Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Scoot along...

I have been very anti motorcycles and scooters ever since I was a little girl (about 9) and our lodger came home late one night. He turned into our road and misjudged the corner, hitting a massive pine tree head on. He killed himself.

G bought a scooter on Saturday afternoon. A cute little yellow Vuka Scuta. Needless to say, I am very anxious about this new development in our lives. (I insisted on yellow because it's the most visible colour on the road.) I see the practical side to the issue - as petrol prices continue to soar, it makes sense to use a scooter rather than a car. I get that. It's quicker on a scooter than sitting in traffic. I get that. After years of steadfastly refusing to even consider it, I've relented because I get these things and in the current climate, it makes sense to use a bike. But if G gets hit, he is extremely vulnerable, and I really don't want to lose him just yet - even when he's being annoying I'd rather have him around than not!

On Wednesday, once it had been registered, he went to collect it. I dropped him off, then drove behind him all the way home. It was pouring with rain (not ideal conditions in which to drive a scooter for the first time!). Going across a busy T-junction in a minor road, the scooter slipped, and he fell over - nothing too dramatic as he wasn't going very fast, but he couldn't have picked a worse spot. My heart stopped as traffic roared towards him from both directions. Fortunately, the car behind him stopped in time, and the car from the other direction swerved to avoid him. He got up, and we continued on our way.

On reaching home, we discoverd that he had a nasty little gash on his arm (despite his jacket) and a massive bruise on his thigh (and he doesn't bruise easily because of his ITP). Then last night he was complaining of a sore neck and other muscles. All because of a little fall. Imagine what might have happened if it had been a more serious incident.

G is his own person, able to make his own decisions, and I trust his judgement. He has promised to practice more before he starts riding to work on it, and I know he doesn't take risks. He is a sensible person, but I worry about the other idiots on the road and circumstances beyond his control. While I wish him many happy hours on his bike, I just hope and pray this decision doesn't come back to haunt us both.

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