Miguel wrote: I also couldnt figure out how I was going to get a shin injury easily if I did fall. Someone here or on another site stated a statistic that the most common injuries were to the ankle.
Boots with stout uppers on them are super important on a scooter. Here's why :
Scooters are a bit different than motorcycles or bicycles, because they have that big floor and legshield sticking out on the sides. It has a tendency to land right on the lower leg when a lowside occurs , especially when the rider tries to "flat track" the lowside and stick the leg out on the ground to steady the situation ...an automatic,instinctive move for anybody who has ever ridden a dirt bike, BMX bike ,street bike, or otherwise kicked the ass end out on
any bike. You put that inside leg on the ground to hold stuff up as the rear wheel kicks out. Bikes typically lowside on the handlebar and footrest , with a gap underneath for your leg to ride it out. Not so with a scooter, you will find a rash running right down the sidewalls of both the legshield and the floor if you look at one that has lowsided. No place for a lower leg to go , except to the orthopedic surgeon , if that "edge" lands on it.
Broken Tibia/Fibula time.
One piece of good advice for anyone riding a scooter ..... get your feet
up on the floor if you are going down .You probably won't even get a scratch , even in Chucks or flip-flops. But if you hang that leg out there and get it caught under the floor..... it's gonna suck , and stout boots will save your skin, but only the
best roadracing boots stand a chance to transfer the weight of the scooter from your Tib/Fib to the ground , and prevent a fracture. Hiking boots or work boots might prevent some abrasion ,but basically have a soft upper which doesn't transfer weight. You can kiss those Chuck Taylors goodbye....they will probably end up cut to shreds in the garbage can at the E.R. as they reset your leg , sad to say. Only the most top end roadracing boots like Alpinestar and Sidi have a chance to prevent an injury like this , and even then , it's a bad bet.
Yeah,good boots are
important for a scooter rider....even then, try and remember to get those feet up on the floor if things suddenly start going from verticle to horizontal !