I wish all the noisy, smelly, antisocial scooters were pushed straight in a canal.

Each one makes 10 times makes more pollution than a 4WD car !

By djure | July 21, 2010 11:31 AM

If 5862-400= 5462 cars were stolen last year, that's an increase of 7.3% not 6.9% . The correct formula is (5862/5462)-1.
Even using the wrong formula you would obtain 6.82 which would get rounded to 6.8 and not 6.9.
Maybe an article about mathematic next time? :)

By Roger | July 21, 2010 1:09 PM

To Roger:

400 more than last year does not necessary mean 400 on the dot. I'm sure it means approximately 400, that's how they came up with this 6.9%. Sometimes, people should not take everything literally in absolute terms, but rather, just take the stats like a grain of salt. After all, it's the government, when was the last time these guys were ever right?

By Carlos Borjal | July 21, 2010 3:55 PM

And how many bicycles get stolen? I'll need one for when I visit the Netherlands next year.

By Henk Luf | July 21, 2010 6:31 PM

Along these lines, can someone tell me why in the Netherlands scooters are allowed in bicycle lanes? Who the heck thought this was a good idea?

By Hussey | July 22, 2010 9:24 AM

Henk, according to stats +/- 900,000 bikes are reported stolen every year.
I've been a victim twice in the eight years I've lived here. But must take some responsibility & say it was due to lapses in security both times.

By Donaugh | July 22, 2010 2:20 PM

@Hussey - I've been trying to get a decent answer to that question for the last 8 years! I wes told by a friendly policeman (they do exist) that scooters/bromfiets etc. with less than 50cc engine are allowed in the bike lane because "they're almost the same as a bicycle". After I stopped laughing I asked him how many bikes he knows which spew out smoke and pollution ... no answer to that one. If you get a definitive answer from anyone, please post it on the board!

By Zissa | July 22, 2010 3:38 PM

Djure - I'd really like to see where you get your statistics from. Electric scooters for example are almost pollution free.

Hussey - the scooters that are allowed to ride on the bike path (the ones with blue plates) are (theoretically) limited to 25 km an hour, which is slower than someone cycling at full speed and waaaay slower than a racing bike. Plus, you can drive a blue plate scooter without a helmet which is why they are allowed on the bike path.

I don't understand why there is so much animosity towards scooter owners....

By Kleintje | July 22, 2010 4:13 PM

A motor scooter is a motor vehicle,the same as cars and trucks.They should be subject to the same laws.Obey traffic signals,only drive (the right direction) on streets, no riding in bike lanes or on sidewalks.They are not bicycles!

By charlie | July 22, 2010 8:31 PM

Yes who decided to allow scooters in bicycle lanes?! They're deadly. whizzing past at 60 kph, if they clip your bicycle handle bar you'd go flying.

By Simon | July 22, 2010 10:41 PM

Yes I agree with the comments above about scooters in the bicycle lanes. My partner was badly injured when hit by one, that did not stop and now two of my work colleagues were recently hit by scooters in the bicycle lane, both of whom chose not to stop but ride off in a hurry. Rather let the scooters deal with the cars in the normal lanes or punich scooters severely for speeding in bicycle lanes.

By Juan | July 23, 2010 1:27 PM

So, with only 24% of scooters, 35% of new cars & 60% of old cars being recovered, I'd be very interested to know where they are all going. Export, no doubt.

By John | July 24, 2010 9:34 AM