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The Dispatch wrote
David the scooter vs. Goliath the car
Saturday, July 19, 2008
BY TIM DOULIN
From a distance, motor scooters look like they would be fun to ride. But when you get behind one in a car, well, they are just another two-wheeled pest to some motorists.
Columbus finally recognized scooters by giving them a place to park Downtown this week. But do other motorists accept them on the road? “People here seem to be very impatient when behind two-wheel vehicles, which is pretty frustrating,” said Josh Quinn, 26, who has been riding a scooter about six years.
At least I will die happy! :)
recommendations for motorcyclists: have a will, be an organ donor
i was kinda blown away by G. Gee’s son-in-law. surprised i haven’t seen that on CU.
i was kinda blown away by G. Gee’s son-in-law. surprised i haven’t seen that on CU.
How’d that turn out? Are they ok?
Saw Gee on newz last night. daughter has broken leg and is in (or going to be in) rehab at OSU medical center. the piece was about his daughter coming home to Columbus.
Son-in-law is in a coma and something about situation being ‘grave’.
Husband in coma
Gee’s daughter to rehab at OSU
Tuesday, July 22, 2008 3:09 AM
By Encarnacion Pyle
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
E. Gordon Gee’s son-in-law is clinging to life in Philadelphia, but doctors think the best medical options for his daughter are in Columbus.
“It’s the only choice we have at this time if she is to recover fully,” the Ohio State University president said.
Dr. Rebekah Gee will begin rehabilitation at the Ohio State University Medical Center this morning from a July 12 motor-scooter crash. She arrived yesterday afternoon from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Her husband, Dr. Allan Moore, remains in a coma at the Penn hospital, which treated the couple after their Vespa collided with a sport-utility vehicle. Gee said separating his daughter from her husband was one of the most difficult decisions of his life.
“It’s awful for her. It’s awful for me. … ,” he said. “It just breaks your heart.”
Rebekah Gee is in constant contact with Moore’s doctors and with his mother, who remains at his side in Philadelphia, he said.
Moore, 31, who was driving the scooter, suffered abdominal and head injuries. He now is battling pneumonia, Gordon Gee said, but the Penn hospital upgraded his condition yesterday from critical to serious.
“Allan is in God’s hands,” Gee said. “He is in about as extreme condition he can be and still be alive.”
Rebekah Gee, 32, suffered broken bones and head trauma.
She will be confined to her hospital bed for at least eight weeks, her father said. Her recovery is expected to take six months, he said.
Doctors at the University of Pennsylvania encouraged Gee to bring his daughter to Ohio State for rehabilitation.
Her return is a homecoming of sorts. She was 14 when her father and his first wife, Elizabeth, came to Ohio State from the University of Colorado in 1990. (Elizabeth died of breast cancer in 1991.)
“This young lady has been the center of my life for 32 years,” he said.
Gee called Moore the son he never had. He said he has called Moore’s cell-phone recording since the crash “just to hear his voice.”
Gee plans to travel to Philadelphia frequently to support his recovery. Rebekah will return to her husband’s side as quickly as possible, her father said.
Shortly before 7 p.m. on July 12, Rebekah was seated behind her husband as he drove on a neighborhood street in Bryn Mawr, Pa. Their scooter struck the side of a 2002 Land Rover in an intersection, according to the Lower Merion, Pa., Police Department.
The Land Rover’s driver was uninjured. Police still are investigating.
Rebekah Gee is an obstetrician-gynecologist and a Robert Wood Johnson clinical scholar at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. Her husband is a fellow in endocrinology and practices internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where the couple met as medical residents.
They married in 2006 and recently had been talking about starting a family, her father said.
He went to Philadelphia on July 13 after learning of the accident early that morning. He came back to Columbus Saturday night to an outpouring of cards, e-mails and letters from family members, friends and the campus community.
He returned to work yesterday.
“I have a deep faith. I’m optimistic. And I believe in the power of family, friends and the healing power of prayer,” Gee said. “I’m blessed to be back in Mother Ohio.”
epyle@dispatch.com
Copyright © 2008, The Columbus Dispatch
Scooters were a major oddity in the Philadelphia area while I was still a resident. Unfortunately, what isn’t an oddity in the particular area where they were hit is a plethora of self-important drivers in massive vehicles. I’ve almost bought the farm several times driving through there in my Chevy.
i was kinda blown away by G. Gee’s son-in-law. surprised i haven’t seen that on CU.
walker and I both posted something in another scooter/cycle thread, let me look for it:
[url]http://www.columbusunderground.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=15244&start=10[/url]
sad story indeed.
In my mind, the most important consideration involving more scooters on the road is the corresponding increase in novice riders on the road. There have been a number of studies suggesting that inexperienced riders are over-represented in motorcycle/scooter crash data.
That would not surprise me. Lots of non-riders look at scooters as “cute” and “fun”, which they are, but if you aren’t careful you can really mess yourself up at 30mph. When I was in Key West they rented scooters to anyone with a drivers license and no one wore helmets and everyone wore flip-flops and partied their asses off. I saw at least one scooter accident every day I was there & there was even a fatality. It freaked me out & I stuck to renting a bicycle.
Even setting aside those things that are obviously reckless and irresponsible, there’s still a lot of subtle, safe riding habits that are often only developed with experience and close calls.
The common refrain among riders is that most accidents are “the car’s fault”. That’s pretty cold comfort, especially if the accident might have been avoided in the first place had the cyclist been exercising a higher degree of awareness or defensive riding.
The common refrain among riders is that most accidents are “the car’s fault”.
it is the car’s fault. these accidents are caused when a car violates a cyclists right of way.
many accidents can be avoided. for a good reading on cycling situations and how to remain safe, riders should look up and read David Hough’s book “proficient motorcycling”
The common refrain among riders is that most accidents are “the car’s fault”.
it is the car’s fault. these accidents are caused when a car violates a cyclists right of way.
many accidents can be avoided. for a good reading on cycling situations and how to remain safe, riders should look up and read David Hough’s book “proficient motorcycling”
Exactly. Saying it’s the car’s fault doesn’t mean the accident couldn’t have been avoided.
And thanks for the heads up on the David Hough book. I just noticed my Library hasn’t gotten the new edition yet!
David Hough did write a 2nd book, called “More proficient motorcycling”. I have it, but it is not as good as the first book, and most of it is just a rehash of the first book. I’ll admit i didn’t finish “More” because it was so boring. http://www.webbikeworld.com/books/proficient-motorcycling.htm
Sport Riding Techniques by Nick Ienatsch is excellent as well http://www.webbikeworld.com/books/sp-riding-techniques.htm
and this as well Smooth Riding the Pridmore Way by Reg Pridmore, Geoff Drake (Contributor) http://www.webbikeworld.com/books/smooth-riding-reg-pridmore-.htm
I’ve read all 3 of these and learned a lot from each
Huh…actually the refain I am more familiar with (especially with the people at advrider.com) is that the accident is usually the biker’s responsibility, regardless of who’s “fault” it is.
For example, if a car turns left in front of you, you should have already been aware of that car’s potential threat to you, and reduced speed or at least covered your brakes accordingly. You just have to assume everyone is either out to kill you, and/or that you are completely invisible. You can’t prevent all crashes (my fear is someone completely running a red light while I’m travelling though an intersection) but it is your responsibility to yourself to anticipate the most ass-hatted maneuvers on everyone else’s part.
There’s a great section on advrider.com called face plant where people post the details of their crashes & people pick them apart…and usually find the place where the cyclist could have been more attentive and prevented the accident. Read a few of these posts and you will encounter a whole new world of potential accident scenarios you may have never previously considered. It’s kind of scary, and kind of a bummer, but it’s a lot healthier than hitting the road feeling invincible.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=17
pro tip for all riders of two wheeled vehicles.
if you live in the city or its near neighborhoods, avoid riding on Friday and Saturday evenings. Thats peak density for drunken wet brained car drivers and thus higher chance of getting killed. Hedge your bets. :D
Bonus trivia question time!
In the wildly popular video, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, what was the “brand” name for the scooters?
:lol:
one of the funniest things you might ever see is when an interviewer will ask a motoGP racer if they ride a motorcycle on the street and the racer will look at them and say, “NO, it’s too dangerous”
fyi, CBS is showing the motoGP races on Sundays. last sunday they showed the Laguna seca circuit race. and moto GP is coming to indianapolis as well this year, that would be awesome to attend.
geez… who wants to live forever? :wink:
Sad update…
Moore, 31, died at 4 p.m. yesterday of injuries from a recent motor-scooter accident. Funeral arrangements are pending.
He and Dr. Rebekah Gee were injured July 12 when their scooter collided with a sport-utility vehicle in Bryn Mawr, Pa.
Read More
My heart goes out to their family. What a tragedy.
Stay safe out there kids.
More here:
http://www.columbusunderground.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=15595