It seems like the Segway people are saying I just don't "get it." I do, I really do. I know it's a very enjoyable mode of transportation. I have ridden one before., I've been out to dinner with Erin Rapacki, Tom Schindler, and Ben Piecuch who zipped around Boston the night of the Bean Town Blitz with their Segways. I think they're great. A mix of amazing technology and fun- it's a geeks dream.
I don't always pick the side of the argument I believe in. Just the side of the argument that will make for a good argument. However, I can legitimately see why lawmakers would have a problem with Segway use in cites.
Segway's would be excellent in the city, if everyone uses their side-walk key. You would be keeping with the natural flow of traffic. You wouldn't be moving so fast that if yourself and another person were turning a corner of a building that you might be able to avoid each other, or wost case have a collision that doesn't send someone to the hospital. In this scenario, the Segway truly is the Human Transporter.
Unfortunately, there's the fun side of the Segway- the fast key. Or if you're going a long distance in the country, the required key. If you're in open terrain you'll always be able to see whats in front of you and there is no pedestrian traffic. If you run into something, it will most likely be a car or an immobile object. Either way, no pedestrians will be harmed, but you might need to go to the hospital. It's a free country, you're allowed to kill yourself
When lawmakers move to ban Segway use in a city they're trying to keep pedestrians safe. They're really not trying to stifle technology or stop progression in the world. It's the potential for the Segway to move at a high rate of speed that is the problem. I think if the fastest key you could get was the side-walk key we would see a totally different ball game. Many devices have the potential to operate at walking speeds, but if they have the potential of moving fast they're usually black-listed from city sidewalks (mopeds, motor scooters, ATVs, Go-Karts, motorcycles, bicycles).
I understand why people would believe the Segway should not be lumped into such devices as Go-Karts and motor scooters; it's a revolutionary technology. However, if the group name was "transportation devices that can operate at faster than walking speeds", the Segway would have to be included. The lawmakers see those types of devices as potentially unsafe for pedestrians. Like I said before, if the Segway's fastest key was the side-walk key, we would probably see a totally different ball game.
EDIT: Interesting
article at AmericaWalks.org.