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.