Segway Crashtest (I think)

[JohnBoucher]

Interesting video, trying to find an English translation
http://www.spiegel.de/video/video-34223.html

[whytheheckme]

This video had me thinking....


Curious to those who have been riding segways for a long time... Has the experience changed as the segway has been improved? I know there have been many generations of segways, and was wondering if the actual riding experience has been different?

Jacob

[Kyle]

Originally Posted by whytheheckme

This video had me thinking....


Curious to those who have been riding segways for a long time... Has the experience changed as the segway has been improved? I know there have been many generations of segways, and was wondering if the actual riding experience has been different?

Jacob

Yes it has, my mom owns two segways and the last time I went to visit her we were able to try the newest version of the segways, the lean stear, and they were amazing 1000x's better then the old models.

[Billfred]

I haven't been on any of the lean-steer Segways, though I've always thought the ride was fine.

I'm curious about the effect of the dummy's position on the platform, pretty forward from the video. Would a more central footing increase the chances of staying upright?

(By the way, getting hit by one really isn't all that bad. Don't ask me how I know. )

[Al Skierkiewicz]

John,
From what I could gather, the test was to see what injury might be induced by a rider contacting a vehicle. It seems that the tester indicated the injuries would be similar to a jogger in the same side crash at normal Segway sidewalk speeds. (I am not a german speaker just able to pick out some words.) The indication was also that at police speeds, the injuries would be greater. It is interesting to note that Segway misuse causes injuries just like bicycle misuse.

[tdlrali]

Their test simulates someone driving (segway-ing?) on a sidewalk at top-speed (15km/h), when suddenly someone in a car pulls out of a parking garage or alley. Later on in the video they state that not even a helmet would've helped, as the chin isn't protected, and that the crash most likely would've been fatal.

The rest of the video discusses the current Segway situation in Europe (or at least in Germany), where you need a special permit so far. They also mention that Segways should not be allowed to drive on sidewalks, but only on bike paths, or the road when no bike paths are available, as the speed difference between pedestrians and segways makes them dangerous for both.

[ATannahill]

i have to agree with that last part about it being dangerous for pedestrians, my dad and grandmother had an incident where a pedestrian got in their way and no one on a segway tour is truely prepared for that.

[artdutra04]

Originally Posted by tdlrali

Their test simulates someone driving (segway-ing?) on a sidewalk at top-speed (15km/h), when suddenly someone in a car pulls out of a parking garage or alley. Later on in the video they state that not even a helmet would've helped, as the chin isn't protected, and that the crash most likely would've been fatal.

A fatal crash at only 12 mph? Something doesn't seem right about that, unless they somehow broke their neck.

I've walked away from some epic crashes while skiing at least twice that speed. And back when I was a kid, I totaled my first bike frame in an accident, and yet I walked away from that as well.

But at that same time, I really don't think anyone with even half a brain would ride a Segway at the top speed on a sidewalk in a busy city environment where things like this could occur. That would be like someone driving their car through a parking garage at 30 mph...

Segways on sidewalks are only dangerous when people think the Segway deserves the right of way and then proceed to operate it in a reckless manner. It's not hard to be responsible and avoid problems.

[JesseK]

A fatal crash at only 12 mph?

If you notice how the head accelerates downward into the car, it's realistic that the crash could be fatal. Gymnasts use similar concepts of decreasing-radius momentum to get ridiculously high rotation rates on their flips and twists.

At least the car was ok. It looks like the Segway made it out in one piece too.

Imagine putting an extra 50 pounds on your FRC bot and juicing up its speed to ~17fps. Then imagine it coming straight at you full speed. Pretty scary. It could even weave around a bit on its journey, as if it were avoiding other people and will avoid you too... and it's still pretty scary. John posted a photo over a year ago on these forums, and the commentary on the photo makes many parodies about safety and natural selection in an technological world. My comments above echo most of those sentiments.

[Cow Bell Solo]

The lean steer one's I like, rode one at engineering camp