segway license, turn signals, and no sidewalks?

[Astronouth7303]

I wonder if the bill was not directed at segways and the globe just inserted that phrase to sell papers...
Just a thought.

[Amanda Morrison]

Moderators have already taken notice of the ridiculous and outrageous displays of 'gracious professionalism' that are taking place in this thread.

All of you who have posted questionable articles should be ashamed of yourselves. You are being ridiculous and out of hand.

It's also pretty sad that a thread about Segway laws should have to be closed. I'm requesting for its closure now. I hope that in the meantime, you edit your posts. I have never seen such a ridiculous and belligerent group post such materials over something of this matter, ESPECIALLY not on these forums.

No wonder ChiefDelphi is criticized for being nothing more than slanderous, inaccurate high-school material. No wonder we have awards like the WFA - for those kids that go looking for a mentor and come up with THIS.

Hang your heads in shame. This is terrible.

[David Kelly]

All the hate and slander has greatly disappionted me as well. It really is sad that people resort to attacking one another like a bunch of children. I often wonder if it is even worth it for me to be in FIRST when we have to deal with people who do nothing but try to cause trouble and be full of hate.

ChiefDelphi.... no longer family friendly..

[Stu Bloom]

My apologies ... questionable posts removed ...

[MattK]

Alright guys- I know stu said stuff that was questionable but... Segway Gliders get very uhhh attached to their machine and when someone puts it down its like someone is picking on your kid. Its hard to explain I guess.

Do I think it was 100% appropriate- no

Do I understand why he did it- yes

I think this is going to be a thread that we all look back at next week and laugh at. Every "family" has their fights, you learn and become a better person from them.

[Elgin Clock]

Originally Posted by MikeDubreuil

Dean Kamen and the folks at Segway will have to think of something to get them around what the Segway really is: a high-tech Honda motor scooter.

I think not....

Originally Posted by MikeDubreuil

Astronouth7303,
The Segway website lists Massachusetts as a state that does "not allow use of powered conveyances on sidewalks and bike paths." However, I would be inclined to think that the motorized scooter used by a handicapped person wouldn't fall under this category. I think there's a distinct difference between someone using a motorized scooter that travels at about 5 MPH because they are handicapped and a normal person using a Segway which has the potential of traveling at 13 MPH.

So, if you are handicapped and use a Segway you automatically use it at 5mph? (I think that is called stereotyping dude...)

I think not.. Seriously, if I were handicapped and then a Segway were given to me and it was a chance at mobility that I lost from being handicapped, I would speed down the sidewalks all day long certainly not going 5mph on an open stretch of sidewalk...
Do you go the same speed on a highway when there are a ton of cars than when there is a open stretch of road??? Well, I don't....
Same thing with a sidewalk.. It's really just another piece of commuting real estate.

(Then again.. maybe it's just cause I am a guy. Maybe there is something to that car insurance male/female rate difference after all..... NAH!!!)

[Mike Ciance]

I would like to publicly appologize for my previous post. i was attacking an attack, and two wrongs don't make a right. instead of PMing Stu, i childishly displayed my complaints, and did nothing but fuel the tension in the thread. i guess the journalist crack got to me, but i should not have said what i did. i am not only ashamed at my words, but by the fact that others had to point out to me that it was wrong.

i apologize to Stu Bloom, to the posters of this thread, and to all of Chief Delphi

[Joe3]

Okay, I may catch a little flack for this, but I'm going to have to agree with Mike D. on this. In most places in the country, everything from skateboards and bikes, to more obvious things like cars and motorcycles are banned from the sidewalks. So why should a Segway be any different? I realize that this law would definately not be beneficial to the sales and marketing of the segway, but I think it is the right decision. While I'm sure most Segway owners would be responsible and could handle their segways responsibly on sidewalks and keep others out of harms way, there will always be those few who ruin it for the others. All it would take is for a few boneheaded owners to be blowing down a sidewalk at 12 miles per hour and hit somebody, run over a foot, hit someone walking into a door, and there would be lawsuits for it. These are the exact same reasons other motorized vehicles and objects are prohibited from the sidewalks. Segways should be no different. A Segway and person moving at 12 mph is moving more than fast enough to do some serious harm to whatever it hits. If the potential for harm is there, it's the governments job to protect the people, however they see fit.

I realize that this law strikes a lot of nerves of people on this board, since many of us have pulled for the Segway to be successful, and a few of us even have invested in one of them. But if you take a step back and look at this objectively, this is the right decision to make, since the Segway really isnt that different.

[Stu Bloom]

Originally Posted by Joe3

... if you take a step back and look at this objectively, this is the right decision to make, since the Segway really isnt that different.

I have to say, people with that opinion just don't understand ... you don't 'get it'. The Segway is NOTHING like any other existing mode of transportation - you can't lump them in with skateboards, bikes, scooters, etc ... Spend a week with a Segway - you'll feel different. sorry about that grammar

[RogerR]

Originally Posted by Stu Bloom

...The Segway is NOTHING like any other existing mode of transportation - you can't lump them in with skateboards, bikes, scooters, etc...

i think that he's right in lumping all of them together. they are vehicles that are designed to be operated by people. i have yet to see anyone suggest that a segway is inherently dangerous in itself. off of segways, people make mistakes and miscalculations, and bump into each other trip etc. now if some nimrod on a crowded city sidewalk makes a miscalculation and bumps into somebody while going 12 miles an hour...

if a law says that segways shouldn't be allowed on the sidewalk, it isn't targeting segways, its aimed at the people who operate them.

personally, i think that the people who are trying to get segways allowed on bike paths, and in bike lanes. from there, they should join with the biking community, and attempt to encourage the construction of more bike lanes and paths in our city. but then again, that may be because i'm partial to another environmentally friendly, two-wheeled, self balancing vehicle...

[mtaman02]

Hrm.... It would be quite Ridiculous to be making or hinting of the making of laws to prevent segways in an area where it can harm people.......


Here In NYC Bikers Are to ride in the street traveling in the same direction of traffic. All bikers must have reflectors, helmets and all the other safety stuff (not really enforced that much) Bikers may ride in bike lanes that have been painted on the street. Bikers may not ride on sidewalks ---- also not strictly enforced

The Mini Scooters - and Full length motor scooters belong in the streets where the cars are with a person no older then 18 with a valid permit / drivers license.... The types of vehicles are very noisy and very questionable about its safety ------ vehicles like these need to follow the rules of the road

Segways ---- Should be allowed to operate where ever it wants, simply because A) there are different keys designating different speeds or my term driving modes B) they have less of a chance of falling over and hurting someone if dismounted (thanks to all the fancy dancy gyros inside =) C) there hasn't been any complaints or segway accidents or its noise polution --- which is very very low If anything The only law to go against the segway is that a lights / reflectors to be installed for round the clock use so that drivers may see you in the ever so changing weather


Segway has been out for what 2 somewhat yrs now and I still haven't heard a renegade segway..... This is all a belated April Fools Day Hoax

[MikeDubreuil]

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.

[RogerR]

Originally Posted by mtaman02

Hrm.... It would be quite Ridiculous to be making or hinting of the making of laws to prevent segways in an area where it can harm people.......

to the contrary, i think it might be a good idea to keep segways out of an area were they can harm people.

Segways ---- Should be allowed to operate where ever it wants, simply because A) there are different keys designating different speeds or my term driving modes B) they have less of a chance of falling over and hurting someone if dismounted (thanks to all the fancy dancy gyros inside =) C) there hasn't been any complaints or segway accidents or its noise polution --- which is very very low If anything The only law to go against the segway is that a lights / reflectors to be installed for round the clock use so that drivers may see you in the ever so changing weather.

Segway has been out for what 2 somewhat yrs now and I still haven't heard a renegade segway..... This is all a belated April Fools Day Hoax

unless segway stops selling the 'fast' keys, then it doesn't really matter that different keys designate different speeds. the keys only limit speeds if the driver uses them correctly. and i don't think that we have to worry about them falling over and hurting someone either. thats not the problem. neither is noise pollution. it has been stated again and again how quiet segways are. the problem is that segways are able to attain a (relativly) high speed, and are available to the public. while there hasn't been any segway accidents, eventually there will be. eventually, some nitwit who shouldn't be allowed out of his house is going to get his hands on a segway, and he's going to hurt someone.

[Stu Bloom]

Originally Posted by RogerR

... because i'm partial to another environmentally friendly, two-wheeled, self balancing vehicle...

There is no such thing ...

[Stu Bloom]

Originally Posted by MikeDubreuil

It seems like the Segway people are saying I just don't "get it." I do, I really do ....

Sorry ... but you don't. The logic you use in your discussions proves it.