Scooter Hire in Greece – Part 8, Hazardous Humans

This is part eight of an important series by Suntrap Holidays about scooter hire in Greece, and here we have some tips about hazardous humans and how to avoid them!

(Please have a read of the earlier parts of this series on scooter rental in Greece if you haven’t already: Scooter Hire in Greece – The Series)

Lads:

You know who you are, lads.  Yes you, with the Corsa back home.  Or the beat up BMW.  Or an attitude.  Take note of this especially if a few of you are out on mopeds or scooters together, and especially if it’s new to you, this biking thing.

Scooter Hire in Greece - Here Come the Lads, courtesy of flickr.com user: dainee

In a car, you are in a steel box that dents when you hit something.  On a bike, it’s gonna be you that takes the knocks, not the Corsa, OK?

So have a laugh, have a great time in the sun.  But ride within your ability.  Don’t take risks.  Don’t show off, and don’t ride when you’re drunk.  OK look, I feel really stupid writing this as a 46-year-old because I know most of you will ignore it in the heat of the moment, but at least I tried..

As for the rest of us out there quietly enjoying our scooter hire in the Greek Islands, well, just in case one or two of the raging hormone brigade have not read this article (how could they not?), you had better be ready for them.  Quite often, you will see groups of lads and girls on their scooters, in a very disorderly gaggle, weaving all over the road in front of you.  If you try to overtake them, they can be a real pain, behaving not unlike a flock of sheep.

“like deranged hydrogen atoms in a nuclear experiment”

Just as you pull out to overtake them, some pull in towards the edge of the road to let you pass, others stay right in the middle of the road, either because they haven’t seen you or because they are too much of a “man” to let you pass them, and a few carry on weaving about like deranged hydrogen atoms in a nuclear experiment.  They may hear your horn but probably just think it’s their mates messing around.  It’s always dangerous to get anywhere near this lot to be honest and my best advice is to give them a VERY wide berth.

The Lilo Brigade

Those people who choose to walk to the beach from their apartments or hotels will often find to their disgust that there is no pavement and they have to walk along a winding, narrow road, right alongside the traffic.  It’s something I hate doing and a very good reason to take out scooter hire in Greece!  On the bike, you need to watch out for these luckless

Local Greek Islands Scooter, courtesy of flickr.com user: keoki

souls.  Just around the blindest of bends, there they will be, whole families of them, adorned with shopping, lilos, the lot, walking right in the road without a care in the world, oblivious to the approaching danger.

Locals

Scooter hire in Greece has been well-established on the main tourist islands for many years now, but somehow this development seems to have been missed by a one or two of the local inhabitants of every island.

Those on foot will often be seen tottering along at the side of the road, but don’t assume for one minute that this is where they will stay.  So often, at the vital moment, especially in villages, this harmless looking pedestrian will suddenly be drawn into your path, perhaps by a call from across the

Greek Islands Scooter with Sidecar, courtesy of flickr.com user: jonmelsa

street; perhaps by some death wish, who knows.  Be ready to react quickly to whatever happens, and give them a wide berth to give yourself more options.

“signalling is a black art”

Locals in cars or on scooters, a small minority of them admittedly, can also be problematic.  For these privileged few, signalling is a black art best avoided.  They will come at you from all directions, with no warning.  You need to be ready for them.  Oh, and if someone IS signalling, don’t assume that this is in any way a sign of the direction of impending travel, because while some people don’t signal at all, for others signalling is merely an artistic gesture.

Well, that’s the end of part eight.  In the next part of this series from Suntrap Holidays about scooter hire in Greece, we take a look at some of the hazards caused by other traffic on the road:

Scooter Hire in Greece – Part 9 – Traffic