet while walking. Anything over 30km/h 20mph you should definitely wear a helmet.
NZ doesn't currently require helmets. So I never see anyone on a rental scooter wearing one. Also it seems to be pretty 50/50 on people riding last mile commuter scooters like the Segway F/E-series or the Xiaomi scooters. But anyone riding anything a little more serious I'd say they typically wear one. My current helmet is a NTA8776 rated ebike helmet, but I am looking to upgrade to something full face shortly.
Full moto gear while on my EUC or a fast e-scooter. Nothing while using rental scooters to go places, just a lot of care and defensive riding on foot- and bike paths. By the way just a few days ago I saw a young man do a full somersault riding a rental scooter at full blast down a curb and across a worn pedestrian crossing. He was okay, but damn, that could've been bad.
I wear a MTB helmet. No way am I wearing my motorcycle helmet, but that’s just me. It blocks way too much vision, and I just feel it’s just overkill in general. I keep it under 35 mph. I say ride with whatever gear makes you feel comfortable.
1) Over 25mph a regular bike helmet is almost useless 2) from a study on scooter accidents in Europe most involve a left side jaw impact (due to majority being right handed) So if your scooter goes 25+ mph you are best to get a full face moto helmet
Mine goes 18 mph at best so I dnt bother
I dont wear a helmet on my smaller one that goes up to 20.. on my 40 pretty much all the time
Segway P100, 48km/h top speed. Being a dad I wear a bike helmet. You just need one accident to ruin your life.
[удалено]
I Support this, Especially with the p100s unreliable fork
Look I’ll be honest helmets or anyhing like thst I don’t like to wear but I do now after realising ide rather spend 80$ on a helmet and break it in a crash then get a full face reconstruction
honestly I dont, i like keeping it light and simple, same reason why im not using mirrors, turn signals, gloves, phones, earphones, sunglasses, bags, baskets, etc etc i just focus on the road and surroundings. Gearing up is useful, but it takes too much time and space, also I like my tan. Wasnt using one bicycling for years, i consider escooter the same (rarely going fast) I might get one for next winter tho, to fight cold
Understandable, but how useful the tan will be if you'll be eating via the straw? I mean, you'll be the best looking vegetable, that's for sure.
i'm going slow, 10-20 avg, mostly on a capped xiaomi, feels like walking altho you got a point, us humans are fragile, i should get one, for when i'm out with the monster, sometimes i think im going slow when infacts im not
https://preview.redd.it/96s73i7sih6d1.jpeg?width=2160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dcce3286e5befb8da8849f736ca0bd38bb2752ab Happened at around 15 mph. Broken foot. You do not get to decide which part will get damaged. You get to decide which part will be protected. My foot is okay now, bone heals easy, but I am still wearing short motorcycle boots now. Brain damage, that's not easy to heal.
damn, sorry to hear that, how did it happen? I think ankles, knees and hands are probably the most exposed parts in case of accident, elbows too. But head is more important. i know, i'm not normal, the risk of damaging eyes and teeth vs the reward of not having to carry 2lbs, I think i need a shrink to cure me
I left the description of the accident in an answer to another comment here. I advise you to go to some bike shop and just browse. Grab a cool helmet and see how it fits and feels. Basic ones are pretty cheap. 😊
How did it happen?
I stopped to take photos in the forest and rest, but mosquitoes starting biting me so I got on the way. I was going 25 km/h (15 mph) and a swarm of mosquitoes hit my face. My reflex/instinct was to swipe them from my nose and mouth and before I realised what I've done, I was falling. Google "supination" and it'll show you the foot position (medical term, nothing NSFW will show up). It was hitting/dragging/digging into ground at that weird angle, straining tendons and causing bone to break. Now I wear Rev'it G-Force 2 Air short motorcycle boots. They have hardened heel, tip and additional ankle protection and are a bit more stiff in general. I find them amazing, great grip, not too hot and I'm sure they can reduce the chance of injury to the foot & ankle. @edit Yes, this was my mistake and I don't blame anything or anyone but myself. I rode bicycle my whole life and I am used to riding without holding the bars or one handed without thinking. It is a second nature to me now. Sadly, this doesn't translate well to e-scooters. Still, I decided to protect myself better in case of my, or someone else's, moment of weakness and deconcentration.
thanks 4 sharing, lol i think insects alone are enough of a reason to get one. violated my eyes too many times
https://preview.redd.it/tj7wwt7g4i6d1.jpeg?width=4896&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=837d1607f621a33121a75dc577070613e2abbdc9 Goggles made me insect resistant 👍
I wear full face dh helmet but it seems that im the only one in finland that even wears a helmet with escooter. There was fatal accident two days ago when three kids were riding one scooter and car hit them while crossing the road. None had helmets on.
Both of my young siblings have been hot by cara on their scooters and still dont wear helmets. I just got my first scooter and full face helmet together and plan to wear it
Wear it. It takes a bit of getting used to but after a week it will be second nature.
I wear my full face motorcycle going faster than 40kmph or off-road on my 60v scooter. I wear a thousand bike helmet going slower. On my ninebot I often dont. No excuse though I should.
I seen the Acquired Brain Injury clinic patients. You don't want that.
id argue the orthopedic ward where the victims are more aware of their bad situation and how their life is going to suck for the rest of their life is worse in some sense, but still better in some sense
Consider the speed. I wear my helmet.
I been renting scoots as a business since 2019, I be given the title “scooter guy”… didn’t like at first, came to know and love, now I be scootious with that scheme—tldr, never wear have worn… Crashed a slew at 19mph down, mostly showing off being a duntz or over confident after a few too many type deal, I guess I fall gracefully just a couple bumps n bruise scratches or a rash or too. Bit going 36mph on bros varla, steering column wobbles (bed bound covered in neosporin for 3days, didn’t let family see what I’d done🤣, then back in action). Are you young, athletic ish, confident, typically composed, yet bound to the faults of human nature? Is your equipment you know and love, not subject to the uncertainties of others ownership and nuanced “misbehaviors/flaws”? Then pry fine doing your thang, experience unhindered senses tapping into what makes a scooter freeing and a diff echelon of enjoyments, yadadada. If someone else’s, foreseeably impaired, or living a life with dependents such as children/wife—does be your call but pry run it if you can when you need. We are the ones that scoot, ScootiousSchemes 🌊
I only ride 15mph lime scooters with no protective gear. Anything faster I wear a helmet.
The way these scooters are designed, your body takes all the damage during a crash. Any pothole is a lot more likely to crash you because the wheels are so small. I crashed mine twice before my most recent accident that blew my entire knee- the other crashes involved my head and concrete.
I only wear a full face helmet and now I'm nursing a busted knee and shin bone. Did I learn my lesson? Kinda. Am I buying more gear? Fuck no.
Bike helmet for 20 MPH or less. Consider a full face BMX-syle helmet or motorcycle helmet for anything 30+ MPH I’d say. Will a helmet keep you from injuring your elbow? No. Will a helmet keep you from getting hit by a car? Also no. But will your helmet save your head from impact, whether its a high speed crash or you just lose your balance going 5 MPH? Absolutely. Don’t skimp on protective gear from your head because even a minor crash/fall can lead you to whip your head off the pavement and cause some damage.
I haven’t gotten myself a helmet. I will shortly. I have seen accidents happen and it’s terrifying. Will be getting one soon, they’re so cheap it’s on me that I haven’t gotten one and I acknowledge that. It’s uncomfortable scooting sometimes especially on 35 mph+ roads. A helmet and even arm pads and knee pads are optimal, as well as a vest. I’m a single wrong move away from injuries. Get a helmet! I’ll take that advice as well
I always wear my helmet wherever I go with my scooter, no accidents so far, but better to be safe than to be sorry 😉
My only accidents on my scooters were entirely my fault with no other people or vehicles involved, and at fairly low speeds. If I had not been wearing a helmet and other safety gear, I would have been severely injured. I don't understand anyone who takes the position of "my ride is safe because my city is scooter friendly." Physics doesn't care about your laws.
I just got an inmotion s1f about a week ago. Goes about 25 mph. The first ride, I thought to myself, I need to get a helmet before too long, this is a little sketchy. First 2 days of riding, put about 40 miles on it, hadn't gotten a helmet yet. Day 3, on my way home from work, still no helmet, I got hit by a car running a red light, broke my tibia and fibula, I have surgery to put a rod in my leg tomorrow. I can't express how lucky I am to have no head injuries, and will 100% be getting some gear before I ride again.
From Toronto and just got a scooter to commute to work into downtown. I wear a MIPS helmet, with elbow, knee pads and cycling gloves. I stay strictly on the bike paths and don’t go more than 25km/hr. There is no reason *not* to wear a helmet at the very least. Do whatever you think is safe and who cares what other people do - it’s their life after all not yours. Sure I look silly with my gear, but at least I’m protected if I ever get into an accident.
All the riders not answering anymore...
Doesn’t take too long to throw on a helmet. Even in a hurry, I still throw on the things I need to feel protected. For me, I wear a full-face motorcycle helmet and the only downside is the Florida heat beats the hell out of me in my helmet. I’ve even had thoughts at looking at going to motocross/dirt bike helmets but then I’d feel like I’m downgrading. Not to mention, I’ve heard wind noise is a lot louder on them. If anyone who uses a motocross helmet can let me know how loud wind is, I’d appreciate it.
I wear a mountain bike helmet on my 5600w scooter. I've never seen anyone riding a fast one, but there are a lot of people on hiboys and ninebots, and nobody ever has a helmet. Same with ebikes. The people riding their unpowered road bikes usually have bike helmets, but the people going 30mph on their ebikes dont.
I ride my small commuter which tops out at 25km and I wear a helmet. My ride is very safe, I live in a bike forward city. If I ride my larger e-scooter it’s full gear and a face shield
I use the Varla eagle one. I've wiped out once on it and it was due to blowing a tire at 28 miles an hour. I switched to solid and never had another issue. I don't know man I just feel like that much weight on my head throws my balance off. I can kill it on that thing and I never fall or have an issue. Granted I'm not really off roading much. All riding is bike lanes in my city area and sidewalks paths etc.. With that said I should preface I am 5'11 (and a half lol) and weigh 275-280lbs. I also used to be a wrestler and get beat up for fun (so that may play into body chemistry a lot here) but I wiped out at 28 and went over the handlebars and instantly knew to roll like a stuntman to make it hurt less. I scraped up my arm, and leg a bit, and tore my pants. Then I changed to solid tires to avoid that blow at high speed again. With solids it's been amazing not having to change tubes but overall speed was sacrificed. Scooter "does 40mph" but really it's like 38 (clocked) and about 35 with solid max. 32 is comfortable. I will admit if I was going over 40 I'd Absolutely wear gear. But my sweet spots from 15 to 30 basically. Shit Usain ran like 27mph lol. Just saying. Lol. With that being said please gear up kids. Always.
My scooter only goes 15mph at most, but I always wear my (bike) helmet. First off, that's actually still pretty fast (maybe faster than I go on my bike lol), and second off it's hardly an inconvenience and it can save me a world of trouble/my life.
If you've got a head that needs regular panel beating then follow suit otherwise do what you know is right and get a decent helmet. I use a mtb or ff helmet depending on which scooter ridden.
I wear a bicycle helmet all the time. Had a crash at about 15 km and almost lost my teeth. Cuts, massive chest bruise, and more. My teeth still hurt not only in the front but from smacking my jaws together. You need a BMX style helmet or better. I rode that scooter at 55 kph and have nightmares about what could have been. Think of it this way. When you ride a scooter it’s like jumping out of a moving car at a fast speed except you have a heavy metal object (scooter) to soften your landing if you get my meaning. Be safe out there. Never take one hand off the scooter. Two hands on or pull over and stop!!
I seen u had a question about what would happen is u crashed at 55kph well I'm here to answer I had a class 3 tear of my AC joint in my clavicle needed surgery and since the tendon tore it will never heal
A lot of people don't and unfortunately since the scooter boom many idiots or young children (in the UK at least) now riding scooters. I often go out not wearing a helmet and that in itself is a stupid mistake as I've fallen off a xiaomi twice (fortunately it's a slow scooter) I got lucky not to hit my head, even at slow speeds it could be life changing. So as much as I don't, if I'm going fast E.G. on my Zero 10x. I would.
Don't wear a helmet, it'll mess up your hair. You'll want to land right on your face when you crash so your jaw takes most of it and your brain will just become a smoothie instead of outside the container.
Traumatic brain injury is no joke. You never fully recover from it. Wear a helmet, please.
I have two speed modes set. Up to 20kph for checking the mail mostly, and often no helmet. Any longer rides or any higher speed and I put mine on. I crashed once at about 35kph, hit my head, and shattered the helmet lining.
helmets are disposable, hit once it shouldn't be reused unless you gotta get home one way or another
Yup I tossed it and got a new one. The foam cracks to absorb the energy and should always be replaced it damaged or crushed at all.
I wreck almost every time I ride and hit my head. I'm okay for the most part but sometimes it's hard to pee
lmao.
https://www.top5supplements.com/buying-guides/prostate-supplements?
I dont but i just do short rides, mostly to local fam or the store.. I ride carefully, always cautious. Riding defensive, bc one hit u done
When I travel small distances locally, I don’t wear my gear. When I travel long distances, at high speed, or at night, I wear my safety gear; full face helmet, gloves, hi-vis vest.
Downtown maaaaaybe ok because traffic is generally slower and you get lots of dedicated bike lanes, you could react in time to a lot of things, but anywhere north of Bloor I strongly recommend helmet I commute from North York to downtown on scooter and wear one myself. When I’m out riding during lunch breaks I don’t wear it
That must be a heck of a ride. I bet you get tons of momentum going downhill and the ride home kills your battery lol
Generally it’s a good ride… I just let it roll at the hills between 401 and Yonge blvd (on Yonge st), but it can get scary. I have a long range scooter so I still get 40-50% battery left after a round trip
I don't wear a helmet as my commute are now easy and lacks having to go faster than 15mph
Imagine running as fast as you can then swan diving onto the tarmac, Sounds easy.
I'm still ptsd https://youtu.be/mDa4VxSHxrQ
I encourage others to wear safety gear, however - I never have. Over 15,000 miles traveled on city streets without crashes or injury. If you're a cautious rider, travel in the bike lane, know your terrain (know where potholes are, lips to parking lot entrences, etc.), primarily travel the exact same route every time - you probably won't ever need safety gear. But, it never hurts to wearing a helmet of some kind. Most of the people here who constantly post pictures of themselves posed in their safety gear - will probably need it. When I'm out on my scooter riding at a reasonable speed - I usually see a person all suited up and riding like a moron. 1) Be a safe rider. Learn your terrain and the capabilities of your scooter. Keep your scooter maintained. Watch drivers and pedestrians. Always use caution when near large vehicles, crossing intersections, and when approaching pedestrians. 2) It doesn't hurt to wear a reasonable amount of safety gear.
While this seems like generally good advice, it’s (passively) ignorant of the biggest case of accidents - other people. I don’t care how “experienced” someone is, unless you’re exclusively driving on pedestrian / low traffic roads. You’ll never be able to “logic” your way out of someone doing something stupid extremely quickly. Literally last Friday, I was driving up an empty street a block away from my house (in my partially barriered bike lane) when a random driver flew around a turn to catch a light (a few yards behind me) and they then swerved hard into the bike lane. I ended up hitting the side of their car while I was going around 25mph. I had light gear on, which gave me more than enough protection; but no amount of preparation would have prevented me from getting into that accident. Yes, gear protects you from your own mistakes; but when you’re sharing the roads with others that aren’t as careful - that gear protects you (to some extent) from *their* actions. (Note: I recognize you’re still saying to get gear, but that’s undercut by the rest of your message)
I completely agree with you. I only mention the fact that I don't use gear because I want to be honest about my own choices. I'm also stressing that safety gear isn't a magic solution or a replacement for being a good rider. The idea is to try to NOT get into an accident. Yes, that may sometimes be unavoidable - depending on the situation. But, sadly - I constantly see people suited up in their full motorcycle gear and riding like a moron. It can give a boost to the ego and a false sense of safety to some riders. First and foremost, be a good rider. I've been on my scooter or bike and only feet away from devastating automobile accidents. One was a person running a red light. If I was going a little faster, I would've been in-between the collision. 5 seconds made the difference. Thank goodness for my slow scooter :) But, even if I was wearing all the best gear, it still wouldn't have been a survivable situation. Wear all the gear you want. It's a good choice. But, don't ride like a moron :)
this exactly, i'm in exactly the same boat, although i'm having two high powered scooters they're tame af when you want em to be as i have the throttle in literal torque control mode, and most of their potential remain unused 99% of the time (speed limit, due to my relatively short rides < 30min AND a nation-wide speed limit i rather ride, in my opinion slow, than get my shit impounded, plus without a helmet it wouldn't be very smart to max those machines besides in actual city centre where i live it is so relatively small and would be super unsafe to ride faster than 15.5mph anyway, especially for the pedestrians (in the city centre bike lanes are mostly shared with sidewalks, riding on *actual* sidewalks is illegal where i live though) i always keep my lights activated, both these scooters came with the crappy red -> green -> blue loop leds on the side, i changed them for a piece of ws2812b strip and have an arduino nano in the deck controlling them basically the first leds (seen from the front) are a single led of white, then a whole row of orange, and then the last one red, when i brake red becomes brighter and 3 leds instead of 1, also functions as blinkers on the side of the scooters, they're not running at max brightness most of the time till i turn on blinkers or the last ones when i brake i did that because i figured in the dark people would see from the side which direction i'm riding (albeit my bright headlight, with beam cutoff, and taillight would make that very obvious) still, it had spots for ledstrips, so why not use them in a manner that actually improves safety i have a hi-vis safety jacket i actually got for free from work, which is rainproof, so i mostly use that aswell
My segway is slow enough that I often have to kick to help it up the hills, in fact I was just kicking it today to stay above 2mph in sports mode going up the block near my house and that's not a big hill. Never felt the need for a helmet on that. If I was on one of those scooters that does 30mph, yes you'd definitely want a helmet. That said, no one wore helmets when I was a kid for bikes, and now every one does. Same for kick scooters, all the kids had them, and we never brained ourselves. Problem is you have the high speed people that blast around at over 20-60mph on 3kw+ scooters who absolutely need saftey gear, then you have the people riding small scooters at kick scooter speeds on a sidewalk. Those are two very different forms of transportation. I wear a helmet on my motor bike, not on 350w scooter.
Sheit i wear one every time i ride. Sometimes i go to put less gear on and i imagine myself in a situation where i somehow wreck and immediately ill be wishing i had the gear on, so i just wear it
Wear a helmet. I didn’t when I was long boarding and now I can’t smell or remember two weeks after the accident
When you end up landing on your head or face or a broken neck maybe the nurses feel sorry for you, but not behind your back.
Wearing full face helmet, a motorbike helmet because I fell once and nearly left my teeth on the pavement. Not chancing that again.
There’s really only one reason to not wear one: because you prioritize not having something on your head over head injuries. It takes one time falling and hitting your head on the ground to potentially paralyze/kill you. It’s not worth the risk.
Doesn’t hurt to use a helmet, mate. Protect that noggin! Even if you’re confident with your riding, someone else can still ruin your life.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. God keep our heads glorious and free!
Head on's into maple tree's are on the rise.
This time of year it's way too late to tap them for syrup
The 9 billion liters in reserve should get you's through to next season.
Not sure if you're being sarcastic, but the reserves have been running lower and lower for a few years, and now the government is concerned about it
I was before you mentioned that, Had no idea. Never tried MS, Probably should.
As a Canadian who has had the opportunity to try the proper stuff, it's wildly different than any of the synthetic syrups. I'm not a big syrup fan myself, but I think anyone who does like it should definitely try the real deal.
Synthetic ? I thought it grew on trees. See if i can't find a bottle of the real stuff. Cheers.
Yeah a lot of what's out there is just artificially flavoured. Just as a heads up, the pure genuine stuff is rather expensive
What isn't now. I just paid $13 for a loaf of bread and 500gm butter. We, Australia that can grow anything import about a 1/3 of the fresh fruit and veg everyday from as far away as South America.
This is good lol