Another Moped Fatality

[Dave Dillehay]

Just moments ago,, at the intersection of airport road and the main street (Rafael Melgar) a moped driver hit one of the concrete posts on the beachside wall. He must have been delivering papers as there were hundreds scattered around. His helmet was found lying about 10 feet away, so most likely it was not fastened. Kinda makes me wonder why the police are so strict about helmets still--but have drifted back to not enforcing the helmet strap laws that exist.

It seems like there is a serious accident on mopeds here everyday and most of them are tourists (many dead this year alone). So even with a strapped helmet I highly discourage any of our guests from renting mopeds.

If this keeps up Cozumel may soon become the organ donor hot spot of the world.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[ggunn]

Just moments ago,, at the intersection of airport road and the main street (Rafael Melgar) a moped driver hit one of the concrete posts on the beachside wall. He must have been delivering papers as there were hundreds scattered around. His helmet was found lying about 10 feet away, so most likely it was not fastened. Kinda makes me wonder why the police are so strict about helmets still--but have drifted back to not enforcing the helmet strap laws that exist.

It seems like there is a serious accident on mopeds here everyday and most of them are tourists (many dead this year alone). So even with a strapped helmet I highly discourage any of our guests from renting mopeds.

If this keeps up Cozumel may soon become the organ donor hot spot of the world.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

The guy who arranges our Cozumel fishing trips is in the hospital right now from getting hit on his moped by a pickup truck. These are folks who live there and are experienced at driving these things. For an inexperienced gringo tourist with a few beers in him, the risk is much greater. Take a taxi; even if you have to play money games with the drivers, it is much safer.

 

[DjDiverDan]

Thank you for this, Dave Dillehay. I've been singing the same tune for just over 17 years now, as I am one of the lucky ones, a survivor of a Moped accident, on January 1, 2000 - my own private Y2K nightmare. I paid dearly for that lesson, though. 7 broken ribs, 4 of them broken in more than one place; a punctured lung, a punctured spleen, an air ambulance ride from Cozumel back to Dallas, a 10-day hospital stay, and a lifetime of back pain, since broken ribs almost never heal in just the configuration they were intended to have. And I thought I knew what I was doing, since I was licensed as a motorcycle driver and had previously owned a motorcycle. But mopeds aren't motorcycles - they have a high, unstable center of gravity, they skid easily on wet pavement or on gravel, and one pothole can send you head over handlebars. They are NOT SAFE. Please, don't rent the Mopeds!

 

[mikeycanuk]

On our way from the villa to the centro on the villa bicycles we passed a couple in their 70's trying a scooter on 5th. They were getting a rundown on how to operate one and we kept moving ASAP!!!! Yikes.

 

[flyboy08]

I have close to if not over 500K of miles on a motorcycle....ATGATT! All the gear all the time...has been my motto. fortunately, I haven't had an incident, but I would never ride a scooter either.

I just cringe seeing folks in shorts and flip flops zooming around on scooters or MC for that matter!. I feel really bad for misinformed passengers!

 

[rmssetc]

I have close to if not over 500K of miles on a motorcycle....ATGATT! All the gear all the time...has been my motto. fortunately, I haven't had an incident, but I would never ride a scooter either.

I just cringe seeing folks in shorts and flip flops zooming around on scooters or MC for that matter!. I feel really bad for misinformed passengers!

Yep, about the same stats for me....I don't intend to haul my Aerostich and a good helmet (and boots, gloves) down to CZM with my diving gear, so no riding for me.

As my wife & I looked down from the balcony of our room at Casa Mexican on Wednesday and watched the medics treating a couple of tourists who crashed their moped, I said to her "What makes people think that the pavement is any softer when they're on vacation?"

 

[JamesBon92007]

It is very common to see a mom and two or three kids on one of those things with a couple of bags of groceries. I always wonder how they make it.

 

[flyboy08]

It is very common to see a mom and two or three kids on one of those things with a couple of bags of groceries. I always wonder how they make it.

I have pictures of families of 4 to 5 riding on a single scooter in India....I guess if your raised not knowing better, its actually better. I'm sure there are many accidents in India, but the times I spent there, a few 8 week stints, I never saw one?

 

[flyboy08]

And I found a pic!

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Z...X_xcMD_4E3RNYgsi6ylvB_3556ca2eg=w1407-h935-no

 

[H2ODoc]

I walked by this intersection about 15 min after it happened. It was so sad to see a body laying there partially covered with a blue cloth. Moped on it's side, newspapers everywhere. Just a guy doing his work on a beautiful morning. I bet he never imagined it'd be his last moments on earth.

Brought a tear to my eye.