Published Friday June 27th, 2008
SAINT JOHN - For her 70th birthday, Sharon O'Brien bought herself a present.
"I saw one and I fell in love with it," O'Brien says of her brand-new, fire-engine red Honda Jazz scooter. "It's like you see the red shoes, and you want them - I wanted the red Honda."
O'Brien picked up the $2,500 gas scooter in Fredericton a few weeks ago, after her bike became too difficult to take everywhere and her car became to too expensive to fill. She taught herself to ride by practicing in a parking garage at 5:30 a.m., and takes it around the city when weather permits.
"It only holds five litres. I can go just as far on my five litres as I can in my car, and it costs me $42 to fill that," she said.
"And how many people can fill their cars for $5?"
As gas prices skyrocket, the presence of scooters is on the rise in Saint John as an alternative for commuters who want to feel the wind in their hair and some cash in their wallet.
"It just seems like now it's just more and more all the time," says Wendy Spencer of Cruisers Custom Cycle in Grand Bay-Westfield, one of the few dealerships in the area that offer gas scooters.
"Last year (in August) it was just kind of starting. Now, it's like every time I turn around, someone's coming in."
Spencer says she's been surprised by the number of aspiring scooterists from the 35-and-over crowd - those who come in seeking fuel efficiency, but soon catch scooter fever. "They start out for the gas, but then they get into the fun of it," she said.
Both faster, sportier scooters and slower, cuter models - like the Jazz - have been selling well recently at Cruisers. Scooters with a 49cc or lower engine, which have a top speed of about 65 km/h, are popular because they don't require a special licence for those who already have a driver's licence. There is a special scooter licence those between 14 and 16 must have.
"You just have to find out all the back roads, so you don't have to take highways," O'Brien said.
Anything faster than that, and a motorcycle licence is necessary. But Motorcycle Safety Quest president Harold Stevens advises that all scooter drivers take a course, regardless of what bike they're riding.
"I would recommend that anyone who wants to hop on two wheels and interact with other traffic should receive some kind of education. It allows them to be safe and increase their awareness and visibility on the road," he said. Visibility is particularly paramount for scooterists, whose bikes are narrower and less conspicuous to other drivers than motorcycles.
Motorcycle Safety Quest, one of two motorcycle training outfits in New Brunswick, created a special scooter training program in response to the half-dozen requests it received last summer.
"We have a one-day program we developed - it's sort of in the can, if you will, and we're waiting for folks to demonstrate a need to implement it," Stevens said. Where scooter training isn't available, Stevens said, taking a motorcycle course would be a wise decision.