65 Degrees North - News and views from Oulu - Teen seriously injured in Moped Smash

Teen seriously injured in Moped Smash

By news

Tuesday, 08 December 2009

A seventeen year-old teenager was seriously injured a crash last Sunday while out riding her moped.

The youngster and a sixty-three year old male cyclist were both travelling in the outskirts of Muhos when the accident occurred.

The moped collided with the back of the bicycle leading to both vehicles hitting the ground. However, the driver of the moped hit her head on the ground leading to serious injury.

According to police, the moped was not road-worthy. Its lights weren’t working and the driver was not wearing a helmet.

Both cyclists and moped-drivers are allowed to use wide public foot-paths in Finland.

According to Annu Korhonen from the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Moped drivers should wear a helmet and be at least 15 years of age.

The website of "liikenneturva" Finland´s Central Organisation for Traffic safety reveals that a M class moped driving licence is mandatory for those moped drivers born in 1985 or after, unless they already possess a driving license for motorcycle or car.

Comments (3)

1. 08-12-2009 20:21

Written by Unknown

Interesting.

"According to police, the moped was not road-worthy. Its lights weren’t working and the driver was not wearing a helmet." Not having safety in mind is a bit silly I reckon.

2. 09-12-2009 08:55

Written by will

Interesting.

Sorry to hear the poor kid is hurt BUT it doesnt surprise me at all and in fact I am surprised there are not more accidents like this. Hope the kid gets better.

3. 09-12-2009 17:45

Written by Andy Crofts

Riding on footpaths -OK.

..To a Brit, it seems strange, but having got used to it (until my mopo was stolen last year), reasonable.

The only BIG problem I had was trying to discover the speed limit when I rode my mopo on the footpaths. I searched AKE website, Poliisi website - nothing. I therefore assumed a reasonable speed limit would be 25Km/h - like a brisk cyclist - and kept to it, unless I spotted a Finn walking in front of me, with a mobile stuck to his ear*, when I'd seriously slow down.
(Never found the natives particularly good at multi-tasking....)

Sure, my machine was a lot heavier than a bicycle, (180Kg, with me on board) but the twin hydraulically-operated disk brakes were no match for those pathetic thumbnail-sized pieces of rubber on a push-bike.
What DID annoy me greatly was being passed at speed by kids on mopeds which had obviously been tuned.
Once my girlfriend and I were walking in an underpass at Merikoskenkatu, and we were deliberately 'buzzed' on both sides by teens on machines whose speed I'd estimate, as an experienced motorcyclist at around 50Km/h. It was extremely frightening for my girl, and I was anxious because it was obvious they were kids - passengers with no helmets - est. 16 years old. 6 months 'experience'?
What's not been mentioned here, but has been reported elsewhere was that the moped mentioned in the article wasn't roadworthy principally because it'd been tuned. Hence, no insurance. With no helmet, was she a contestant for "The 2009 Darwin Award"?
Oh, I understand the riding of a mopo on the footpath may be seriously curtailed next year. Be prepared for a serious rise in the death figures if that happens.

*We should bring back the British 'red flag' rule - If you're using a mobile, hold a red flag up.
That's a joke, by the way. Just after Independence Day, talking about Red Flags may not be wise..

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