Re: Segways banned in Britain
 

It all depends on how one lives. I use my Segway almost daily - and not just for fun. And with the large growth of paved bicycle (linear) trails in Connecticut, the commute options for Segway owners are constantly growing. My father has said when gas hits $4.00 a gallon, he'd purchase a Segway to commute to work. And after doing the math, he'd only have to commute to work on it 1/3 of the year for about 2 1/2 years and it would pay for itself in savings (gas, vehicle wear-and-tear, etc).

And Segways do not occupy that much additional space on a sidewalk than a pedrestrian. The only thing that's wider is about 3-4 inches on either side of the wheelbase, which are the wheels. And even then, whenever I'm on a sidewalk and a pedrestrian is coming, I'll move out of the way for them.

Back in 1835, you could count on one hand how many steam-powered railroads there were in Britain. Cars, trains, planes, trolleys, subways, electricity, or even modern bicycles had either yet to be invented or widely adopted. Although there are some laws which may stand the trials of time and continue to be valid, laws which deal with technology need to keep pace with current needs and inventions.

To use a law from 1835 to ban Segways, is in my opinion, a lame attempt by the ignorant to ban something based on biased opinions. I can't stress enough how many people's opinions of Segways have changed for the better after they've rode one around for five to ten minutes.

Re: Segways banned in Britain
 

And yet 3 years after that study was done, there is still no legislation here that either specifically allows or bans Segways on sidewalks and bike paths. Of course, I've never actually seen or heard of anyone else owning a Segway in Quebec, so I imagine it's not a terribly urgent issue for the government to address.

Re: Segways banned in Britain
 

Actually the Canadian government has only had the results for a few months.Give your MPs some time; they're only politicians, after all. And it is just possible ;) that one or two other Provinces may want to conduct their own research.

Re: Segways banned in Britain
 

gg.. I remember when my fuel efficient Neon (of the Dodge variety) used to get me everywhere I wanted to be for less than 40 bucks in gas a month.

Now it's like 25 bucks every 5-6 days or so.

You know Art, technically, the paths you want to use, such as the one from Cheshire to New Haven that I drive by almost every day have signs that say "no motor vehicles allowed".

Now, being on a hybrid propane gas/electric vehicle racing team in college has taught me the difference between a motor and an engine, and that apparently you can use your engine powered car/motorcyle on these paths but not your motor powered Segway if you take it to the letter of the law, and the definition as provided by Websters Dictionary of a motor and an engine.

But.. that's a whole other discussion now isn't it?? ;)

Re: Segways banned in Britain
 

Double the dollars or halve time for my case. :( Commuting is still cheaper than living closer to (or at) school though.

Re: Segways banned in Britain
 

At one Bash @ the Beach someone had their seg, and I purposefully had one of my friends run over my foot while riding this seway(with owner permission of course) and it didn't hurt me a bit. Someone stepping on my foot hurts more then the segway running over it did.

Re: Segways banned in Britain
 

I really is a shame all of the places that are baning the Seg, or are on the fence. I am hoping with the gen 2's a wider range of the population will start to purchase them, and thus push politicians to take a stance on the situation. This may cause the naysayers to follow along with our evolving culture in the end.

Re: Segways banned in Britain
 

I love and appreciate the Segway and wouldn't mind having one someday. But, i agree with previous statements that it may not be practical as an everyday mode of transportation. If you are traveling a long distance, a car would be a better choice. If you are traveling a short distance, though better than driving, walking seems like the winner in my opinion. I guess with the percentage of overweight people in this country specifically, anything that gets us up and moving is a plus. Maybe that's a contributing factor to the British ban on the Segway, they are looking at the longterm health benefits of walking or biking over motorized device. maybe not..just an opinion.

Courtneyb

Re: Segways banned in Britain
 

You may have hit on the real long-term market driver for Segways and any future similar personal mobility devices -- obesity. Yesterday I heard an NPR piece citing recent research that shows 25% of today's Americans are obese, compared with 7% in some reference year (20 years ago, I think).

Right now the Segway is seen by most people as toy for well-heeled technology enthusiasts. In a few years it may be seen as a mobility aid for fat people.

[BTW, at 72" height and 215 lb., I am clearly overweight and borderline obese by CDC standards. So maybe I'll be one of the Segway-riding fat people myself.]

Re: Segways banned in Britain
 

I dont think an overweight person would give up his car and ride a bike, or walk 6 miles to work instead

but an overweight person might ride a Segway - I have to think that is better than riding in a car. If nothing else, at least you are standing up with your knees flexed, you are out in the air and the sun, and you are less likely to have a cream filled doughtnut in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other on your Segway.

Re: Segways banned in Britain
 

I would really like to see the Segway catch on with people with limited mobility issues. My mother is aging and if she walks any distance, she can't catch her breath. She definitely does not need a wheel chair but a Segway would be perfect for her for family outings and shopping. I'm sure there are many people out there who could benefit from this. A lot of it is working through the mindset via exposure.

In Austin, we have mounted police in areas like the parks. Also we have bicycle police downtown, esp. on a famous 'party' street called 6th Street. Segways would work nicely for them and also for tourists/businesses in our downtown area. I also think they would be great on university campuses.

Edit: In Britain, the perfect place for Segways would be Hogwarts.
(sorry, I just could not resist...I did try.)

Re: Segways banned in Britain
 

They would have to upgrade to the off road XT Segway models by now. IN every Harry Potter movie I have seen, the seem to add one more acre to the grounds of Hogwarts, and it's mostly wooded areas.

Plus,. the hallways around Hogwarts are definitely wide enough to accommodate the off road XT models as well.

Re: Segways banned in Britain
 

This has already been done. I would like to direct your attention to www.draft.org


As for all the naysayers of that would choose to walk over gliding, I still must point out the fact to you that I guarantee you would not walk 6+ miles one way each and every day for a commute. I do however know for a fact that it is very easy and tangible to complete this task on a Segway (and I often pass by traffic sitting with no where to go).

The rising obesity problem in America should not be a factor for the i2 directly, as I know that I can not have anyone of a drastic weight on my P. The Segway is now designed to allow heavier individuals than the prior Gen1, however, it still can not transport severely overweight individuals and be efficient at it's purpose.

Re: Segways banned in Britain
 

If I had to travel 6 miles to work everyday, I would use a Segway rather than walk. There's no possible way for me to walk 6 miles with the state my knees are in from various football injuries. What I meant by my earlier post was that if I had the choice to walk while attending say, college, I would choose that over riding a Segway anyday. Especially if I lived on campus. Now work for me is about 6 miles. I could easily do that on a bike in 30 minutes and it's relatively flat road. Now I don't do that because (1.) I don't currently own a bike and (2.) I am a huge procrastinator and wake up later.

Now I'm going to make my point that has nothing to do with what I just previously stated. I would support a bill that would ban Segway riding in public areas UNLESS that person was handicapped in one way or another that prevents them from walking and whatnot. Now I think that that is the reason the Segway was created, or at least it should have been.

Re: Segways banned in Britain
 

I took a look at the Canadian research; it’s interesting but pretty incomplete. They claim the Segway is safe to operate which many of you indicate. To Elgin’s point- Yes I have ridden a Segway and think it is fun and safe, for private use.

The Canadian research did admit that the Segway may not be appropriate for use of sidewalks with pedestrians. “apart from its possible nuisance value on sidewalks, its use on urban walkways should be allowed.”

It’s important to note the distinction this paper made between walkways and sidewalks. Walkways are usually 10 feet or more wide and sidewalks could be 4 feet or fewer in width. This paper is implying that the Segway may not be safe on densely packed pedestrian sidewalks. This is of course the reason why bicycles are not allowed on city sidewalks. (Realize I’m a Boston resident and all perspective I have on cities will be in reference to Boston)

The Canadian research suggests that the Segway is about as safe to pedestrians as bicycles. I find bicycle traffic in Boston to be very dangerous. In general, most of Boston does not have space on the side of the road reserved for bicycle traffic. Many streets in Boston are incredibly narrow and never designed for vehicle traffic. I feel very nervous when I’m driving up to a bicycle rider in my Jeep. There’s just not enough room on the street! Segway riders would just complicate the traffic situation on Boston city streets.

My guess the reason bicycles are still allowed in the city was because they were here first. For that matter horse and carriages are still allowed downtown. My guess is that Britain city planners took those considerations into effect before making their decision.

A Segway would be great to ride in Cambridge, Mass. In Cambridge traffic designers have allowed for enough space for bicycle riders and have explicitly painted a travel lane on the road. That’s a win situation for everyone, pedestrians feel safe and vehicles can still pass. It’s interesting to note that when the Segway was first being introduced there was buzz about how the new invention would change city planning. In hindsight, I think without appropriate city planning a Segway would be doomed.

People have said that people with disabilities should use Segways for transportation. If I were disabled I would want to use a Segway, the chance to break free from the disability would be awesome. Unfortunately as an engineer I think it’s an awful idea for people with walking disabilities to use the Segway. The bottom line: the Segway has never been approved for medical use. That’s hugely important because that means the people behind Segway don’t think it would pass the FDA tests. That’s an indicator that the engineers don’t believe the Segway is as reliable or safe as some fans would like to think.