Category:  safety

I got pulled over by the cops last night, NYPD Blue-style.

I've only been pulled over once - when I was sixteen. It's funny, how it happened last night, because I thought I was getting out of the way so they could pursue the real criminal who had triggered those flashing lights and sirens. Oh - that would be me?

Maybe it's the Vespa paraphernalia plastered all over my cubicle at work, or the helmet on my desk, or my close encounters with coworkers in the parking garage. It could even be the fact that I frequently arrive in the morning soaking wet. But everyone at my day job knows I'm way into scooters.

If I come in on Monday with a sunburned nose, they ask if I rode a lot over the weekend. After stopping for gas on the way in, they tell me they were considering a scooter. People I've never met stop by to ask for my advice on the feasibility of commuting on two wheels. "I heard you're the Scooter Girl," they say in a hushed tone. "Can you hook me up with the 411?"

I heartily endorse the acquisition of a scooter, and I intersperse every sentence with, "Take the safety course." If it's your first scooter, get an automatic. Take the safety course. Parking can be much easier on a scooter. Take the safety course. I'd recommend a 150cc if you live in the 'burbs. Take the safety course. Oh, and - take the safety course.

In my travels, I've encountered road surfaces both comforting and ghastly. Nothing compares to a straight, flat stretch of newly paved asphalt. It's like a breath of fresh air, a sigh of relief. Seattle has hands-down the worst roads of any city I've ridden. If you doubt me, just take Airport Way S. to Georgetown on a Stella with a chopped seat. Let me know if all your teeth are still attached when you arrive.

I've been ruminating on my least favorite road surfaces, partially because I find it gratifying to keep lists and partially because I thought it would make a good safety article. Here are my top five, in no particular order:

If you ride in the city, you know how crazy traffic can be. I'm not as worried about the roads, curves, my tires or my own error as I am about other drivers. Angry drivers, oblivious drivers, drivers composing epic text messages while steering with their knees.

I know it sounds dismal, but once you've embraced the reality that every car on the road could possibly hit you, you can begin to plan appropriately. The good news: 99.9% of them won't. But while planning for the worst, you get lots of practice in obstacle avoidance, you develop better reaction time, and gain the ability to plan an escape route in a heartbeat.

There is a particularly challenging street I take daily.E. Roy St. is wicked steep - officially, an 18% grade and on SDOT's 20 Steepest Streets in Seattle list. It's a handy route to test your brakes, your horsepower, or (gulp) your mastery of the clutch on your Stella or P-series.