Category: Legal & Safe

Ben Roethlisberger: Too cool for a helmet

This screenshot from ESPN is funny, but riding without a helmet is not. Especially if you have a multimillion-dollar sports contract that prohibits riding a motorcycle, and your coach has already bawled you out for riding without a helmet. I’m sure once he heals, the Bears will pick him up, Kordell-style, and pay him a few million bucks to play three exhibition games and then get injured or busted for drunk driving or some other vast act of lameness that I can’t even conceive right now. (Thanks Steve for this and the last link)

Tip for scooterists:
How to guarantee a public beatdown

A suspectedly-drunk man on a scooter was detained by onlookers and arrested in Herzogenrath, Germany on Friday, after crashing three times within a two-hour span:

[…] The 22-year-old man first crashed the scooter as he took a
corner […], losing his helmet in the process, police in nearby Aachen said. Unfazed, the man remounted and plowed straight into the back of a parked car. He flew head over heels through the back
window, landing inside […] “Then he crawled out of the vehicle again, and sped off,” an Aachen police spokesman said. […] Onlookers tried to stop the man, but he fled. Two hours later, bystanders were shocked as the scooter crashed leaving a gas station, this time with the man as passenger.

Please don’t ride drunk.

Kalaisha speaks out, inspires “Critical Gas”

Her jaw finally unwired, Kalaisha Watrous speaks about her accident to the Portland Mercury’s “Blogtown.” Her message: “this could have happened to anybody.” Watrous’ ordeal has sparked a weekly Portland motorcycle and scooter awareness ride, Critical Gas, and a hometown benefit is taking place tonight (Friday 5/12/06). For more information about the accident and how to help, visit kalaisha.org. Thanks Darn McCabe

Meet a Motorcyclist

In honor of Motorcycle Awareness Month (May), Ducati Riders of Illinois (DRILL) is sponsoring a “Meet a Motorcyclist” event at noon this Saturday (5-13-06) in the parking lot of Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, IL. They’re encouraging well-mannered two-wheelers to come out and show the public we’re not ALL the scourge of the earth (i.e. stockbrokers with new Harleys). Thanks for the tip, Janaki. (Event cancelled on 5/11/06)

SCooTS gives wheels to rural british students

Herts24 reports that an organization called “Scooter and Cycle Transport Solutions” (SCooTS), with the help of the North Hertfordshire District Council and Hertfordshire County Council, is loaning 50cc scooters to rural 16 to 25-year-olds where there are no other transportation options, allowing them to travel to school or work. Training and safety checks are also included in the program.

The Denny’s dumpster is not a HazMat disposal center
(not even at 3am)

As I was hunting for a new battery for our motorcycle this morning (found at Illinois Battery, thanks), Matthew posted some links to upcoming hazardous household waste drop-offs in our area (Illinois EPA schedule / Northern Cook County schedule). Scooterists use all kinds of paints, cleaners, oils, and lubricants to maintain their scooters, and we go through batteries and tires much faster than the average citizen (“but they get such good mileage!”). If I was smart, I would have taken the battery to the store with me and exchanged it. Most auto parts, battery, and tire stores accept discarded hazardous materials for disposal, and most local agencies have collection days and disposal guidelines. More suggestions for recycling and disposal of household hazardous waste can be found in this EPA document.