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Originally Posted by MikeDubreuil
I’ll try to summarize what he said…
- When a Segway rolls over a person’s foot it doesn’t hurt that bad.
- The Segway differs from other two wheeled devices because balance does not rely on the rotational force of the wheel.
- The Segway is different from a normal impact because once impact is made the Segway will be pushed back and will decelerate rapidly.
Let’s create a scenario with two people Jane a pedestrian and John a Segway rider. Jane is a cute petite 120 pound blonde; John is a 167 pound stallion. John has the rugged i Series Segway which weighs 83 pounds.
John is driving his Segway around Boston’s north-end taking in the city. Jane is busily getting ready for work in her studio apartment. John realizes that if he doesn’t make it to the T in 3 minutes he won’t make it on the last commuter rail train of the night. Therefore, he’s whipping around the city at 12.5 MPH trying to get to the T station. Jane’s running a little late for work and bursts out the door of her apartment building and gets side swiped by John who was traveling at full throttle down the sidewalk. What happens in the collision?
I think there will be a major collision. Jane will be thrown to the ground and may need to visit the emergency room for a broken bone. John will probably be thrown from his Segway as well.
My reasoning is simple; it takes 18.6 feet for a Segway to stop when moving at 12.5 MPH [1], or an average deceleration of 4.2 ft/s. Therefore, there is absolutely no way that the 250 pound mass will cause Jane to experience a slight push, or anything that one would consider casual contact. There will be a violent collision.
[1] http://www.humantransport.org/bicycl...way/Segway.htm |
Good reference Mike ... did you read the entire paper? Notice in Table 2 that the EPAMD has the shortest stopping distance of any of the devices listed in the comparison.
We all know, especially with the availability of the Internet, that anyone can find any number of like-minded people to spout official sounding dribble to reinforce their position. With regard to the current discussion of Segway safety unfortunately there are many people who don't understand the machine. I would challenge you to find even one person who has spent any significant amount of time on a Segway who doesn't recognize the safety, usefulness, and relatively negligible risk, associated with its use.