Vespa My Love (Not)
Posted on | May 22, 2008 at 7:40 am | Comments Off
Pet Peeve of the Day: Scooters. The high price of gas is evidently bringing them out in droves. Suddenly these two-wheeled motorized motorcycle-lite vehicle menaces are everywhere. There’s even one taking up a space everyday in the parking garage at work. I guess everyone was just waiting for the warm weather to buy them and/or start using them. They are cute little things. I can’t fault people for buying and driving them. They do save on gas and are more environmentally friendly than cars.
And they are faster than bicycles and so interfere with auto traffic a little less. But when they’re on the street, they’re harder to pass than bikes. I don’t mind them on side streets where the speed limit is low, but once they start getting on the main drags, that’s a different story. On the way to work yesterday morning, I got behind a couple of them on Kipling, which is a fairly major thoroughfare with a speed limit of like 45 (but everyone goes 55). I was able to get ahead of them fairly easily, but I kept watch on them in my rear view mirror and saw how much the dynamics of the rush hour road flow changes as car drivers maneuvered to get around them. It was chaos.
At least you don’t see them on the highways, which I’m sure must be illegal. I wonder how come they don’t have to have license plates, like motorcycles? Bicycles don’t have them either, but they’re not motorized and generally go slower. What if I want to call the police about an out-of-control drunken scooter driver messing up traffic on a major street? Out of luck.
And I worry about roving gangs of scooter drivers, pillaging the local Wal-Marts and setting up shop in Starbucks to taunt the regulars. But I’m pretty sure I’m the only one worrying about that.
Latre.
Jogged Today: Yes (@ 56°F)
Songs That Came Up On The iPod While Jogging:
- “What Makes You Happy” (Liz Phair)
- “Desperate For Dawn” (Shalini)
- “All We Have Is Now” (Gem)
- “I Wonder Why” (Uncle Green)
- “You’re The Reason I’m Leaving” (Franz Ferdinand)
- “After Work” (Baskervilles)
- “Nirvana” (Blake Babies)