Why Americans are not riding scooters?? (job, economy, register, crisis)

[J.Thomas]

It would make perfect sense.

Most of people have garages or place to store their cars.

Scooters are cheap, get crazy MPG and easy to park.

You can still keep your car and use scooter sometimes to commute.

Even you can cut 3.000 miles in a year it would be terrific saving.

Both gas and CO2.

[Hemlock140]

Where are you that you don't see scooters? In Seattle, they are all over the place. There are at least 4 scooter stores, that I know of.

[wpme]

If your commute is on city streets then scooters would be fine, but scooters are too underpowered for expressways, and the handling at those speeds is terrifying. I ride a sportbike, its not about economy, its about going crazy fast

[MLSFan]

scooters don't handle well at highway speeds at 70+mph but your arguments for a motorcycle is still valid

you forget the safety issue though, they are just unsafe compared to a car :S

I want a cam-am spyder bike (those cool looking 3 wheel motorcycles), I'll probably wait until I hit my mid-life crisis for it. I'm still in my sports car phase lol

• No place to store it.
• Can't be used to get from suburbs to job in the city, or from city to job in the suburbs
• Still need a car

Two-wheeled transportation is mostly something people get on top of their four-wheeled transportation. The US is not really built for small, cheap transportation.

[2nd trick op]

Around here, the local papers have run too many stories about cyclists being hit, occasionally fatally, by older drivers who said they "just didn't see them"; scooters, and their operators, would likely be just as vulnerable, if not even more so.

[rruff]

Originally Posted by eyeb

you forget the safety issue though, they are just unsafe compared to a car :S

This is the biggest issue. When you have to share the road with the ubiquitous 5000 lb SUVs it puts you very low on the food chain. Plus, try it on oil slicks and ice.

The other big one is a lack of weather protection.

Both of these could be solved by repurposing roads in urban areas to favor very small enclosed vehicles.

[J.Thomas]

So SUV drivers just hit scooters

[rruff]

Originally Posted by J.Thomas

So SUV drivers just hit scooters

Can't see'm since they are too small to register as a "threat".

[Meemur]

Originally Posted by J.Thomas

So SUV drivers just hit scooters

Lottsa soccermoms are sleep deprived. Happens quite a bit. I would only ride somewhere cars aren't allowed.