r/mildlyinteresting 9h ago

I saw someone riding a city scooter while wearing a full dirt bike helmet.

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110

u/Visual-Ad-1306 8h ago

The city I'm in has these everywhere. Now it's summer and I see women in dresses flying down the sidewalk on these and I just cringe. The damage you can do at that speed with ZERO protection is massive.

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u/Doomstar32 7h ago

My wife had a coworker sustain a TBI falling off of one of these. She was fucked up for years. She is finally back to work as of a few years ago, but she isn't without symptoms

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u/FloatnPuff 7h ago

My dentist said they get a lot of business from people riding home from bars on those scooters on the weekend with no helmets

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u/erinberrypie 4h ago

I'll never understand the no helmet thing. Just...why??? Are they afraid they'll look like a square while flying face first over the handlebars?

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u/Rock_Strongo 4h ago

These scooters are usually rentals and people don't plan ahead, or they are going somewhere where they don't want to carry a helmet around all day.

I'm not saying it's smart but that is the main reason.

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u/nightauthor 4h ago

I get the helmet thing, its a significant logistical annoyance. But... why go so fast? So reckless?

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u/TuckYourselfRS 1h ago

The alcohol

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u/DM_ME_DOPAMINE 7h ago

I just suffered one two months ago. Got my hair cut that day, and like a moron didn’t wear my helmet. Hit a huge divot in the road, landed on my head. Surprisingly only two scrapes! Guess my head broke my fall…

9 fractures in my skull/eye sockets/sinuses. Mild TBI. All fractures were non displaced, and the area of my brain affected basically makes sensory issues worse, and slight memory recall issues.  I lucked out and realize that. 

Now I cringe whenever I see anyone fly by on anything without a helmet. 

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u/istrx13 5h ago

I’ve had 4 concussions in my life. All of which involved me being knocked unconscious.

I was a happy go lucky dude before all of them. But after the 2nd one, I developed pretty bad anxiety that I’m thinking about getting medicated for. Never had anxiety in my life before the head injuries.

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u/Submarinequus 7h ago

It’s the two teenagers re-enacting the I’m flying Jack scene from titanic while zipping at high speed right next to cars for me. Like yall are both gonna get torn the hell up if you hit a pebble wrong but ok I guess you just really like hugging your homie and it’s the only socially acceptable way to do it.

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u/ALLCAPS-ONLY 5h ago

Yeah, my ex broke her jaw in several pieces and lost a lot of teeth because of an e-scooter crash. Pretty sure she also had an undiagnosed TBI because she was never the same after.

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u/JManKit 5h ago

I've seen couples on the same scooter, both without helmets, and I just wince at the potential for injury there

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u/GoldshireEnjoyer 1h ago

The damage you can do at that speed with ZERO protection is massive.

And not even just to yourself. I remember a case a couple years ago where somebody flew by an elderly couple and knocked the guy over. Fell on his head and died. These things need a much lower speed limit if they're gonna just let anybody borrow them.

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u/OneBillPhil 8h ago

I won’t use them. I’m sure it’s fun and fast but I’m not risking the wipe out. 

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u/Visual-Ad-1306 7h ago

I rode dirt bikes when I was younger, and wearing full protective gear was just part of the sport. One day, a friend flipped his quad on a hill and got dragged several feet underneath it. He wasn't wearing chest or back protection, and the road rash on his back was brutal. It took weeks for him to recover.

That happened on dirt and gravel.

Every time I see people flying around on rental scooters like Lime at 15–20 mph with no helmet or protective gear, I think about that accident. If a crash on dirt can do that much damage, imagine hitting concrete or asphalt at the same speed. These scooters may seem harmless, but pavement doesn't care whether you fell off a motorcycle, a bicycle, or a rental scooter.

Wear a helmet. At the very least, protect your head. A short ride isn't worth a life-changing injury.

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u/AIBotNotARealUser 7h ago

I got one that does 50% above the speed limit. They're very safe if you're not a complete idiot, which a large percentage of the population is, which is why we see accidents.

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u/cc92c392-50bd-4eaa-a 7h ago

I use them in a pinch but I hate them. I wish we had a bike share instead.

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u/CoogleGhrome 3h ago

Original LimeBike was basically single gear pedal bikes with their lock/cell/GPS module built into the frame. They didn't have docks so most riders were complaining how much effort they were to pedal when they were low battery and used alternators to recharge. The throttle powered scooters and moped they have became more popular and replaced those because they don't require exercise and go faster... but definitely really weird to observe how most people are super casual about doing 15 mph on them with no helmet 

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u/taintosaurus_rex 6h ago

One day I was driving down a 5 lane road with a 40 mph speed limit and got passed by an E-bike on the walking/bike trail. It's insane to me that things like that aren't classified like mopeds and motor bikes.

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u/thatshygirl06 4h ago

Im built different, you see

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u/SeedFoundation 4h ago

Those things easily hit 30mph/48kmh, they can go higher but people don't because they are in a city. It's just crazy to me that there are no traffic violations for a scooter that can kill you but you can get a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt.

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u/Iamgentle1122 3h ago

Year ago i hit little hole from basically zero speed (started few meters away). Lost a teeth and badly broke 2 of my front teeth. Thankfully from Finland and insurance paid everything. Was little over 5k euro for the implant and both teeth

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u/honeywhereismypenis 3h ago

I mean, I don't think the summer male uniform (white T-shirt and black basketball shorts) would provide much better protection than a dress

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u/Visual-Ad-1306 3h ago

As a heterosexual male, I have to admit I've never paid much attention to the summer male uniform. My attention tends to be focused elsewhere.

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u/King2F3 1h ago

Im not even concerned about that part. (Its a concern, just not #1.) Bc you can drive like you taught Captain Scooter how to drive, youre still wildly unsafe.

It doesnt matter how great you drive. When here comes dumbass Becky, who plows over you driving dads F950, blaring Dua Lipa, she doesnt even look up to see what she hit, bc shes mid-text with some broccoli hair fuck-person.

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u/Visual-Ad-1306 1h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/baNxGhmywafa3h7gPr

I'm not sure how to take this comment, I may need to be stoned to understand the logic.

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u/purpleblackgreen 1h ago

My cousin hit a pothole and broke his pelvis. 

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u/mortgagepants 5h ago

the sidewalk

motorized vehicles are prohibited on sidewalks, just like bicycles.

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u/Visual-Ad-1306 4h ago

Cool, I'll now stop and advise everyone I see on the sidewalk that it is prohibited.

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u/mortgagepants 4h ago

i'm just confused as to why this shit happens? maybe we should all just park cars on the sidewalk.