[Amrik Singh]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Safest is a motorbike.
Next is a scooter.
Third in my list is a Scooty. Z
Hence, man and machine in tandem decide which is safe and unsafe.

IMO ! In the event of an accident, the rider gets thrown off Scooter / Scooty clear off the machine as legs are free of any obstruction between them. Motorcycle crushes either of the leg underneath the Fuel Tank when it falls with rider.

[playingpossum]

Originally Posted by Gansan

A car is anyday safer than a two wheeler. Among two wheelers, a bike is anyday better and safer than a scooter. A scooter is more convenient than a bike.

1) A bike has much bigger tyres than a scooter. While a scooter wheel will go "into" most potholes on the road, a bike wheel will go over them instead. Mostly. So safer and more comfortable.

2) A bike has longer travel suspension because it can accommodate larger shock absorbers.

Completely agree.

Further more I think larger wheels on motorcycles make it feel more stable (greater gyroscopic effect maybe?)

Larger wheels allow for larger/better brakes. More grip as well.

Originally Posted by Gansan

4) The rider sits astride the bike,gripping the fuel tank with the knees in addition to the grip on the handlebars. Whereas he sits "on" the scooter, like sitting on a stool. More prone to getting thrown off the vehicle. I always feel slightly unsafe while riding a scooter.

This is the other key point for me. More points of contact compared to a scooter, also allows you to use your thigh muscles to stabilize your motorcycle. Scooters feel comparatively 'wobbly' to me.

However in the case of a real accident (not just falling off the vehicle) - both are rather dangerous. But I almost never see any scooter riders in protective gear beyond the occasional rider in an open-face helmet (or even worse a half helmet).

[karanddd]

Safety comes into play if you crash, especially if another vehicle is involved. In that scenario it doesn't matter what two wheeler you're on, as whether you live or die and how much injury you suffer depends just on how fast you were going and where and how you fall. The kind of mistake that leads to a crash can be made on any vehicle (scooter, bike, car). And the likelihood of a crash taking place depends far more on the person riding, the manner of riding, and who and what else is on the road at that time, than on the vehicle being ridden. Therefore this is kind of a pointless discussion.

[IshaanIan]

I feel it is quite simple;

Anyone who says:

Originally Posted by MotorUniverse

Over that, he laughed and quoted that he would rather go with a scooter as they are safer than motorcycles.

clearly does not understand the inherent balance, stability, and acceleration/deceleration abilities that a bike benefits from not to mention more control over weight shift characteristics due to adjustable brake bias and a sequential manual gearbox.

Originally Posted by MotorUniverse

The base of his argument being that motorcycle riders tend to ride rashly and inappropriate manner on roads which make them more susceptible to crashes/accidents. Also, he thinks that because scooters are slow-moving machines so they are less likely to be involved in a crash.

Clearly such people ought to also not be able to get a driver's license and thereby be relegated permanently to the slow lane in, by their own logic, golf carts.

Originally Posted by MotorUniverse

Now I have been riding scooters since 2011 and have just started riding motorbikes three years back and I have always felt more confident riding a motorbike because of many reasons.

As long as you are able to assess that you are more confident on a machine that is quantifiably better, you are atleast in tune with its dynamic abilities.

I am honestly very scared of people who cannot distinguish between which kind of vehicle gives more control. I feel such people are a liability on the roads since they clearly do not have the skill to afford a drivers license.

[GutsyGibbon]

Perhaps you should reword the question as - what makes a vehicle safer, while keeping the vehicle speed, gear and riding style a constant?
Motorcycles have the below going for them

• Disk brakes and ABS.
• Bigger wheels, bigger discs, better bite, and better stopping distance
• Better lean angles, better turning radius, and better handling (especially the monoshocks)
• Better seating position, and better riding comfort.

Scooters are utilitarian, not necessarily for ride comfort, handling or safety. If you are only going to ride in town at 50kmph, the utility and ease will trump over the safety needs.

That said, the safety that comes from helmet, gloves/gear and riding technique is a lot more than the vehicle choice. For riders that wear a cap and flip flops, anything goes, and the discussion becomes moot.

[landcruiser123]

With gyroscopic effect due to larger wheels, bikes are safer than scooters. (Assuming the same rider)

Have you ever heard of scooter racing? We see motorcycles do 200+ km/h regularly in Moto GP.

[RD150]

Bikes are safe, period. Have been riding both for years, and bikes are more stable and stay grounded in case of panic braking. With scooters, rear tyres have a tendency to slip in case of emergency braking or on steep turns. Scooters are a strict no on highways for me.

[darkfantasy]

IMHO at city speeds, scooters are safer because they are agile, flickable and easy to handle. Availability
of CVT means one can 100% concentrate on roads instead of hunting for gears. Also both legs are free at all times, which means one can easily regain balance at crawling speeds. Scooters are easier to handle for people who are not muscular and are of lower height. Scooters don't stall which reduces risk of rear ending especially when starting from a just-turned green signal. Even falls at slower speeds are generally safer because of fiber body panels and less weight while a motorcycle would result in broken bones and burns. What's more - lifting a fallen scooter out of traffic is also easier

The trick is not to drive scooters as one would drive a motorcycle. Scooters are built for lower speeds and one should always be mindful of thier limitations.

For anything over 50 kmph, motorcycles should be safer in general.

[commonman]

I am making my point here with my years of observation.
It is seen that accident rates on motorcycles are high, at the same time, the mortality rate on scooters are high. Now, this looks confusing. Isn't it? It is some numbers and physics. There are more motorcycles sold than scooters. Motorcycles are tend to be used by youngsters more which may result in speeding and accidents. But, motorcycles have bigger tire , better brakes and better maneuverability . Scooters on the other side tend to have small tires and low braking capacity. Also, scooter riders are found to do some common mistakes like, be without helmets, wrong time U turns, opposite side riding, foot path riding etc which results in accidents in slow speeds. In case of scooters, when the accident happens, one aspect of " head hitting the road " is seen too often. This is due to the fact that the leg positions are not on sides , it is inside the scooter . Head hitting (even with helmet) is more fatal than any other body part hitting the road.

So, since the motorcycle numbers are more, and youngsters speed more, it is seen that more bike accidents happen. At the same time, death on scooter riders are high due to neglect , uneven balance due to small tires and head hitting the roads.

This is purely my observation .

[kadanaJ]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

I would like to go against the Tide here.


2. The scooter has far less performance & speed capability.
I am implicitly at a much much lower speed, when I am on a scooter.

I 100% agree with this sentiment.

What a lot of members are forgetting is that less power also leads to lesser temptation.

When a motorcycle is capable of reaching speeds of 80-100 with ease, and feels stable at such speeds, the machine eggs the rider to go faster, and hence, when they inevitably crash, it is more probable that the crash would occur a higher speed, increasing the chances of injury.

On a scooter, I cannot go over 40-60. It's not even about power. It just doesn't feel stable enough. Hence, I just don't go over such speeds. Also, the fact that it's light, nimble, and with a CVT gearbox means it takes little effort to slow down when required, and accelerate again, vs. on a motorcycle where one may think "darn, I'll have to downshift and upshift. Better to twist the throttle and squeeze through the gap". The lighter weight and nimbleness of a scooter prevents such thinking.

Do NOT overestimate human willpower. Given more power, many of us will use it. Yes, there are people with immense amounts of discipline, but if you're not sure you have it, buy a less powerful vehicle.

[BennyA23]

Originally Posted by MotorUniverse

A day back I was just discussing with my friend about the newly launched Yamaha R15 V4 and Aerox. I just casually said that I am very excited about the new R15M and might even buy one for myself. Over that, he laughed and quoted that he would rather go with a scooter as they are safer than motorcycles. The base of his argument being that motorcycle riders tend to ride rashly and inappropriate manner on roads which make them more susceptible to crashes/accidents. Also, he thinks that because scooters are slow-moving machines so they are less likely to be involved in a crash. Now I have been riding scooters since 2011 and have just started riding motorbikes three years back and I have always felt more confident riding a motorbike because of many reasons. But here I would like to ask all of you guys that what do you think about this? Which one do you think is safer among the two?


P.S. This is my first post here so please don't mind if I violate any forum rules by mistake. Also, I tried to find a similar thread but couldn't so moderators if this belongs to some other subsection then help me with that please.

I've never been a fan of scooters. Save for maybe the Honda Kinetic, I think it was called? I've never been able to fit my 6 feet 3 inches frame comfortably in any of them.

I've always felt the physics of most scooters are just wrong. Extremely tiny wheels, no real shock absorbers to talk about. Weird pick up and braking.

I remember learning to drive a motorcycle with my uncle back when BKC was minus all the glitz and glamour of Starbucks and Ferrari. I think it was just Wockhardt and Dhirubai International School under construction.

I could easily control the Hero Honda Splendor with my slightly bigger uncle sitting behind. Every chance from then till my parents purchased the TBTS350 was riding my friends motorcycles.

The control and confidence of a gear bike is just miles ahead of the usual scooters.

BUT, the new BMW GT scooter. With my wife having back and neck issues sitting pillion on the Duke 390 and both of us still itching to ride, I think we'd comfortably switch over once more details appear.

[Bsimhan]

Definitely motorbike for me.

[shobhit.shri]

Despite being the accident capital of the world, how come we don't have any data available for such important information? Rather than guessing about it, this could have been easily proved with data. I searched around a bit, but couldn't find anything.

Originally Posted by aargee

Ask a pullingo riding Dio, he will dare to chase even a Busa in it.

Finally, I learned the correct name for the cultural phenomenon I see every day in Bangalore.

[the.dogfather]

There are two factors that come into play here.
1. Collision avoidance : Bikes fare better here. Most bikes have at least one disc brake, dual in higher segments, ABS, bigger and wider tyres and better weight distribution. This makes them easier to stop or maneuver to avoid an accident. While newer scooters are also coming with front disc brakes and ABS, the brake size is not as good as bikes. Also the engine on the rear does reduce the stability of the scooters.
2. Post collision protection : In this case it is purely dependent on the riding gear used by the rider and very little is there to do if you are on a bike or scooter. Having a good crash guard is important on a bike which gives you minimal protection along with the handle bar in case of a sideward fall. If you do fall in a scooter there are more chances that you are flung away from it. If you are wearing proper gear, then it's better to hold on to the bike as the over all friction will slow down things quickly.

So IMHO riding a bike with a full riding gear is the safer option to ride a two wheeler the key being the riding gear rather than the type of vehicle.

[chinmaypillay]

Motorcycles are better any day than scooters. I always feel some discomfort/disconnect when riding scooters, ideal for grocery shopping. But would I rate it higher than Motorcycles? Definitely no.

I feel most (not everyone) scooter riders are a nuisance because they just have to wring the throttle and move ahead, not calculating certain riding safety. You will understand when you are riding behind one, the momentum they lose when the rider takes their hand off the throttle is too fast and calls for panic breaking.

Whereas in bike you are more sense engaged since the clutch has to be used, rear breaks stamped with your leg, etc etc. So motorcycles any day personally. Nothing against scooters (have 2) but I love motorcycles more.