segway license, turn signals, and no sidewalks?

[Marc P.]

Originally Posted by MikeDubreuil

This discussion has gotten a little absurd. We are now debating at what force it should be legal to collide with another person. It's bad enough when it happens accidentally during natural pedestrian activities, such as walking or running.

It's heavily debatable as to whether the Segway truly stops in its own footprint or even quickly for that matter. Especially when a somewhat scientific test measured a stopping distance of 18 feet. Sure the test driver might not be a Segway user destined for the X-Games but he showed the stopping ability of the average person.

Therefore, we can be reasonably certain that Segway use will increase the risk of pedestrians becoming the participants of accidents. How are Segways being legislated as an EPAMD good for the general public?

I don't want to sound rude, but there are quite a few Segway owners in these forums. Personally, I'd trust their judgment and experience as known everyday users of the device, as opposed to a single random unknown person carrying out scientific research in the name of debunking the value and safety of the Segway. I wouldn't call the stopping distance heavily debatable when we have a number of experienced users and owners here to testify based on personal, everyday use in a real pedestrian environment. And that's all aside from the first hand stories of collisions with Segways yielding little to no damage.

I don't disagree that the Segway can be potentially dangerous when not used properly. But so can a plastic fork, or a baseball bat, or a bike, or anything anyone has a malicious use for. The bulk of the design in the Segway has been around safety, both for the rider, and pedestrians. The footprint of a Segway is no wider than the shoulders of the average person. It has the advantage of subconscious activation, once the user becomes accustomed to riding it, so motions and actions are as fluid and responsive as the person walking. Knowing as much as I've learned about how Segways operate, and from the experiences I've had riding them around for extended periods of time, and hearing stories from owners, I honestly believe there is no more harm in riding a Segway on the sidewalk than there is a jogger running, or a kid carrying a baseball bat. Sure, there are potential malicious uses, but the same goes for virtually anything in this world. But given the design safety, and operational nature of the device, even an intentional head-on collision won't do a terrible amount of damage, certainly far less than a kid wielding a baseball bat.