Wednesday 17 December 2014

Going Electric in China



If you've ever been to the big cities of China you know what a problem pollution is. I remember being in Shanghai and returning to my hotel at the end of a day of filming outside with my clothes feeling sooty and my face in need of a scrub. I would sit in the steam room to clear my lungs each night before going to bed. And I was just a visitor; imagine what it's like to live in Shanghai or Beijing and you can understand why people wear surgical face masks. So it makes absolute sense that China has banned the use of traditionally powered scooters and motorcycles in urban centers in a bid to clear the air.

As a result, China now has more than 130-million "e-bikes" (scooters, bicycles and motorcycles), according to UltimateMotorCycling. 
import electric scooter électrique scooters elektro roller 1500w










Images from the Haoren Electric Scooter Company in China. The green Elektro Roller looks a little familiar!



Not only are electric scooters decreasing air pollution but sound pollution as well, judging from this youtube  video of a ride through Beijing on a quiet day - although the lack of sound always makes me worry about safety,(another story for another day).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFnd_ThR_aM

We can expect that in such a big market as China the technology of electric bikes will only get better and better and that technology will start to spread around the world. If e-scooters become efficient enough through Chinese innovation to supplant gas-powered scooters in city centers, this could be good news for the environment in other countries.

Here's a review of an exported Chinese electric scooter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OMXjd61UyI

Speaking of Chinese innovation, check out this you-tube video of a guy who turned a suitcase into a scooter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7ak3zGBEsc

Okay that video's not really part of this story. But the point is that as China rethinks scooters so may we all. I've never been a fan of e-scooters but there's an e-scooter rental place right around the corner from where I live. And when spring arrives I'm going to give one a try. I still can't see myself on one permanently, not until the distance that can be traveled and the speed of travel both improve. But maybe that will happen sooner than I think.

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Final word: there may be another way to, at least, be more fuel efficient. Yamaha is introducing a 125cc scooter in Indonesia that it claims reduces gas consumption by 50 per cent with Blue Core engine technology. Check it out:

mio-main
The Mio125 (photo from AutoCar Professional)

http://www.autocarpro.in/news-international/yamaha-launches-mio125-scooter-blue-core-tech-indonesia-7036

Wednesday 10 December 2014

A Headline That Should Read "Dah!"

Years ago, I worked on a documentary about homelessness in Portland, Oregon, and that city's attempt to get people off the streets and into homes. The social worker in charge of the program told me an astonishing fact: that half the homeless had suffered brain injuries as children. I went on to do some research and found a remarkable study from California that showed high levels of inmates and people on the streets had indeed suffered some form of trauma to their heads earlier in life.

Since then we've learned about athletes - football players, hockey players and boxers - who've suffered greatly later in life from the blows to their heads during their careers. And, in at least one case, an autopsy on the brain of an athlete showed how severe the damage can be. The importance of head protection is now taken much more seriously in many sports.

So why would anyone in a risky sport - and that includes riding a motorcycle or scooter - even consider that it's less the crucial to cushion the brain from jostling about in a fall?

That's why the headline from Australia that reads: "Data Confirms Value of Wearing Helmets" seems to state the obvious. Now, the study referenced may be about kids and bicycles but the statistics speak loudly. According to the study, the need for brain surgery for kids in bicycles accidents without helmets is seven times higher than for those wearing helmets. Yet, it seems there is a debate in Australia about making helmets mandatory for cycling.  I just think anything that supports establishing a habit and encouraging manufacturers to come up with sound helmet designs is well, a "no-brainer."


https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/25719185/data-confirms-value-of-wearing-helmets/

Monday 8 December 2014

Monsoons and Motorcycles

Interesting story out of India..motorcycle sales are down although the sale of scooters (generally an urban vehicle) will keep manufacturers in the black. The reason for the slowdown in motorcycle sales: the monsoons were slow and weak this year so farmers and rural dwellers aren't buying. It seems motorcycle sales rise in a strong monsoon season and decline in a weak one. Just another example of how important that rising class of people with disposable income is for the increase of two-wheeled vehicle in countries like India, China and Vietnam. Not to mention how important climate is.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/auto/news/two-wheelers/motorcycles/motorbike-sales-fall-again-on-weak-demand-in-rural-areas/articleshow/45392239.cms


Farmers, who are the biggest drivers of 2-wheeler sales, hit by weak monsoon

Friday 5 December 2014

No Country For Scooters


What is it that makes a country become a scooter country? In Europe, the narrowness of streets in old city centers and the short distances between towns have made scooters a popular choice. In places like Vietnam, India and China the emergence of a middle class means people have the need and money for a vehicle. For many, though, a car is still financially out of reach and unnecessary in a climate frequently suitable for open-air riding. The results: an explosion in the use of scooters and small motorcycles. In North America, where scooters have been slower to catch on, people often see them as a way to save on gas and conveniently get around cities even in places where they have to store their bikes for up to half a year.

This summer, I had the chance to visit Namibia in southern Africa and, so, of course, I kept my eye open for a scooter or a motorcycle culture. I was only in the country for a week on a self-drive tour of the remote north-west sponsored by the Namibian government and organized by ATI Holidays. So admittedly I didn't get the chance to explore all the aspects of two-wheeled vehicles in the country. Online, I found places that sell motorcycles and scooters, but in my week there I did not see a single scooter or motorcycle or the roads or in the capital of Windhoek where cars and trucks ruled.


Photo copywright: Debi Goodwin


Photo copywright: Debi Goodwin

In fact, when you search online for information about scooters in Namibia the thing that pops up over and over in a short list is a restaurant called Scooters Pizza in Windhoek

There are several reasons why Namibia is no country for scooters:

1/Namibia is a middle-income country but the gap between rich and poor is huge, a hangover from the apartheid era. In rural areas, especially in the north, poverty is extreme. If people aren't walking on the roads, they are using donkeys or occasionally horses.




Photo copywright: Debi Goodwin


Photo copywright: Debi Goodwin


2/Namibia is a sparsely populated, arid country. In a county close to the size of Venezuela there are little more than 2-million people. If you break down on the roads of Namibia you could be stranded for days and face the dangers of sun exposure and extreme thirst.

3/Namibia has wild animals. For visitors that means obeying the rules of entering Etosha National Park in a closed vehicle.

 Photo copywright: Debi Goodwin


We had a vivid lesson in why this rule applies when an elephant stopped traffic and headed towards our truck. The animal could easily have crushed the vehicle. It didn't take much imagination to realize what it could do a two-wheeled vehicle.

Photo copywright: Debi Goodwin

Outside the park and for locals on the empty roads, dangers from animals still exist. Lions do kill. Staying off the roads after dusk is a generally accepted safety tip. And that's for people in closed cars.

Even in and around Windhoek, small animals can run out in front of you. The baboons hang out on the side of the road and can be unpredictable.


Photo copywright: Debi Goodwin

4/The roads are treacherous. Tarmac roads are the exception in Namibia. Once you head north, out of the capital you soon hit the gravel roads that can be covered with sand. They are deadly to tires as we found out when we had a flat in the Ford Ranger we were driving.
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So what about those adventurers who like to tour new countries on two wheels? Well, it is possible to do a tour of the rugged country on a motorcycle (excluding the parks) but judging from some reviews online, it is not a trip for the faint of heart.

http://motoress.com/readarticle.asp?articleid=474

Monday 1 December 2014

Vietnam Helmets Revisited

I love this story about one man's quest to get safe helmets on all motorcycle and scooter riders in Vietnam. Back in 2012, I wrote about the vibrant scooter culture in Vietnam and the fact that it was one of the first countries in the region to make helmets mandatory. There were some problems, of course. Riders often wore the cheapest - and least effective - helmets they could get. And the law did not cover children. So it was common to see families of five on one scooter with two parents in ill-fitting helmets and the children squeezed in between them without any kind of helmets. I still remember the babies hanging from mothers' arms, dangerously in range of passing vehicles.

So this story by Christopher Johnson provides a good update on what's been happening since, as well as background on Grieg Craft, president of the Asia Prevention Foundation.  Johnson reports that the American-born Craft not only pushed for the law but came up with an effective, cheap helmet that is lightweight and well-ventilated, making it suitable for the hot Asian climate.

Last summer, according to the article, the government starting cracking down on ineffective helmets. Sadly, it seems that not much progress has been made in getting helmets on children.

http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/11/29/protec-motorcycle-helmets-hanoi