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Originally Posted by Joe3
I'm curious as to why exactly you think Segways are so different from other vehicles and objects that are prohibited on the sidewalks. Do they not hurt as much when they hit you at cruising speed, or when they ride over your foot?
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I've had numerous Segways intentionally run over my foot to prove this very point. You barely feel a thing. It feels no different than the average pedestrian stepping on your foot pressure-wise, and since it's a rolling wheel, it's over rather quickly. If you're wearing shoes, you will barely feel it at all.
As for collisions, I've had many Segway owners demonstrate this for me as well. Think for a moment how the seg operates- how it moves. You lean forward, it moves forward. You lean back, it moves back. Think about what happens in a collision. The seg is moving forward, so it's obviously leaning forward. If something gets in it's path (pedestrian, wall, whatever), the contact will push the Segway back, thus slowing it's speed considerably and rapidly, forcing the Segway to move backward and away. The response is so quick, the damage is really very minimal. Anyone who's been on a Segway for long enough to really play with it's start/stop ability and notice the immediate response knows how safe these things really are. Inertia really isn't too much of an issue, as the seg is always in control of it's motion at all times (when used properly)- it's a requirement to keep itself perfectly balanced. They can literally stop on a dime by shifting your weight back. By crashing into something, the same force is exerted on the Segway as would be if you are leaning back, and since the response is virtually instantaneous, not much at all happens.
With a bike or a scooter, balance is obtained by it's speed and rotational force. Motion keeps it balanced. It's very difficult to stop suddenly on a bike- it's hard to dissipate the kinetic energy rapidly. If a bike drives into someone, that person will invariably get injured somehow. There is no control of the motion other than brakes, which are based on friction of pads against the rims, and the response of the human to operate them. A bike would need a few feet to stop suddenly, and something (the pedestrian, or the rider) would have to absorb the energy used to balance before coming to a stop.
Compare that to the Segway, which has no brakes, nor any need for brakes, simply because of the way it's designed and operated. It balances under it's own powered motors and gyroscopes- not because of rotational energy. It is always in control of it's own motion, and stops when any force opposite it's motion is applied. There is no need to absorb kinetic energy, as there is no excess of it required to keep it moving or balanced. As such, any damage resulting from a direct impact would be very minimal, if anything at all.