RE "CIAO car, hello Vespa" (City & Region, June 22): As a newly minted scooter owner (a 150cc Vespa), I was excited to see the positive treatment of scooter use in the city. However, the photographs accompanying the article, which showed Globe writer Tania deLuzuriaga riding a scooter wearing summer attire (sandals, shorts, and a lightweight top) and no safety gear other than the legally required helmet, convey a misleading impression about personal safety and responsibility.
Whether it's a 50cc engine or not, an accident or mishap at any speed will leave riders scraped, battered, and bruised if they are fortunate. With less luck, the potential outcome is far worse.
I learned this through my own inexperience and with the "help" of a wet manhole cover. I hit the ground at roughly 15 miles per hour, and still managed to place a solid dent in the helmet and scrape my right arm. The minor arm injury was sobering, as I was wearing protective gloves and a riding jacket with a ballistic nylon outer layer and plastic armor inserts for joint and spine areas. Without that material, I'm not sure what my knuckles and arm would look like today.
CHRIS DAGDIGIAN
Roslindale
