For years now, I’ve used electric scooters as my primary source of transportation for short trips, grocery runs and for just getting around town, as a result I have many many hours of experience riding safely around cars and avoiding accidents. Here are the best tips I have for keeping yourself safe on an electric scooter when riding around in urban environments.
1.Plan your trip.
Be sure to plan the route you take to your destination before heading out being familiar with the area, and planning a route that gives you constant access to bike Lanes, sidewalks or a dedic at bike path will keep you the safest. when I’m riding to a destination I’ve never been to before, I like to use the bike feature on Google Maps, which generally does a good job of routing you along the streets and paths that will be the safest for a two- wheeled Rider. A phone mount can be useful here for keeping an eye on your route while you’re riding. remember it’s always better to take a slightly longer path that is safer than trying to save 5 minutes by riding along a road with no bike lane or sidewalk. I’ll talk about how to ride safely with traffic if there aren’t any other options in a minute, but do your best to plan a route that avoids this especially if you’re on a slower scooter.
2. Ride with the flow of traffic.
I’m sure you’ve heard it a million times, but I’ll reiterate ride on the right side of the road whenever you can, this obviously is for countries where you drive on the right side of the road, I live in the United States, so everything I explain will be based on right side of the road driving. in countries where you drive on the left side of the road just reverse everything. I’m about to explain riding on the right side of the road will give you the best chance to be seen by vehicles, and will keep you the safest. cars pulling out of drive ways and making right turns onto the street where you’re riding will naturally look in your direction. I always try to make eye contact with the driver as I ride up, so I know that they see me when in doubt. you can always go around the back of a car, also be aware of traffic making left turns coming from the opposite direction. you should be visible to them but sometimes they aren’t looking for bikes and scooters or they don’t realize how quickly you’re traveling, be sure to slow down a bit and hover a finger over your brakes, if you see someone preparing to make a left turn in front of you, this applies doubly at a busy intersection, opposite direction traffic with a green light waiting to make their left turn. might be only focused on car traffic, if you’re in the bike lane and following the traffic lights and the crosswalk sign isn’t green, the cars might assume that you’re going to stop for the crosswalk sign and then turn in front of you, maintaining a controllable speed through intersections where you can break quickly and respond to the actions of cars around you,it is key and remember to trust your instincts if it feels like the driver doesn’t see you then slow down and be prepared to break, if needed slowing down also gives drivers more time to see you.
3. ride in the bike Lanes.
It may seem like the safest place to ride is the sidewalk, but it is actually the bike lanes that are best. bike lanes are much more visible to traffic and offer a buffer between you and those pulling out of ,driveways people often do not stop and begin looking until after they’ve pulled out past the sidewalk. here are a few rules to follow when riding in the bike Lanes, if you have a scooter that can go faster than the speed limit, you should still avoid passing cars when traffic is moving at a normal pace. you never know when a car might need to make a right turn, turn into a parking lot or at an intersection, stay visible in the mirrors of cars you’re driving next to and keep pace with traffic, so that you’re visible and predictable to the drivers, passing traffic that is stopped or moving slowly is more acceptable, but avoid doing this at high speed when close to intersections driveways and other turn-ins, be aware of cars parked next to a bike lane getting doored is probably the worst thing.I can imagine happening while riding other than a full-on car crash, leave adequate room between you and the cars parked on the side of the road, there should be enough room in a bike lane to stay away from parked cars and out of the road, if there isn’t or there’s a car parked in the bike lane, consider using the sidewalk to avoid this or sharing the road.if your scooter can not comfortably keep up with traffic, if you do need to ride on the sidewalk be sure to lower your speed, and be hyper aware of cars coming out of driveways, also be aware of people on the sidewalks and be especially courteous to has biking or horseback Trails. try to get where you’re going using those as much as possible, be sure to be courteous and ride slowly around pedestrians and bike riders. remember that your safety is more important than the Kilroys who might not like you using the paths, though I have found that people often won’t take issue with you if you slow down and smile as you pass them.
4. choosing the correct scooter.
When purchasing a scooter or choosing which one you’re going to be riding, you’ll need to consider what the riding conditions of your trip, will man, for example, a few years ago, my commute to work involved going down a section of one lane road that had no bike lane no sidewalk and no shoulder ,the speed limit of that section was 25 Mimes per hour, and I knew that as long as I had a scooter that could do 25 or 30, I could keep up with traffic for that section of Road, this section of Road included a blind corner ,and if I was using a 15 mph scooter then I would have been putting myself in a lot of danger, fast scooters aren’t just for recreational riding but can be essential to staying safe in non-ideal conditions, the reality is that a lot of your riding will have to be done in non-ideal conditions, American cities generally are not micromobility friendly, and you required to deal with conditions as they are in the best way you can. I’ll go over some other conditions that I’ve personally encountered and how to best handle them, first riding on the left side of the road ,sometimes the only bike lane or sidewalk will be on the left side of the road, you need to carefully consider the conditions and know how fast your scooter can go, and how comfortable you are at higher speeds before deciding if it’s better to ride on the wrong side of the road with a bike lane or on the right side of the road in traffic. if you ride on the left you really need to put yourself into the mind of drivers people pulling out to make a right turn will not look in your direction most of the time.be sure to slow down ,and wait for the driver to either make eye contact with you or make their turn before continuing again, go around the back of cars pulling out whenever you can look over your shoulder to the right when entering an intersection.to check for cars making a left turn onto the street you’re Crossing ,they often can’t tell how fast you’re riding or maybe only paying attention to Brakes in traffic and not to the opposite sidewalk.stop at the intersection or driveway and wait if you’re ever in doubt , riding in the road depending on the side of the lanes you’re riding in and the speed of your scooter, there are a few different approaches to take when riding in the road ,if the size of the lane permits stay close to the right side of the lane, and give space for cars to pass. if the lane is narrow use the full Lane to establish yourself as a rider and discourage people from passing you. the same rule applies if you have a scooter fast enough to keep up with traffic, To use the full Lane and don’t allow cars to ride side by side with you in the same Lane , be sure to have a scooter with signals and use those signals to change lanes, if you’re going to be using a turning lane in traffic, if your scooter doesn’t have them use your feet to Signal turns, don’t take a hand off the scooter to Signal your turns like you would do for a bike, trying to ride with one hand is much more dangerous than not signaling,and then I have just a couple other thoughts I’ve come to mind and experiences I’ve had while riding. first, people love to speed up to to enter a driveway in front of you either, because they’re impatient or they don’t realize how fast you’re traveling, you should get used to glancing over your shoulder or installing a rear view mirror to keep track of cars approaching you from behind. the beauty of an electric scooter is how adaptable you can be, you have the luxury of utilizing the size and speed of a peev to get to your destination quickly and safely .using unconventional methods and routes ,bike Lanes, sidewalks roads, dirt roads ,plazas ,parking lots, Parks apartment complexes, and just about anywhere you can fit your scooter are available to use,just use common sense and stay safe above all else ,and then because there’ll be comments about this if I don’t address it obviously, wear appropriate safety gear that is a given at minimum you should be wearing a helmet , but you should wear what you feel the most safe in, I hope these tips have been helpful if I missed something let me know down below.
