80-Year-Old Visitor Dies In Warwick Accident
[Updated - police release name] An 80-year-old male visitor from Florida was killed in a motorcycle accident in Warwick this morning [July 7], police have confirmed.
Emergency services responded to a report of a serious accident a few minutes before 10am in the South Road, Warwick area involving a rental cycle. Traffic is still being diverted from the area while police investigate the accident scene. Police confirmed the man’s death, and released a few details and are expected to release a full official statement shortly.
This is the fourth road traffic fatality this year, and the second in a week following after the death of 33-year-old German national and Bermuda resident Christoph Nagel following a motorcycle accident in Hamilton parish on on July 1st.
48-year-old Michael Lancelotta, a visitor from Rhode Island, was killed in a motorcycle accident in St George’s on February 18, and 37-year-old Dr Joseph Footitt, a visitor from the UK, died following a motorcycle accident on Harbour Road on June 13.
Update 12.58pm: Police Media Manager Dwayne Caines said “First responders attended a road traffic collision that took place a few minutes after 10 this morning.
“It appears a 80 year old man on a livery cycle was traveling west on South Road in the area of South Shore Park in Warwick, when he lost control of his cycle and collided with a wooden railing.
“This resulted in the 80 year Tourist from Florida being taken to KEMH were he later succumbed to his injuries. No further information will be given until the next of kin has been notified.”
Update July 8, 9.48pm: A police spokesperson said, “The Bermuda Police Service can now confirm the death of 80 year old Don Wildman of Florida U.S.A.
“Mr. Wildman, a visitor to the island, was seriously injured when the rental cycle he was riding collided with a wooden railing around 10am Saturday, July 7th along South Road in Warwick.
“He was taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital via ambulance but tragically was pronounced dead by an on call doctor at 10:25am Saturday.
“Inquiries into this fatal collision are ongoing. The Bermuda Police Service extends condolences to the family & friends of Mr. Wildman. The death of Don Wildman marks the fourth road fatality for 2012.”
- Photo by Kenny Byron
Read More About
Category: Accidents and fires, All, News
What in heaven’s name is an 80 year old doing on a motor bike?
My condolences to the family, and others as well of similar circumstances.
PLEASE! Tourism, Transport, Police, Road Safety, Cycle Liveries et al, may we please take strong consideration to introducing the upgraded “golf-cart” like vehicles as seen in many overseas communities that can occupy 2-4 and 6-seater persons which may be safer than these 2-wheeled mopeds that many may find to be a bit of a challenge on our roads…for our visitors and locals…
i agree.
Condolences…
Should also consider three wheeled scooters. They would be more stable than two wheeled
I agree 100% on the 3 wheels and while we are at it make them electric. Those scooters are unsafe and toxic!!
My condolences to the family at this time so sorry for your loss!
Do realize Summerbreeze that these “Golf Cart” type vehicles only do a top speed of 10mph(16kmh). Here in the States, those carts are only permitted on private property, not the main roads because they are too slow.
Sympathies to the family of yet another visitor to our island. We drove a four seater cart in Key West Florida. Had a great time on this, yes we didn’t keep up with the traffic so people were overtaking us but we do this now with the tourists on bikes. It was definitely be a lot safer for our visitors. So this is something that the livery agencies should look into.
Do you realize how congested our roads would be if we allowed that? Tourists should catch the bus and ferries(another reason they need to make sure these two are running on time and often) not be on bikes, let alone an 80 year old.
Very sad. I think we are all wondering why an 80 yr was allowed to rent a moped.
He was here with a church group going to sing at the Seventh Day Church this morning. My condolenses to his family and frineds traveling with him.
I am so sorry – condolences to the family. This is very sad.
The cycle Livery firm should not have rented to an 80 year old,they should have used better judgement.
Just like you would not rent to a 10 year old.
I was not referring to the mental capacity of the individual. You should have not interpreted that way.
I was referring to the cycle livery not vetting their customers as they would if a 10 year old walked in and wanted to rent a moped without questioning the individual.
I don’t know if any of you have seen how they determine if a tourist is confident on a livery cycle? Go to Dockyard and watch. They have a person out there that tells them to ride around the one way from the livery cycle place all the way back around. They ride with nobody watching them or teaching them how to ride. We make our young people do a cumpulusry Project Ride now and they have certain conditions attached to their youth licence. They should make the tourists do project ride and not allow them to tow a passenger on the cycle as well. You cannot rent a car anywhere else in the world without having a driver’s licence. Why do the livery cycle places rent to people who do not have motor cycle licences?
They rent because they are a business and the mighty dollar conquers all. I do not know how they sleep at night!
My deepest sympathies to the family of this visitor.
Regarding the use of the word ‘determine’ in your first sentence .
Have you ever seen how determined some of these visitors are to have a bike regardless of their skills/knowledge ?
For many , being told outright ‘no’ would probably ruin their holiday. The problem for most of them is they simply don’t know what the roads are really like here. First time visitors still have a mental picture of a sleepy backwater , while in many instances , repeat visitors stopped getting bikes a few trips ago .
80? No, no, no…that bike company needs to be named and shamed…
Here’s a simple test as to how they can determine whether or not to let the visitor take the bike: if you see them using their feet for brakes, then they fail-they are not ready to be on our roads. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen tourists do this on the road and not use the proper brakes on the bike…this isn’t The Flintstones.
HeyBye – perhaps you should read your comment when you are 80.
Having said that, any 80 year old would say it is pushing it to be on a moped at 80, let alone being a visitor as well.
Our condolences to the family and the moped rental company needs to do some explaining.
This is a sad story indeed! So many tourists are given these mopeds to ride. Some of which have never ridden one before. Just recently we were in Dockyard and witnessed ‘an instructor’ giving ‘lessons’ to a foreigner. It was such a short period of time – hardly long enough to ensure the safety of the rider, passenger or other road users. The tourists left the cycle shop wobbling down the rode. Understanding that we depend a great deal on our tourism to help ‘the economy’, however we really need to ensure the safety and well being of our visitors.
The days of bike rentals should be over. enough is enough… get on the bus please!!
My consolences to the family.
That’s rather extreme don’t ya think? if they were to get rid of rentals I wouldn’t be visiting anymore, I have no interest in traveling by bus or ferry.
But this was definitely preventable, the rental companies do need to be more responsible and use some common sense instead of taking the few dollars that come into the island these days.
Condolences to the family.
Bermuda roads are hard enough to navigate for Bermudians at times. For someone with no experience it is dangerous for both them and the rest of the motoring public. If i could tell you how many times a day I shutter as I see near accidents with tourists on bikes.
I am not making my suggestion to be mean, I say it because in my opinion there is a lack of understanding about how difficult it is to properly handle a bike, how much practice it takes to do it well, and there have been too many deaths.
I want tourists to enjoy my island, I also want them to go home safe with happy memories.
Whitney…it’s ‘shudder’…
They’re never going to put a stop to this so the only thing they can do is tighten up the regulations concerning this and hold the bike rental companies more accountable. They need to have more stringent tests before they allow the tourists out on the road. Maybe even give them a short, simple written quiz of some sort as well (maybe 5 mins. long or something) along with the practical test. If the tourists doesn’t want to take it, then clearly they don’t value their life so don’t give them the bike.
We won’t even get into the left side/right side of the road problem. Plenty of them get confused and that confusion will get you killed. As one long-time cab driver used to say regarding tourists driving on the right “There’s only two sides to drive in Bermuda-the left side and suicide…”
Hey Whitney, The Island of Bermuda can’t handle the CURRENT tourist population without MANY Bermudians complaining about wait times and buses passing them by because of the tourists that ARE using the bus and you want to take the bikes away?? I have been to Bermuda MANY times (sorry but it was on CRUISES) and always rented bikes. NEVER had a problem!! I agree with the posts about having to take a course if you do not already have a license for motorbikes from your current country.
I agree! At this point it’s not just about their safety it’s about the safety of others as well.
Greed.
How in good conscious does a rental company rent a cycle to an 80-year-old — simply ridiculous
true
I offer my condolences to the friends and family of this gentleman.
I do also want to add a well done to the people who were trying their best to assist at the scene prior to the ambulance’s arrival. I drove by this accident probably only a few minutes after it had occurred and to see the amount of people(Public, Park rangers and the police) helping in whatever way they could from directing traffic, first aid and CPR. I truly felt warmed by the idea of complete strangers coming together to try and assist this tourist in whatever way they could was great.
I knew from the scene that it was bad and I was wishing for the best but upon arriving home and hearing this news saddens me deeply. I do believe there should be better training for mopeds or even a new type of transportation option as well (golf cart/smart cars to tricycle mopeds). The busses are great in many ways but when you want to do things on your own time the only options you have are the mopeds.
Once again my condolences to the family and friends of this gentlemen.
To BdaPhoenix, i was at the scene as well and i was touched by the amount of people that did assist prior to the ambulance arriving. So heartbreaking as he was here with a church group to sing at the Seventh Day Adventist Church this morning. He was a very well known man in the Orlando Florida area. My condolenses to his family and friends.
The rental companies need to use better judgement with their rentals. I have seen tourist ride overboard in Dockyard during the Rental training. One family I told them to just return the bikes and catch a cab or bus instead. The rentals rent to anyone and it isn’t right!
This is such a shame that an 80yr old would come here on vacation and get killed, he should never have been allowed to rent a bike, there should be an age limit, too often tourists come her and get killed on bike’s, they don’t have enough time to get proper training about the bike and our roads. These rental liverys should be held responsible. “SHAME ON THEM” and their greed for ther almighty dollar.
Nobody over 65 should be on a bike and even some younger than that. Condolences to his family.
My deep sad nest to the family ,off the 80 yr old man.The cycle company needs.to be careful renting to people over 70, cause they may have health problems.
First off , sincerest condolences to the family. This is not the way that any vacation should end.
For the commentors that are all saying that 80 is too old to be on a bike , I’d like to say that those comments ,without knowing all the facts are a little harsh.
Do we know if this visitor might have had a big motorcycle license from where he came ? He might have . The report says that he lost control of his bike. He may have been spooked by some of our many out of control locals in/on their vehicles.
Maybe he got a bee in his crash helmet .. Ever had that happen before ? ?
I know a local who just stopped riding his motor bike at 84 years old only because he could no longer feel safe with all the local street terrorists out there.
As for the suggestions that we ought to introduce an alternative 3 wheeled vehicle or modified golf carts for visitors , and at the risk of being accused of maybe sounding selfish, I ask what this would do to the stress level on our already saturated roads if another class of slow moving vehicle was introduced. Can you imagine the issue of parking ,for instance , with the 3 wheelers in , say , Hamilton ? And that’s just a single exampe . We just don’t have room anymore.
It’s been suggested before elsewhere , but even though it would prove to be immensely unpopular with the liveries and many visitors , maybe we should seriously look at renting to people who actually hold motorcycle licenses .
Sounds draconian ? Not if you consider that nowhere else in the world can someone 18 or over rent a car without a license, AND consider the logistics of if it were possible , teaching someone to drive a car in 10 minutes . Kinda puts it in perspective, I hope .
Yeah because those scenarios are more plausible than him being 80, in a foreign country on a bike. Typical sell out to blame locals for a tourist crashing and dying even though it’s been happening for years upon years. I guess locals were the fault in everyone of those cases(oh and the bees!). If he was spooked it was still his fault, if you are easily spooked(of what exactly?) you shouldn’t be riding/driving. Logic isn’t your thing huh?
A bit defensive much ? Someone said something that hurt you ? The exact cause of this accident has not been determined yet. Despite his age which seems to be a huge factor for some people he had to be alive when he rode away from the livery ,eh ?
There’s nothing wrong with my logic and that comes from a perspective of having 42 years of accident free riding of all sorts and sizes of motorcycles all around the globe.
Was even involved directly in the industry.
Sounds to me like you take offence to people who point out some facts about what goes on on our roads. Maybe you should talk to the guys who bring their Harleys down here what they think about our ‘road warriors’.
Be warned , you’re going to have to break out your thick skin . If you have any.
Sounds like you’re defensive because I pointed out the clear lack of thought and logic in your rant? Exactly the cause has not been determined so why are you quick to blame EVERYONE but the driver? Do you read what you type before you hit submit? Does it matter that he rode away alive? Does it change the fact that he was still 80 and thus his strength, health, cognitive, reactive and defensive abilities as a rider on roads that are foreign to him not exasperated factors in comparison to that of a younger person? Or a Bermudian who is familiar with our roads? Congrats on being accident free what does that have to do with anything? So that somehow makes you an expert? Want a cookie?
Sounds to me like you like to make ASSumptions often. You have no clue how he crashed and died, I am not defensive and I do not take offensive to face-less, name-less, know it alls on news websites. Get over yourself. I could also care less what “guys who bring their Harley’s down here” have to say either.
My condolences to the family and friends of this gentleman. Also thanks to the bystanders, Parks staff, and the off-duty firefighter who assisted without hesitation. I would also like to thank the first responders which include FIREFIGHTERS and KEMH EMT’s who assisted in giving this man further life support. They encounter all sorts of incidents involving both locals and visitors yet still remain calm and act professionally at every incident. You all did the best you could and did a great job at attempting to save this man’s life.
By the way, have you ever had someone on a motorcycle with one of those loud pipes overtake you at an excessive speed? Its scary when you check your mirror, see nothing then all of a sudden something comes blasting across you from behind. I have been riding for more than 20 years and it has spooked me many times…..
Yeah but how many 80yr old’s do you see riding motor bikes in the states, most of them drive cars not ride bikes….it’s a difference
Liesten, how you can compare an 80 year old Bermudian to and 80 year old Tourist baffles me….I mean seriously….the local has been riding for decades he knows how to ride…Hello!…yeah other circumstances may have played a role….but a more experienced rider may have better handled them.
So sad to here this and my condolences go out to the family. There must be something done and soon about the visitors renting especially if they do not have a licience from thier own country to ride. I have seen where a vistor has just stepped of the ship and an hour later on a bike leaving Dockyard and ends up under a public bus on the corner just pass Boaz Island near Watford Bridge. The gentelman said he failed to stay on the left side. He also said he felt the bike pulling which made me think that the bike he was rented had been in a previous accident and maybe the forks had been bent so he had two stikes against him from his start. A previously damaged bike from another visitors accident and driving on the left side. When I arrived in Dockyard I told the instructors one of thier bikes was in an accident and they just shrugged thier shoulder so if that is not about greed than what is? SHAME ON YOU CYCLE RENTERS!! The bible tells us “The Love Of Money Is The Rule Of All Evil”
My sincere condolences to the family of the visitor whom lost his life whilst enjoying a Bermudaful Day.
Just over a few weeks ago another visitor to Bermuda lost his life.
I mentioned in that post, that the Cycle companies should ONLY have Bermudians training the tourist who want to ride livery cycles whilst on vacation.
There are ONLY Bermudians driver instructors for anyone wanting to learn to drive.
The roads have become so hazardous over the years. Bigger vehicles, and everyone in a hurry to go 21 square miles.
No-one seems polite and courteous especially to the visitor whom may have NEVER riden a cycle prior, but wants to explore and adventure on their own.
Why must cars and trucks and buses drive soo damn close behind them as they slowly make their way around our island.
For all those that want to tear me apart, go right ahead. I have broad shoulders when i look in my mirror.
but stop and think, are you part of the problem or part of the solution.
First my condolences to this gentleman’s family it is heartbreaking .
I agree the bike rental companies need to re evaluate their policies with regards to who can rent and the education given to the renters.
my father is 82 and I cant imagine anyone in their right mind would agree to rent him a bike irregardless of how fit he is! I do not believe in age descrimination and have known many an amazing 80 yr old but a Bermudian 80yr old who knows these roads well would probably say no to jumping on a moped!!
Do better rental companies review your policies not sure whoever rented this gentleman the bike will sleep well tonight!!
Condolences to the family of the deceased. When are we going to add “the deplorable conditions of our roads” are to be considered for MANY accidents! It’s hard enough maneuvering a car on our roads, let alone a bike! Wake up Bermuda…we are sinking faster and faster every single day. Watch out for those who believe “nothing is wrong”!
I know some 80yr olds that are in Better physical and mental health than people half their age. Poor sight probably had a heart attack. As was the case with the 80+ yr old fella who drove over the embankment near Princess a few years back.
First, my condolences to the family and friends here and abroad! It’s nothing more tragic than coming to Bermuda to enjoy a vacation with family/friends only to lose one’s life doing something that is so preventable.
The government is and has been in a position to establish a law directed at livery cycle companies outlining specific rules in relation to renting cycles to visitors. I am not against the livery cycle companies doing business. What I am against, is taking advantage of the situation and allowing any visitor to ride a rental cycle no matter what. I could go on and on but the bottom line is :
1. Government needs to get involved to make sure these companies abide by specific rules (including age restrictions).
2. Here’s a motto every visitor and livery company should automatically follow :
(And they don’t because you see their manner of how they are riding on the road)
“IF YOU NEVER EVER HAVE RIDDEN ON A MOTORCYCLE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD,
DO NOT EVEN START BY RIDING ONE IN BERMUDA – IT MAY COST YOU YOUR LIFE!!!”
To all visitors of Bermuda – Please be safe on our roads – If you feel uncomfortable riding on our roads, immediately return your livery cycle or better yet stop and get off your cycle and call the livery company to pick you up and your cycle. It’s better to be safe and enjoy your holiday than to tragically end it!
Sean
Well said Sean.
Sincere condolences to the family of this gentleman. How very tragic.
It is high time that we stop renting mopeds to tourists who may have never ridden a bike before. A motorcycle license from overseas should be a prerequisite. Narrow, winding, over-crowded roads and handling a moped for the first time is a recipe for disaster.
I have often found myself holding my breath when watching tourists ride as it can be very harrowing!!
Very, very sad indeed.
An 80 year old woman managed to make an emergency landing in Wisconsin after the pilot, who is also her husband, died in the air.
Helen Collins remained calm when she landed a small Cessna plane at the airport Cherryland, even then he had learned that her husband was dead.
According to James Collins, his son, his mother never took the basic course flight, the takeoff and landing, 30 years ago. James told The Associated Press said, it was at the request of his father as a precaution if anything happens to it when he took his wife to fly.
Helen Collins never got a license to fly. However, he had hundreds of times to accompany her husband, John Collins, piloted the plane.
Uh, yeah…the pilot was old and had a heart attack up there. Luckily he had given his wife flying lessons. If he hadn’t, she would have crashed the plane.
Note-the husband died suddenly in the air. That’s why 80+ people shouldn’t be piloting planes. Would YOU fly on Delta or AA knowing the flight crew consisted of a bunch of senior citizens 80+ years old? No disrespect to them, but NO, you wouldn’t!
*Or would you (I forgot who I was talking to)???*
One name .
Captain ‘Sully’ Sullenberger .
Damn ,now I forgot why I posted this . Like casting pearls before swine sometimes I guess .
So, we have visitors who still think of Bermuda as a sleepy backwater and safe to drive in, safe to stay in? And somehow it’s their fault for coming? Or the livery companies’ fault for renting. OK, liveries must take better care to ensure the rider is able to drive safely but isn’t the real problem the fact that Bermuda’s roads are made dangerous by the car drivers? Slow down, be nice to tourists. Maybe the driver now works for International Business and has moved on from being nice to visitors for a living but good manners count. Don’t hassle them, don’t overtake ongoing vehicles and the poor newbies swerve…. None of this may have been the cause of today’s accident but it is only by the grace of God that more accidents don’t happen. Tourists don’t generally cause accidents, residents do. Slow down, given them space and respect that they have spent their dollars to come and see our Island home.
‘Get it together’ should be here very soon to attack you on your post . Stay tuned .
You want some icyhot for that butthurt?
Your style , tone .. is so ..familiar ? ?
Sorry to dissappoint you , I don’t feed trolls .
Bye.
What.is.your point? You want the icyhot or not? You keep talking about me in comments and I’m the troll? Sorry I embarrassed ya, better luck next time.
We’re Bermudians…Bermudians sound the same. Where are YOU from, genius?
Hey Mouse, first of all get the stick out your butt. Second of all, everyone disagrees with you. Thirdly, don’t you know how Bernews works? First you attack everyone in the article, and when you’re done doing that, you attack everyone in the forum if their opinion doesn’t match yours. That’s the way we do it…try and keep up, will ya?
I was driving behind 2 tourists the other day, seemed to be husband and wife. At times I had difficulty keeping up with them, I was traveling at just under 50k and the lady in front of me at times was shooting off ahead probably doing around 60k wobbling, trying to keep up with her husband. People just don’t realize that they can be killed on those toys on our dinky roads. Maybe it’s time to adjust the speed on these bikes and to make it law.
Hello to All,
I was at the seen, I was the first responder did CPR until the paramedics got there……..!! It was the longest wait for ambulance I ever had to encounter, I am in the medical field, I will never forget his face, I am praying for the family and may he rest in peace.
He had just celebrated his 60 th anniversary with his wife. This is so sad.
I believe that this bike rental to the tourist is so DANGEROUS as you all have been saying, but then how could they get around if no bikes ? We cant do cars ?
This is a problem that will never be fixed !!
BermyDQ
DQ you should not be responding to any thread or articles on cases that you have been involved in. As a fellow healthcare worker you have an ethical standard to uphold.
He’s just making a point. He hasn’t said anything wrong or divulged anything personal about the man.
Speed is what we need to cut down on, Mostly all of our road deaths are caused by excessive speed. As soon as you come off your bike your body turns into a missile, aimed at anything in its path, and if your helmet comes off while you are traveling, well that’s just tragic. We need to bring in a smaller bike with a new style of helmet.
The TCD Department needs to ensure that cycle livery standards are being enforced and that anyone testing persons is certified, much like the persons that teach project ride with periodic reviews. I hear more from CADA than the Road Safety Council or Road Safety Officer in the media, what they do is actually beyond me. Maybe the new minister will get some fire under these pencil pushers to do their job.
80 year old on a Harley Davison in the USA vs 80 year old on small moped in Bermuda hmmm ………. must be the winding roads..i dont know
That 80 year old on the Harley has probably been riding for the better part of 60 years. The 80 year old on the moped??? Probably a couple of hours at best.
He actually has been riding a moped all his life. He was more active than a lot of 20-30 year olds I see. He died doing what he loved. What better way to go. P.S. I am related.
Condolences to his family and friends. Thoughts and prayers for them at such a hard time right now.
My condolences to the family of the accident victim. I myself had a tourist come at me head on around a bend. She rode up on the grass thank goodness and wasn’t hurt. I suggested to her to give the bike back to the rental place because you cannot handle it and we don’t want you getting hurt or killed. Not knowing the circumstances behind the accident we cannot pass judgment on the rental company. That being said however the rental company’s do appear not to be using their best judgment on who they rent a bike to. Maybe a virtual test imitating riding on our roads to test their sharpness and reaction to certain situations..
WE NEED THREE WHEEL BIKES! AND WHY IS A 80 YEAR OLD RIDING A BIKE ANYWAY??
Why the hell are these greedy bike rental companies pushing a motor cycle onto an 80 year old man. These cycle livery companies should be ashamed of the selfs.
Although I don’t agree with the process in which these cycles are rented we all must understand that just like we choose to rent a car and drive in an unfamiliar country on unfamiliar roads, it’s the visitors’ choice to rent these cycles and do the same. In my opinion the risks are no different. Whether traveling at 70 mph on a highway or 20 mph in Bda there is always a risk that something unfortunate can happen which may cause you your life. Even though a lot of them don’t feel comfortable on a bike, they still CHOOSE to rent it
My god guys, I can’t believe all the bickering going back and forth between a few of you. A man/tourist died on our roads. That is fact. Stop the petty comments going back and forth. No one knows for sure what exactly caused his accident. It was a very sad day for many of us and his group traveling with him who witnessed this horrific accident. I was at the scene and something I would never forget.
God bless his family and friends.
Whenever you see a news piece about a car driving through the front window of a store…inevitably it’s a 70+ year old person. What happens is, they step on the gas, thinking it’s the brake. When the car doesn’t slow down, they press harder…and harder. The car eventually stops when it hits the storefront, and the investigators NEVER find anything wrong with the car. It’s just something about how some seniors’ brains work.
I hope this accident wasn’t something similar, where he was twisting the throttle the wrong way to slow down, and instead speeded up. If so, things can go horribly wrong in a matter of seconds.
Sincere condolences to the man’s family. They must be devastated.
Sympathy to family. Yes he was 80 but he probably was a young 80 thought he could handle the bike or maybe he was stricken with a heart attack. R.I.P.
Who are we to determine if 80 years young is too old to have a rental bike? There are many 80 yr olds sharp as a tack still left in the world.
This man was the kindest man I know. He was healthy, trim and full-of-life. I know a 90 year old man who rides a motorcycle. This man was not your usual 80-year-old man stereotype. It is a real loss.
While I agree completely that the bike rental places do a terrible job of screening and training renters, ultimately it’s the renter who takes his/her life into his/her own hands. Age can be a factor, but every person is different. I know plenty of folks in their 20′s who shouldn’t be on a bike, and plenty of older folks who are quite capable.
Bottom line is that these bikes are death traps for the inexperienced rider regardless of age who has to contend with narrow, winding roads, no shoulders, stone wall curbs, and driving on the left/looking to the right. I NEVER EVER EVER have my guests rent a bike. Not a fan of funerals.