Hey ladies... Can we talk about perception for a minute??

  • How do you ladies SLING? 20

    1. I do most of the driving (3) 15%
    2. You'll find me in the passenger seat (2) 10%
    3. I'm both driver and passenger 50% of the time (4) 20%
    4. None of the above (I'm a guy... and came to gawk at the women!) (11) 55%

    My name is Erica and live in Charlotte NC with my partner Stacy and daughter Elise. We are fairly new Slingshot owners and LOVE this forum (having met some really nice people already)!


    I'm writing today because a couple of weeks ago, I caused an accident involving a guy trying to gawk at me while pulling up to a red light. I'm not sure if he was just checking out the Slingshot or what, but he slammed into a stopped pick-up truck at a fairly good speed! Do you ladies find having a Slingshot distracts other drivers around you? I've even seen a few go so far as to whip out their phones, just to snap a picture of you while they're driving!


    In any event, I can't help but wonder if seeing a woman driving one of these, may be the real issue? ?(


    Regards,
    -Erica


    If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you...
    Signature.png

  • Last I checked I'm still male, but I thought I'd respond to your post anyway. Several guys have posted about people gawking and rear-ending other vehicles, so I don't think you deserve any blame as a female, although I imagine that might have contributed some, too. There does seem to be far more male owners than female.
    Back when I rode two wheels, I had a Suzuki V-Strom 650, a bike normally ridden by taller folks (usually men) and I had the pleasure to one day pull up to a gas station and there was a woman refueling her V-Strom. She was the only woman I ever saw riding one and we had a nice conversation. She, too, was tall, around 5 ft give or take an inch or two.


    I forgot to add that I lmost always ride after dark and it's not unusual to see a flash go off as a vehicle passes me or look over and see a phone peeking over the side of the door!

    Edited once, last by BKL ().

  • 10 of us were headed back to Cherokee Cycles in Greenville,S.C. from a short ride. A dumb ass in a Ford truck taking pictures of us as we were going by forgot to look where he was going. The two cars in front of him were stopped.

  • Assuming you were wearing a helmet and he was going pretty quick... he was probably distracted by the slingshot.

    ___________________________________
    #02828 January 2015 build date.
    Here to assist anyone in the Denver area.

  • @ericastar76, check out this thread. The struggle is real.


    How many accidents has your sling caused?


    @sideseatdriver makes it a game to keep an eye out for the people who break their necks checking us out. And I have had a couple people taking pictures (and video!) while driving on the highway, and drift into my lane a bit...then again, I find that with my usual speed differential, by the time they're over the line, I'm out of harm's way.

  • @ericastar76, check out this thread. The struggle is real.


    How many accidents has your sling caused?


    @sideseatdriver makes it a game to keep an eye out for the people who break their necks checking us out. And I have had a couple people taking pictures (and video!) while driving on the highway, and drift into my lane a bit...then again, I find that with my usual speed differential, by the time they're over the line, I'm out of harm's way.

    I will check it out... Thanks @KayTwo

    If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you...
    Signature.png

  • It's a sling thing @ericastar76. Happens all the time. People will pull up all the time and just stare, film, and take pics..... then they speed up... kinda annoying when you're trying to change lanes actually but as much as we complain about it... most of the time it's pretty cool :thumbup:

  • The Slingshot attracts more attention than any other toy we own/have owned.


    The last day i drove it two weeks ago i was on a street with a dedicated bicycle lane and the cyclist while staring at my sling with a WTF face(as well as asking WTH it was) ran into another bike who was waiting for a red light to change.


    Anyways don't feel like it is "YOUR" fault but rather just something we all have deal with when we drive the sling.

    Is not that I am mean, I just don't sugarcoat what I say.

  • Happens to me when wearing a tank too...


    Oh no, that's @BONES... Nevermind... :whistling:



    :P


    No accidents! But attention for sure! When I drove from California to Houston last year, a new TEST Acura NSX was driving and the two guys in it were staring at the Sling! I was staring at the NSX!


  • Also get used to stupid questions at stoplights, gas stations, parking lots, etc. "He let's you drive?" I was expecting a dude". "Who bought it for you?" Goes on & on- Ignorance has no bounds, and @adventure4me is 100% right- it never goes away. No different than the same kind of comments when you are wrenching on a vehicle, or somehow otherwise trespassing in male domain..... Sometimes I have a smart-ass response, but more often I just blow it off...

  • 10 of us were headed back to Cherokee Cycles in Greenville,S.C. from a short ride. A dumb ass in a Ford truck taking pictures of us as we were going by forgot to look where he was going. The two cars in front of him were stopped.

    I do remember that day...only minor damage to one of the Slings....

  • Erica, Just enjoy the ride and drive defensively. There are lots of Ladies driving these crazy machines. The Ladies driving the other things are just as apt to be looking as the guys....And the nicer the things they are driving the more apt they are to be looking...

    Thanks @EjFord ~> I'll be turning some wrenches tomorrow to fix my wing... and then, back out we go!! :thumbup:

    If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you...
    Signature.png