EVLN(States Segway sidewalk safety worries)

[Bruce EVangel Parmenter <brucedp@yahoo.com>]

EVLN(States Segway sidewalk safety worries)
[The Internet Electric Vehicle List News. For Public EV
 informational purposes. Contact publication for reprint rights.]
 --- {EVangel}
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/061502/bus_9674822.html
Saturday, June 15, 2002
Last modified at 8:04 p.m. on Friday, June 14, 2002
States allow Segway scooters on sidewalks, but safety
worries grow By Robert Tanner Associated Press

The high-tech Segway scooter is still months away from being
available to the public, and already half the states have
speedily cleared a path by changing their laws to allow the
electric-powered vehicle on sidewalks.

The manufacturer has waged a lobbying campaign at
statehouses around the country, winning over lawmakers who
see the Segway as a remarkable tool to ease congestion and
more.

But worries are growing among doctors and others who fear
pedestrians will get hurt by the two-wheeled, 69-pound
Segways as the machines zip around at up to 12.5 mph.

The scooter was introduced amid great hype by inventor Dean
Kamen, who has claimed his machine will transform the way
people live and work just as surely as the automobile did
when it replaced the horse and buggy.

The quiet, single-person vehicles are battery-powered, with
computers and gyroscopes that allow riders to negotiate
curbs and ruts. Tests of a heavy-duty version are under way
at factories, resorts and among government employees like
postal workers and police officers.

Up until recently, all but three states barred motorized
vehicles from sidewalks.

Now the path is clearer. Twenty-four states, including
Florida, New Jersey, Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin,
have enacted Segway's proposals into law with surprising
speed over the past six months. Legislation in four more
states is awaiting governors' signatures.

Matt Dailida, who oversaw Segway LLC's legislative efforts,
said the goal was to lay the groundwork for a 21st-century
technology by sweeping aside 19th-century laws.

The Segway dazzled lawmakers when it was demonstrated at
state capitols, with many seeing the machine as a way to
ease traffic, boost tourism and make business more
productive.

''It's amazing,'' said state Rep. Dan Schooff, a Democrat in
Wisconsin. ''It's a dramatic kind of breakthrough. It
extends the pedestrian environment [and provides] more ways
for people to get around.''

But pedestrian advocates and doctors are warning about
collisions and injuries, and fear the machines could be
especially dangerous to children and the elderly. The
consumer model, projected to cost $3,000, is about three
times as fast as a speedy walker and stands about 3 feet
high.

''It just baffles me that lawmakers are so quick to embrace
this device based on the assurances of paid lobbyists,''
said Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research
and Policy at Columbus Children's Hospital in Ohio. ''The
laws of physics are going to apply to this motorized
scooter, as much as they do to any other motorized
vehicle.''

The new laws vary from state to state, but all allow for the
Segway to be used on sidewalks, bike paths and many roads.
Some require helmets. They effectively eliminate licensing
and insurance. In most states, local governments could act
separately to force the machines onto the street.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ruled
that the Segway is not a vehicle subject to its oversight.

''I'm a registered nurse,'' said Tennessee state Sen.
Rosalind Kurita, a Democrat who voted against the bill. 
''This is a big, bulky, perhaps clumsy machine. No helmet,
no license, no instruction. What about the people that are
legitimately walking on the sidewalk? Do we bump them off
the sidewalk?''

The make of the machine -- officially the Segway Human
Transporter -- says it is designed to allow a rider to stop
quickly and swiftly back up or move to the side to avoid
running into something.

''Someone running down the street is probably more dangerous
than someone cruising on one of these. You can stop in the
same distance. It's much safer than a bike,'' said Schoof,
the Wisconsin lawmaker.

Marya Morris at the American Planning Association said urban
planners view the machines with ''skepticism but interest.''
The Segway does not pollute, gets people out of cars, and
could boost mass transit, she said.

But she said that there could be collisions with pedestrians
or cars, and that the Segway could discourage walking and
lead to even more inactivity among Americans.

The legislation moved so quickly it caught many unaware.

''I don't think any kind of opposition had any chance to set
up shop,'' said analyst Melissa Savage at the National
Conference of State Legislatures. ''I've not seen anything
quite like this before.''
jaxstaff@jacksonville.com  © The Florida Times-Union
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