Segway for Ontario (an antithesis)

A summary of Innovative Mobility's Blogs

2007-02-25T09:11:00.000-08:00

This site http://www.segwayforontario.blogspot.com/ "Segway for Ontario (an antithesis)" is the original document posted by Innovative Mobility, the student research group dedicated to studying new yet responsible solutions to today's transit problems. The first posting of our eclectic student group goes back to 2001. The original Innovative Mobility group participants are now widely dispersed pursing their chosen vocations while still maintaining an interest in the group's original precepts. Professor Alexander Kgemc now resides in sunny Naples, FL. Any new web site posting are being prepared either by myself, Bill Brunton, Cynthia Booker or Angela Bertoni. The only conference remaining on our itinerary is the 11th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and Disabled Persons - TRANSED 2007, Montréal, Québec, Canada, June 18 - 21, 2007 .You can see what we have been up to by simply Googling our names. If you need to contact me for any particular reason please e-mail me at billbrunton@bikerider.com , while this is not my primary address, this is the address I used as a student and it appears on all my correspondence as Communications Integrator for Innovative Mobility.
Any one who is familiar with our web sites knows that their intended purpose was information dissemination re "studying new yet responsible solutions to today's transit problems". As a group we we adamant that EPAMD's like the Segway going up to 12.5 mph should not be mixed with either pedestrians or vehicles approved for use on roadways. For each position paper that we prepared for Municipal Councils, Works Committees or Provincial and Federal Ministry's, they were published in their entirety on individual blog sites. To date their are 5 sites in total:

1.) http://www.segwayforontario.blogspot.com/ "Segway for Ontario (an antithesis)" the original

2.) http://www.segwaycaveats.blogspot.com/ "Segway Caveats for Municipal Council Consideration". Document entitled “Segway - A Pedestrian Friend or Foe in the Urban Environment?” was specifically prepared for the benefit of the Toronto Works Committee members and the Toronto City solicitor in their evaluation as to whether to approve the operation of Segways on Toronto’s sidewalks at their January 12, 2006 meeting. It was published because it had have relevance to all levels of government globally, in particular Municipal Councils when considering recognizing Segways for use on the sidewalks or other public pedestrian infrastructure.

3.) http://www.segwaydisabled.blogspot.com/ " Segways are not Disability Devices" Document entitled “Electric Personal Assistance Mobility Devices” (EPAMD) i.e. Segways –Considerations before recognition as a disability device in Ontario", was prepared specifically for the Ontario Ministry of Transport. It was published because it had have relevance to all levels of government globally when considering recognizing Segways as Electric Personal Assistance Mobility Devices [EPAMD’s], by classifying the EPAMD driver as a pedestrian just like a wheelchair user. Segways are not "medical devices”; we are justifiably concerned about bad precedent legislation that would anomalously define a Segway as a pedestrian.

4.) http://www.segwaypilotproject.blogspot.com/ "Pilot Project For Segway In Ontario Is A Mistake" Is a copy of a letter of October 29, 2006 sent to the the Honourable Donna Cansfield, Minister of Transportation requesting a review of the 5-year pilot test program for Segways in Ontario. Innovative Mobility believes that it is a mistake to allow people of disability"14 years old or older to operate a Segway if his or her mobility is limited by one or more disabilities, conditions or functional impairments". Without the benefit of:
o No driver's licence required
o No driver’s test required
o No written test required
o No vehicle registration
o No plate required o No requirement for insurance.
o No helmet required over the age of 18
o No qualification of disability
o No specification for the “bell” requirementso No specification for the front and rear “light” requirements other than the rear light may be attached to the person

5.) http://www.segwayillegalinontario.blogspot.com/ "Segway Riders Face Stiff Fines In Ontario". Is a reply copy of letter received from the Honourable Donna Cansfield, Minister of Transportation, Province of Ontario that clarifies the 5 Year Pilot Project for Segways, Ontario regulation 488/06 made under The Highway Traffic Act August 24, 2006. This document will clarify any misrepresentations that Ontario has opened the doors to Segway with few exceptions:

A. Pilot participants limited to:
- "a police officer may, in the course of his or her duties,- a letter carrier who is an employee of Canada Post Corporation may, while engaged in door
-to-door delivery of mail,
- a person who is 14 years old or older may operate a Segway if his or her mobility is limited by one or more disabilities, conditions or functional impairments."

B. Even pilot participants are not allowed to operate their Segway on sidewalks where municipal by-laws prohibit the operation of motor vehicles Sc8(2). Each municipality is still in control of their sidewalks and other public pedestrian infrastructure unless they pass specific by-laws permitting pilot participants to operate their Segways on sidewalks.

C. Anyone caught riding a Segway in Ontario who is not included as a pilot participant will be subject to higher fines ranging from $250 to a maximum of $2,500.

While these documents were prepared specifically with an Ontario flavour they contain information that is for the most part generic and will have an application to any municipal council, regional or national government(s) at the global level.

Would a child survive a Segway collision?

2005-10-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

According to the International Centre for Disability Resources:
Pedestrian injuries are a major problem in the United States. There were 78,000 pedestrian injuries and 4,700 fatalities in the US in 2000. Pedestrian deaths and injuries disproportionately occur to individuals at the young and old ends of the age spectrum. Children are particularly vulnerable given their developmental immaturity, which is characterized by often impulsive behavior and poor judgment. Allowing motorized vehicles on the sidewalk will require children to negotiate motorized traffic, something they are developmentally incapable of doing. Using some basic assumptions, the calculated amount of force involved in a collision between a Segway device and a child can be significant and could easily cause serious injury. The purpose of a sidewalk is the separation of pedestrians from motorized traffic.

Even if the Segway device were able to come to an abrupt halt from a speed of 12.5 mph, the operator will be thrown forward and into the pedestrian or other object that was struck based on the laws of Newtonian physics. Individuals that speak to how quickly the Segway can stop are also forgetting that a young child can dart unexpectedly in front of one of these devices traveling at top speed with no time for the operator to react. A collision is inevitable and the laws of physics will prevail, and potentially, a significant energy transfer will occur to the pedestrian and also to the operator, resulting in injury. Segway representatives demonstrate a Segway riding over the top of a persons hand without injury; however, this is irrelevant bafflegab to the real injury hazard of the device colliding head-on into a pedestrian.

Reassurances from the segway.com marketers and a brief demonstration of the product, without independent objective evaluation and data, are inadequate criteria for departure from current law that exists to protect both device operators and pedestrians. Children are a particularly vulnerable group to injury and deserve the full protection provided by our laws.

In his letter to the Environment and Public Works Committee, Dr. Louis Z. Cooper, President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, stated: Children, elderly individuals, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable populations cannot - and should not - be expected to negotiate motorized traffic on sidewalks, trails and other walkways.

Ref http://www.icdri.org/News/segwayacb.htm

Last desperate gasps by segway.com principals

2005-10-17T06:56:00.000-07:00

Whether in desperation, naivety or just plain selfishness it appears, in our opinion, that the principals of Segway.com and their supporters are now playing the handicap/disabled word(s) in their final gasp lobbying. Reference: the Toronto Star 10/15/05 in letter to the Editor “If scooters are okay for sidewalks, why not Segways? What about those electric scooter that disabled people use?”

Well there is a big difference Segways are owned by able bodied, elitist, effete who think that their pricey electric powered gadgets compare to assistance devices use by persons with disability to perform many activities of daily living. Personal mobility devices as used by persons with disability are necessary for them to function with some independence.
From the Ontario Ministry of Transportation site at http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/vehicle/emerging/index.html you will find the following:

“Personal Mobility Devices (Motorized Wheelchairs and Medical Scooters)
Do not require registration, licence plates, driver's licence or vehicle insurance
Persons operating motorized wheelchairs are treated in the same way as pedestrians.
The expected behaviour of people, who use wheelchairs to improve their mobility, is generally established by municipal by-laws. Operators should check with their local municipality to ensure by-laws permit their use on sidewalks. A sidewalk should be the first choice for someone using a wheelchair or medical scooter. When there is no wheelchair accessible curb, the person should return to the sidewalk at the first available opportunity. If there is no sidewalk available, people using wheelchairs or personal mobility devices should travel, like pedestrians, along the left shoulder of the roadway facing oncoming traffic”.
The accepted definition of motorized mobility aid “means any self-propelled vehicle designed for, and used by, a handicapped person and that is incapable of a speed in excess of 15 kph.”

It should be noted that there is no municipality across Ontario that prohibits motorized wheelchairs or medical scooter on sidewalks, public pathways or where sidewalks and curb cuts do not exist “along the left shoulder of the roadway”.

On the other hand the forementioned MTO site says:
“SegwayTM Human Transporter
Cannot be operated on roads in Ontario
A personal human transporter (i.e. SegwayTM) is defined as a self-balancing, electric-powered transportation machine designed for one person, with a top speed of 20 km/h.
The definition of motor vehicle in Ontario's HTA encompasses this type of personal transportation vehicle. However, this device does not meet Ontario's equipment safety standards for on-road use.
This device is not included as a vehicle intended for on-road use under the MVSA, and is considered a device for a pedestrian environment.
Personal transportation devices may be operated where the HTA does not apply, such as on private property.”

With the Toronto Works Committee at their October 11, 2005 meeting voting 4-2 to receive the report from the Toronto Legal Department which clearly finds that Segways are not allowed on Sidewalks nor are they allowed on Roads, It would be doubtful that there is any municipality across Ontario that will approve the use of Segways on sidewalks, pathways or public parks.

Thank you Councillors for seeing through the greedy corporate hype and allowing me to stop on the sidewalk to say hello to a friend and not have to worry about some alabaster bellied Segway owner riding up my backside at 12.5 mph (20 kph).

Toronto Star Editorial 10/15/05 "Red Light for Segways"

2005-10-16T07:57:00.000-07:00

The Toront Star editorial of 10/15/05 "Red light For Segways" got it right.
Ref http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1129240216998

Oct. 15, 2005.
Red light for Segway

"The much-hyped, two-wheeled Segway Human Transporter isn't welcome on Toronto streets and sidewalks — and for good reason.

These pricey, electric-powered gadgets are classed as "motor vehicles" by Ontario law, so they aren't allowed to run on sidewalks, yet they don't meet safety regulations for on-road use. According to city hall lawyers, the Segway's only legal place to roll in Toronto is on certain routes within parks. And few people would spend in excess of $5,000 for a machine allowed to do only that.

The law, in this case, makes sense. The Segway is capable of zipping down sidewalks at up to 20 km/h. A collision between the heavy machine, travelling at that speed, and a pedestrian could cause serious injury. And Toronto's walkways are already crowded and risky enough, especially downtown.

Segway promoters say the device is allowed on sidewalks in many United States jurisdictions. And most people don't run it at top speed but, rather, at the rate of a brisk walk.

But that is another strike against the Segway: By serving as a substitute for walking, it replaces a form of healthy exercise with an energy-consuming ride.

The city's works committee was right in defeating a proposal that would have allowed a one-year trial for Segways on some city sidewalks.

In view of the legal restrictions on their use; the motorized traffic they would needlessly add to city sidewalks, and their role in discouraging walking, there is no need to test drive Segways in Toronto."

Segway assault on walking arrested for now in Toronto

2005-10-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Toronto Works Committee at their October 11, 2005 meeting voted 4-2 to receive the report from the Toronto Legal Department which clearly finds that Segways are not allowed on Sidewalks nor are they allowed on Roads. Additionally they voted down a motion motion to allow for a one year pilot project to allow Segways on sidewalks and collect some practical data.

This is good news in that the accepted definition of "pedestrian" has not been changed for the benefit of a single company. Toronto joins New York, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Disney and numerous other metropolitan area across the US, Europe and Japan.
Bill Brunton

Toronto Pedestrian Committee Kills Segway Approval

2005-07-15T08:21:00.000-07:00

At the July 14, 2005 meeting of the TO Pedestrian Committe did the right thing and by majority vote rejected the use of Segways in favor of "reserving sidewalks for pedestrians".

Just imagine the practicality of this decision "reserving sidewalks for pedestrians" and not allowing some Segway.com corporation to profit from the use of public property at the expense of children, seniors, persons of disability and other legitimate sidewalk users. Any approval of the Seway would forever alter the balance between human and the machine in the City.

Members of the Committee said :"Segways conflict with everything that we are trying to achieve" Further the Committee "believes that the presence of Segway scooters and other similiar motorized vehicles (a.k.a. pocket crotch rockets, electric tricyles, go-carts, electric lawn movers) would be detramental to the safe and free circulation of pedestrians and to the enjoyment of the walking experience". "The TO Pedestrian Committee strongly recommends that the City of Toronto continue to prohibit the circulation of Segway scooters on sidewalks, footpaths and recretational paths."

“Just imagine the damage that a Segway would inflict on any of today’s sidewalk stakeholder if they were to be impacted by a machine and rider weighing several hundred pounds traveling at 20 kph --- OUCH! Segways may be able to stop quickly however the stopping distance is in part based on the reaction time of the rider. “The National Safety Council has determined that the average reaction time for an emergency braking situation is three-quarters of a second. At even 12mph (i.e. 20kph), a Segway would therefore travel an average of 13 feet before the user would even initiate braking.” Segway claims that the device can be stopped in an additional 5 feet (which would be a remarkable 1 g of deceleration force if true!) for a total stopping distance of 18 feet --- the Question BEGS Is 18 feet stopping distance sufficient safety factor to be used on Toronto’s crowded sidewalks?

All To Citizens of TO owe the Pedestrian Committee a big thanks for not getting caught up in the hoopla of the Segway marketers.

Segway Owner Fined $90 --- First in Canada

2005-07-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

Reference GlobeandMail.com and Osprey News Network

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050706.wsegway0706/BNStory/National/

Wednesday, July 6, 2005 Updated at 11:38 PM EDT
Canadian Press

Niagara Falls, Ont. — "In what is believed to be a Canadian first, a Niagara Falls real estate agent has been ticketed and fined for driving a two-wheeled battery-powered scooter on a public street.
Pierre Lefeuvre, 54, made headlines last fall after he was charged with failing to have a licence and insurance for riding his Segway Human Transporter along a city street.

Mr. Lefeuvre took his battle to provincial offences court Wednesday, claiming the high-tech gadget that can move at speeds up to 20 kilometres an hour, isn't a motor vehicle, and thereby didn't require a licence or insurance.
Justice of the peace Santino Spadafora dismissed his claim, saying Segways fall under the Highway Traffic Act's definition of a motor vehicle and that police were justified in filing the charges.

“They are motor vehicles and subject to the laws under the Highway Traffic Act,” Justice Spadafora said, before imposing a $90 fine for failing to have a licence plate on the vehicle.
Charges of failing to have insurance and making an improper left turn were stayed."

Fortunate the insurance and improper left turn issue were stayed because the original charges were for $8000:

Driving without a licence.
Driving without insurance
Making an illegal LH turn

Ref http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/10/04/segway_041004.html

In Summary: Segways do not belong on the sidewalk because they are motorized and because they do not meet Ontario's equipment safety standards for on-road use. They can only be operated where the MofT acts do not apply such as on private property!!!!

Why Toronto Works Committee should not approve of Segways on public sidewalks and path ways!

2005-04-28T10:52:00.000-07:00

Any approval of the Segway for use on the sidewalks of TO would alter the basic balance between human and machine in the city. The Segway presents clear potential risk to children, seniors, persons with disability and other legitimate sidewalk users with the sole benefit economically to some Segway.com corporation. Pedestrians are already a vulnerable and beleaguered group; it would be wrong and unsafe to make the legitimate sidewalk demographics share scarce sidewalk space with any motorized vehicle whether it is called an "Electronic Personal Assistive Mobility Devices", Human Transporter” or a Segway. Also, if the Segway is approved the floodgates will open for pocket crotch rockets, electric tricycles, electric go-cars etc. all under the catch phrase "Electronic Personal Assistive Mobility Devices". The evolution of Toronto is like most cities has been one of “accommodation to the auto by narrowing sidewalks to create more lanes for car and truck traffic and rounding corners to make it easier for cars to turn. Much of this has been at the expense of pedestrians”. Let us not forget Mrs. Jane Jacobs’s observation of Toronto streets “Toronto is alive. Its downtown streets are teeming with people. Multitudes of them actually live in the city center in apartment buildings and houses, and the sidewalks are jammed, in some places until late at night.” In other words a safe and aesthetic sidewalk space promotes neighborhood interaction --- it is up to the Works Committee and Toronto City Council to preserve Toronto’s identity. Any redefinition by the TO Works Committee of “pedestrian” for the benefit of a single company is outrageously inappropriate. It is incumbent that TO and every other city in Canada keep the sidewalks safe and not provide preferential sidewalk access to the wealthy for the sole economic benefit of some Segway.com corporation.

Pam Prescott

Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Sheela Basrur

2005-03-26T13:53:00.000-08:00

Community Forum on Obesity Prevention with Dr. Sheela Basrur, Chief Medical Officer of Health, Province of Ontario to speak on obesity with reference to the Segway.
Niagara Region, public health officials and the province of Ontario have all identified the prevention of obesity as a key strategic priority for the coming years. The issue requires the support of numerous community agencies and partners in order to be effective. 2005 will see the development of an “Obesity Prevention Campaign”, starting with a community forum bringing together all these voices required to develop a successful strategy. To learn more about this issue and our regional approach to addressing it, join us at the upcoming Community Forum on Monday, April 18 from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Quality Hotel Parkway, St. Catharines. Our keynote speaker, Dr. Sheela Basrur, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, will provide a concise overview of her groundbreaking report: ““Healthy Weights – Health Lives”.

Niagara Regional Department of Health posting

Articles Segway Doesn't Want You to Read!!!

2005-02-05T12:41:00.000-08:00

pulse24.com Toronto news story March 1, 2005:They’re completely useless for overall city travel, they don't take you that far, and they cost a small fortune. And despite all that they hope to make the device the next must have for those with money to burn – but who’d rather not walk to the furnace. The Segway isn’t meant for the road. “It is designed for sidewalks and paths and to work in conjunction with pedestrians,” advises Robyn Reisler of Segway of Ontario. But for the moment, the law here doesn’t even allow them to go there. So how much will these marvels of modern transportation cost you? Try between $5,200 and $7,200. Or you can rent one for $39 an hour. That’s a pretty large amount just to go from two feet to two wheels."
March 1, 2005
Bush's spill puts scooter in spotlightBy Joanna Weiss, Globe Staff, Globe Correspondent6/14/03It would have been brilliant publicity: the leader of the free world, tooling around the family compound on a newfangled Segway scooter. If only the leader of the free world hadn't fallen off. When Ann Hershfang spied the pictures in a newspaper yesterday, she couldn't suppress a giggle. As president of the advocacy group WalkBoston, she questions the New Hampshire company's bid to make its scooter legal on Massachusetts sidewalks. So she didn't mind a black eye for the big-wheeled contraption some have billed as a transportation revolution.
Segway's Breakdown By Gary RivlinWired Magazine3/01/03Price isn't the only hurdle slowing Segway's consumer launch. Consider this: The vehicle weighs more than 80 pounds and can travel maybe 11 miles on a charge, depending on terrain. Paul Saffo, a director at the Institute for the Future in Menlo Park, California, describes a ride on a Segway as a "gas" but adds that the machine "costs three times what a consumer device should cost, and it's about 40 pounds too heavy." He believes the real Achilles heel is limited battery life.
Lobbying To Put the Segway on Profit Path Scooter's Inventor Seeks Federal Aid By Jim VandeHei Washington Post2/23/03Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway Human Transporter, wants the federal government to provide a big financial boost to his new-age scooter. Kamen, the multimillionaire creator of the futuristic vehicle, is lobbying the government to buy some of the self-balancing electric devices so U.S. Special Forces can scoot into battle and rangers can zip through national parks.
Is Segway Going Anywhere? By Faith Keenan Business Week1/16/03A year after the Segway was unveiled in a flurry of cover stories and network morning-show appearances, the scooter finds itself with more detractors than customers. Consumer and health advocates warn of possible injuries and rising obesity. City governments worry about chaos on their sidewalks. And key execs are heading for the exits. All that before the scooter is even available to consumers.
Santa Cruz council may ban Segway transportation device APContra Costa Times1/8/03San Francisco outlawed the gizmo from city sidewalks after pedestrian and senior citizen groups argued it was a danger to people walking. With similar complaints in Santa Cruz, officials are considering adding the Segway to an ordinance banning electric bicycles on sidewalks. Debbie Bulger of the pedestrian advocacy group Mission: Pedestrian is confident the city will approve the ban. She says the Segway is just too fast for sidewalks.
No way for Segways? More cities may ban scooter By Matt MarshallMercury News1/8/03But the fascination appears to be wearing thin in Northern California. After San Francisco decided to ban the Segway from its sidewalks late last year, a number of other Bay Area cities -- from Oakland to Santa Cruz -- are considering the same move.
And Now, a Scooter That Can Be Driven on the Sidewalk By Patricia BrownNew York Times1/5/03Ask an urban planner to define the cradle of civilization, and thoughts drift to that innocuous but vital ribbon of concrete, the sidewalk. "Lowly, unpurposeful and random as they appear, sidewalk contacts are the small change from which a city's wealth of public life may grow," Jane Jacobs wrote in her classic "The Death and Life of Great American Cities." So perhaps it was not surprising that earlier this winter, the city of San Francisco became the first municipality in the country to ban the Segway — the $4,950 self-balancing scooter that resembles a balletic wheeled pogo stick — from the city's sidewalks.
We were told it would change the way we lived ... where did the future of transport go wrong? By Stephen NaysmithScotland Sunday Herald1/5/03However, pedestrian action groups are celebrating their first victory over Segway, after one of the world's most cosmopolitan cities, San Francisco, banned the Segway from its pavements. Kamen's invention has also come under fire from obesity campaigners. One columnist in San Francisco said that as his compatriots already took too little exercise, the Segway was 'the ultimate American doomsday machine'. 'This device isn't evil, we think it is innovative, and phenomenal technology. But it shouldn't be on the sidewalks.' Pi Ra, spokesman for WalkSF, a San Francisco pedestrians group, said other cities were now looking to follow the city's lead, regardless of state laws. 'This is a great device,' he said. 'Put it on the streets, with the bicycles.'
Showing Segway the Highway By Matt SmithSan Francisco Weekly12/18/02Dave Snyder, former executive director of the Bicycle Coalition and founder of the lobbying outfit Transportation for a Livable City, gave the device a try. He had a hard time getting the hang of it. Then Skelton hopped on to demonstrate. She hopped off, presumably to show that the machine stops itself when unmanned. Last week, Snyder showed me two foot-long cracks, joined together in an "A" shape, that he said the pilotless Segway left in the Grant Building wall.
Segway Aims To Keep Rolling After San Francisco Setback By Brain DeagonInvestor's Business Daily12/5/02The two-wheeled tech-powered electric scooter known as the Segway Human Transporter hit its first speed bump last week when city supervisors in San Francisco voted to ban it from sidewalks. If Mayor Willie Brown does not veto the bill, which the Board of Supervisors passed 8-2, San Francisco would be the first city to prohibit on sidewalks what is arguably the most-watched invention in a long time.
Every city makes way for Segway - except oneBy Mark SappenfieldChristian Science Monitor12/2/02Yet, ironically, it is here in San Francisco - where leg-numbing hills taunt timid feet, and technology is seen as the answer to many ills - that a backlash has begun. Worried that walkers could be steamrollered, the Board of Supervisors last week voted to ban Segway. Although the vote is not final, it is the first significant anti-Segway action taken in any city or state.
S.F. supervisors vote to ban Segway scooters from sidewalks By Rachel GordonSan Francisco Chronicle11/26/02San Francisco may be at the heart of high-tech gizmos and innovations, but on Monday safety-conscious supervisors voted to adopt an ordinance banning two-wheel Segway scooters from city sidewalks. If the ban gets final approval next week from the Board of Supervisors and withstands a threatened veto by Mayor Willie Brown, San Francisco will be the first city in the state to prohibit the so-called "electric personal assistive mobility devices."
Supes propose Segway banBy David KieferExaminer11/15/02San Francisco is not ready for the Segway. On Thursday, the Transportation and Commerce Committee recommended that the futuristic self-balancing, electric-powered transportation device should be banned from city sidewalks. The machine, which weighs as much as 95 pounds and travels up to 12 miles an hour, is designed for sidewalks and was recently tested by local postal workers, but critics say it's a menace.
Group wants to bana motorized scooters from sidewalksBy Dan WhiteSanta Cruz Sentinel11/4/02A group of local pedestrians-rights advocates wants to ban the much-hyped Segway Human Transporter from city sidewalks. The devices look like a cross between a push lawnmower and a two-wheeled Roman chariot. Debbie Bulger of Mission Pedestrian, an advocacy group, said Santa Cruz must act soon to keep sidewalks safe. The group is connected to California Walks, a coalition of groups promoting "walkable, safe and accessible communities."
Segway Scooter ProtestBy Carolyn TyleABC710/17/02The U.S. Postal Service has tested them out and 32 states including California have legalized them. They are the Segway scooters that are hyped as revolutionizing transportation. But protesters say they're dangerous and a group is hoping to ban them one city at a time.
The Scooter Debate CON Not on our sidewalks By Chris DalySan Francisco Chronicle10/16/2002After meeting with advocates for seniors, pedestrians, children and persons with disabilities, I introduced an ordinance to ban the use of Segway scooters on San Francisco sidewalks. After hearing from the many concerned seniors and people with disabilities who have called my office to express their thoughts, I believe that scooters traveling up to 12.5 mph on our sidewalks pose a danger to some of our most vulnerable residents. While it certainly may be easier to look the other way when a big company with powerful friends comes to town, that's not what the state law requires.
Rob Morse ColumnBy Rob MorseSan Francisco Chronicle10/1/2002Whatever your age, walking San Francisco sidewalks is difficult enough when you have to compete with scooters, bikes and inline skaters. Good for Chris Daly for introducing legislation to ban Segway scooters, which had been given dispensation by Gov. Gray Davis under the fancy name "electric personal assistance mobility device." That means they're expensive. Why should a $9,000 motorized scooter be sidewalk legal when $200 ones aren't? The rich always get off scoot-free, but not when Daly is on the case.
Move to ban scooters from S.F. sidewalks By Rachel GordonSan Francisco Chronicle10/1/2002Two days after Gov. Gray Davis signed a bill legalizing the use of the electric Segway Scooter on California sidewalks, San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly introduced legislation that would ban the two-wheelers in the city. "These things are dangerous," Daly said Monday. "We need to take action."
Sidewalk scooter now up to Davis Senior, pedestrian groups oppose device By Greg LucasSan Francisco Chronicle8/31/2002California's two-legged pedestrians will share their sidewalks with expensive two-wheeled contraptions that zip along at 12 mph under a bill sent to Gov. Gray Davis on Friday. "This is a yuppie fantasy, poorly thought out, wildly dangerous and not at all addressing the concerns of seniors and the disabled," said Bob Planthold of the Senior Action Network. Segway is a privately held company. One of its investors is the venture capitalist John Doerr, whose money helped start major companies such as Amazon. com, Netscape and Sun Microsystems. Since June 2001, Doerr has contributed $125,000 to Davis' campaign
Zero-emission pedestrian killer By Bruce LivingstonSan Francisco Bay Guardian8/28/2002 This is a story of corporate greed, inventive genius, and gullible lawmakers. Sadly, it will end in death and injury to thousands of walkers nationally. If S.B. 1918 passes the California legislature this session, you had better not stop on a sidewalk to say hello to a friend, because a person on a silent, 12.5-mile-an-hour scooter could be commuting right behind you.
Seniors battle scooters in S.F. turf war By John KoopmanSan Francisco Chronicle8/27/2002Senior citizens of San Francisco would like to remind lawmakers and office-holders that there's a reason it's called a sidewalk. Wheels and pedestrians, they say, don't mix. To that end, a group from the Senior Action Network -- representing 30,000 senior citizens -- began a campaign to fight a proposed state law that could allow the newfangled two-wheeled Segway scooters to hum along city sidewalks.
Walkers fight to keep scooters off sidewalk By Ann E. Marimow San Jose Mercury News8/14/2002Advocates for senior citizens, the disabled and pedestrians say the bill would turn California sidewalks into raceways, imperiling people who don't move as fast as the Segway's maximum 12.5 mph speed. ``It will forever change our definition of the sidewalk as a safe place where people can walk and converse,'' said Bruce Lee Livingston, executive director of the Senior Action Network in San Francisco, who has assembled a coalition of opponents.
Legislature should put brakes on high-powered drive for Segway By Dan Walters Sacramento Bee6/19/2002Were the Segway just another computer or some other technological device that wasn't inherently dangerous, it would not be an issue. But a machine and rider weighing several hundred pounds and capable of going 12 miles per hour pose an intrinsic threat to real pedestrians.
Segway hits bump in its progressby Staff reportsAtlanta Journal-Constitution5/2/2002The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 5/3/02 ] Segway hits bump in its progress Staff reports Andy Kjellgren / Special A member of the Ambassador Force is treated for his injuries after an accident on his Segway Thursday night. The heralded Segway has claimed its first Atlanta victim. A member of the Central Atlanta Progress Ambassador Force toppled from one of the personal scooters on Cone Street near Luckie Street about 8:40 p.m. Thursday.
Segway's assault on walking By Christopher OrletSalon.com12/7/2002Dean Kamen readily admits that his Segway Human Transporter, unveiled Dec. 3, is not the futuristic answer to his nation's transportation woes, crowded highways and poor public transit, nor will it replace the SUV, the bus or the commuter train. The push-lawnmower-size scooter travels only 12.5 miles per hour with a 17-mile range between charges. It will have no impact on air quality nor will it reduce the reliance on fossil fuels. What it will replace is walking.
Who needs this SHT?By Patrick O'GradyVeloNews.com1/19/2002A multimillion-dollar feat of overengineering that dwarfs the best efforts of Microsoft, NASA and Rube Goldberg, inventor Dean Kamen has unveiled his Segway Human Transporter (SHT), a 65-pound, $3,000 "smart" scooter that can travel a dozen miles on a dime's worth of electricity. Trouble is, notes Paul Saffo, director of California's Institute for the Future, "it's about $2,000 too expensive and 40 pounds too heavy." And about 200 years too late. That's how long the bicycle's been around.
Scooter may not change world, experts say. Electric urban vehicle raises road-use problems By Joe GarofoliSan Francisco Chronicle12/4/2001After getting their first look yesterday at a much-hyped gadget predicted to change the world, experts yawned, stretched and counterpredicted that it probably wouldn't. After all, some said, the Segway is only a motor scooter. A $3,000 one- passenger model that resembles grandpa's push-mower, at that. "You can get a great bicycle, a great one, for $300," said Leah Shahum of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.

Roadway Safety

2004-12-26T17:10:00.000-08:00

First Segway Fatality

2004-11-11T23:23:00.000-08:00

First Segway fatality?
Posted Nov 10, 2004, 9:47 AM ET by Phillip Torrone

It’s been a few years since the Segway Human Transporter was released, and while the nay-sayers predicted causalities on sidewalks around the world, so far there hasn’t been anything more than a handful of uneventful incidents, and no fatalities. At least not until now: the first Segway-related fatality may have occured last week in Las Vegas, NV when a 59 year old took a spill in the pit area during the SKUSA SuperNats car racing event being held there. Not too much on details like if he was wearing a helmet, only that he was riding a Segway when he went down.

Legislation

2004-09-21T11:26:00.000-07:00

Be it ordained by the People of the City and County of San Francisco:
Section 1. Article 5 of the San Francisco Traffic Code is hereby amended ( December 16/02) by adding Section 104, to read as follows:
SEC. 104. ELECTRIC PERSONAL ASSISTIVE MOBILITY DEVICES.
(a) It shall be unlawful to operate an electric personal assistive mobility device on any sidewalk in the City and County of San Francisco.
(b) "Electric Personal Assistive Mobility Device" means a self-balancing, nontandem two-wheeled device, that can turn in place and is designed to transport only one person, with an electric propulsion system averaging less than 750 watts (one horsepower).
(c) Any person who violates Section 104 shall be guilty of an infraction and, upon the conviction thereof, shall be punished for the first offense by a warning or a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $100; and for a second offense and each additional offense by a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500.
From the Ontario Ministry of Transportations site “a personal human transporter (i.e. Segway) does not meet Ontario's equipment safety standards for on-road use. This device is not included as a vehicle intended for on-road use under the MVSA, and is considered a device for a pedestrian environment”.
Police, in the Niagara Region are enforcing the law --- One man in Niagara Falls made headlines last September, 2004 for being the first known Segway rider in Canada to get fined: $8,000 for not having insurance or a license plate.He also made an illegal left turn off a sidewalk. He also made an illegal left turn off a sidewalk.( ref. Toronto Star 2/28/04)

Riding on the sidewalk is dangerous for Segway operators:

2004-07-19T09:16:00.000-07:00

A city worker in Atlanta injured himself riding on a Segway scooter.
Riding a bicycle on the sidewalk is twice as dangerous as riding on the adjacent roadway, and riding on the sidewalk opposite the flow of traffic is more than 4 times as dangerous as riding on the road with the flow of traffic
Even the Segway website shows users wearing helmets. Safe pedestrian environments should not require helmets!

Segway Hit and Run

2003-12-03T08:02:00.000-08:00

December 01, 2003
News: Segway's First Hit And Run
A Segway rider in San Francisco hit a 3-year-old girl while riding -- illegally -- on one of the city's sidewalks, ABC reports. The man fled the scene (on his Segway).

The police says it expects to be able to quickly track down the suspect by contacting Segway, and obtaining a list of San Francisco Segway owners. Apparently there aren't that many.

Live Wire

Segway Hit and Run

2003-11-26T18:13:00.000-08:00

Segway hit and run

When the Segway HT hit the streets and sidewalks of San Francisco many people warned that they were nothing but gyroscope-balancing, two-wheel terrors ready to take out people left and right. Sure enough on November 20, 2003, it happened recently to one little girl on a San Francisco sidewalk. Now her parents want to find the culprit. Not only is this hit and run culprut in violation of the December 16, 2002 SF by-law banning Segways but also a criminal of the lowest order.

Sidewalk Safety

2003-09-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

The new bully on the sidewalk!! The segway SUV!!

Note: on November 25th, 2004 the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 8-2 to ban Segway scooters from the sidewalks of San Francisco.
The reason we have sidewalks is to provide a safe place for pedestrians away from vehicles! That is why San Francisco passed legislation back in 1940 stating:

SEC. 86. VEHICLES SHALL NOT BE DRIVEN ON SIDEWALKS. It shall be unlawful for the operator of any vehicle to drive such vehicle within any sidewalk area except at a permanent or temporary driveway. (Ord. 890, App. 10/24/40)
Segway scooters are simply additional dangerous vehicles. They we will only further promote sedentary lifestyles, endanger users, and cause collisions with pedestrians.

ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF BANNING SEGWAYS FROM SIDEWALKS

Segways and Motorized Scooters are dangerous to pedestrians.
The California legislation is for allowing Segway scooters to go up to 12.5 mph on the sidewalk, yet sidewalks are designed for typical walking speeds of approximately 3mph. Having vehicles moving 4 times faster than pedestrian traffic in the same space is simply not safe.
The National Safety Council has determined that the average reaction time for an emergency braking situation is three-quarters of a second. At even 12mph, a Segway would therefore travel an average of 13 feet before the user would even initiate braking.
Segway claims that the device could then be stopped in an additional 5 feet (which would be a remarkable 1g of deceleration if true) for a total stopping distance of 18 feet. Again, this would be completely unsafe for sidewalk use.
Energy increases with the square of velocity. This means the energy expended in a crash of a rider on a 80 lb Segway scooter going 12 mph would be approximately 25 times greater than for a person walking.
Vehicles such as bicycles, scooters, skateboards, and roller skates have all been banned from San Francisco sidewalks due them having been found to be dangerous in a pedestrian environment. We should not wait until a pedestrian is injured by a Segway device before enacting a similar ban.
Pedestrians are not regulated traffic and do not travel in a straight line. Vehicles going up to 12.5 mph should not be mixed with pedestrians. Fast moving vehicles on the sidewalk would be especially dangerous to those with visual impairments.
There is no viable way to enforce safe operation of Segways on the sidewalks.
Segway users are not required to have insurance, though the devices are demonstrably dangerous to operate on a sidewalk.
Segways are virtually silent, and therefore a serious menace to the visually impaired.
Segways will eventually have mechanical and electrical failures preventing them from being operated in a safe manner.
There is no way to expect police to enforce a speed limit on our sidewalks. It is difficult enough for them to enforce the speed limits on our roads.
The often used Segway demonstration that the device can safely run over someones hand is absurd. Pedestrians aren't afraid of their hands getting run over. They are afraid of getting knocked down!
Redefining the accepted definition of "pedestrian" for the benefit of a single company is outrageously inappropriate. This could lead to other redefinitions, such as redefining "bicycle" to include Harley motorcycles so that they could use bicycle lanes.

Not only banned from the sidewalks of New York, but the roads, Greenways, park paths and all other public ways. Segways and other electric scooters are only legal on private property.

Pocket Crotch Rockets

2003-06-23T07:54:00.000-07:00

Now in California soon in your neighbourhood.

“Pocket bikes” i.e. mini crotch rockets are the new hip ride in the Bay Area, well the article actually said that they are the “newest passion for wheel-crazy Californians!” The bikes can’t ride on public streets and can only get up to 35 miles per hour. They cost anywhere from $200 to $500, which is a bit of a difference from the $6,000 to $7,000 for a normal motorscycle or a Segway.

Something to look forward to if the Segway is approved for use on the sidewalks of America.

Herman C.

Epidemic rates of obesity and associated disorders!!

2001-08-05T00:59:00.000-07:00

The Segway will no doubt decrease walking and biking, which would be detrimental given the importance of regular physical activity.

Jeffrey P. Koplan, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and William H. Dietz, with the CDC Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, have noted that epidemic rates of obesity and associated disorders are related to the fact that automobile travel has replaced walking and bicycling for even short trips (October 27, 1999, Journal of the American Medical Association).