http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/08/18/2009-08-18_segway_driver_keeps_motoring.html

And absolutely agree with GlideGurl, I have no problem being
regulated, trained, certified, insured.

Name one Biker who is insured or even accountable for their actions.

I hope one day, people will just view the segway as another means of
transport, and that we all can.. just.. Get along

jonathan

I own/have owned…

Rollerblades

Landrollers

Xootr scooters (kick and electric)

Bike

Segway

—
Rollerblades/Landrollers
Ease: Difficult to balance, stop and turn.
Danger to pedestrians: Moderate bec

People who were very interested in (read: envied) the iPhone but could not have one (contractual obligations, etc.) berated the phone for its lack of features, network carrier, early bugs, limited memory (although it had more memory than any other cell phone) and PRICE. “What idiot pays $600 for a phone??!!” They considered early adapters blind followers. Fast forward to 2008. The iPhone’s price dropped, and lines to get one lasted for weeks! Those who still ‘hate on’ the iPhone probably have a copycat of it.

In that context, imagine the price of the Segway dropping dramatically, putting it in REACH for more people. Think about it.

More people would try this stupid thing. “Let me seee. Hmm, wow. I could use this to x,y and z!”

I can only speak for myself to defend Segway gliding in NYC. I favor riding in the street, on sidewalks and bike lanes. I glide extremely slow on sidewalks, and only when the street becomes dangerous.

To common angst:

1. WALK: I do. I have walked as a resident of NYC since 1995.

2. EXERCISE: I do that too. 5X a week – you?

3. BIKE: Sold it. The super fast bikers and traffic zooming by scared me, and I didn’t have much control on my bike. I am short, so I can easily get run over in the street on a small bike. On my Segway, I am further above ground, easily visible.

4: $5,000 Toy: No, a $5,000 mode of transportation that doesn’t require gas, vehicle maintenance, nor $200/month garage parking. It saves on cab fare also. There’s nothing like jumping into a cab only to turn the corner and run right into stopped traffic, then spending 2x the fare to get to your destination.

THINK

Has anyone considered the sweat factor? I like to work out, just not on the way to work.

Summary: Those who complain with more venom than reason cannot see themselves on it, so therefore Segways and their owners, like early iPhones and early adapters, are “stupid, lazy, [fill in the blanks].” They tout their superiority as bikers, yet they complain as if they have inferiority complexes, complaining mainly about the price as if that’s a problem for them so it should be for everyone.

How abot working together?

My Suggestions:

A: Segway regulation in NYC – compromise

B: Mandatory training which results in a license or certificate

C: Mandatory insurance (protects pedestrians)

D: Segway-free zones as seen fit (debate and decide)

E: Zones FOR Segway use as seen fit (debate and decide)

F: Regulated speeds for different areas like hwy/st speeds for vehicles

Otherwise, I will continue as will others gliding as WE see fit.

In this battle, compromise works better than 100% resistance.

Fifteen (15) of them would be comparable to a bus drivers annual salary.

Of course, there’d have to be Segway rustlers to make sure the machines are distributed to where they’re needed.

It wasn’t a dream when I saw three cops (with capes!) on Segways racing down the bike path in Prospect Park and, blowing past on my inlines yelled that they looked like the three Musketeers; and, the big smiles on their faces!

They are definitely scaled right to moving lots of people around this city quickly and efficiently and it seems to have been announced that a new hands-free one is coming kind of like surfing or skate boarding but a lot easier and lighter than the original uprights.

A large presence on the street would encourage and accelerate a very resilient diversity of accepted and effective ways to travel this town.

It sounds more like the first opposition is cost of $5000. Sorry new technology does cost money! Should we all ditch our HD TV’s also because they cost $3000? Second is Speed a Segway can be controlled to travel walking speed 3.5 miles an hour or commuter speed at 12 miles an hour. Third is access why is everyone entitled to their own space? So in that case we need a walking lane, a jogging, lane, a standing lane, a segway lane, a wheel chair lane, a cane walking lane, a speed walking lane, a bike lane, a scooter lane. What the true face is we had to provide a road for cars, a track for the train, a lane for bikes come on? The sidewalk is for Humans traveling.

The funniest thing is I was traveling along Surface Road on the sidewalk the other day at 12 miles an hour and a guy on a bike blew by me like I was standing still.

I use the my Segway for both leisure and commuting into Boston, and yes I use the Train, and the T. I travel in from Tewksbury Ma.

So I guess in closing I’ll continue segwaying, and everyone else can just complain or rather complain about complaining! Since neither this Blog or anything in it will change Legislation.

Oh looking back I forgot to mention, I happy, healthy, and enjoying commuting unlike you complaining, walking, driving or angry people! Just move on and take up world peace or something, anything find a hobby! I’m not really mad at anyone or upset that they want to voice their opinion just try not to show so much hate!

The toughest thing in America is to stand idle by while one person rips down or apart the one thing you have advocated your entire life. Free Speech is a freedom no one can take lightly. The difference is we all should have responsible access to public ways.

How many people posting comments here have ever used a Segway? People can tend to mock what they don’t understand.

Could there be an epidemic of Segway envy lurking out there with the posters on this blog?

The focus should be to eliminate the unfair and destructive, wasteful local monopolies that cars, trucks, buses, and maybe even subway trains have in this city which is currently not only encouraged by local legal, resource allocation, and legislation, but much more aggressively by the high level of brute-force danger and real threat automobiles cause.

As a cyclist, I don’t hate Segways, and I do appreciate the technology. I’ve never ridden one, but I’m sure they’re fun. The thing is, I can only be so impressed by something that can’t go as fast as my bike, has a shorter range, must be recharged, offers no direct health benefit to the user, can’t be fixed with simple tools, and costs 10 times what a decent bicycle costs. It’s new technology that, for the most part, doesn’t beat the old technology.

Regarding conflicts between Segways and bikes – some people are just jerks. But also, I would guess that most Segway riders are used to driving. They’re not used to being unprotected in traffic, and are a little scared by how crowded it can be, how close the cars and bikes get, and how aggressively most people behave during their commute.

This is of course reffering to all the healthy people using segways.

Who’s doing the hating, cochon? Have anything intelligent to add the conversation? You took the time to read all these posts..how about contributing something worthwhile.

this is a perfect example of why the left never wins. incessant infighting over things so utterly trivial. go beyond the semantics of signage and learn to share for the first time in your life, idiots.

What’s the difference between a $5,000 Segway and a $5,000 trophy bike? At least you have to put some effort into the bike to go anywhere. I doubt many Segway owners have “limited mobility,” but that’s just my biased assumption. Let’s face it, these are a novelty purchase for people who have a lot of (and I use this phrase as literally as possible) disposable income and they are not going to become a significant group of street users.

I am deeply disturbed that the NYPD is spending our tax dollars on these toys. Commissioner Kelly would better serve us and the health and well-being of his staff by putting them on $500 NYPD bicycles instead.

All that said, one simply cannot argue with the reasoning that a Segway is far better than a car. So, begrudgingly, I have to welcome Segway owners into our motley alternative transportation coalition. As far as where they belong, I’m with JF…Segways are for streets.

Well, Mr. Marshall is nothing if not controversial and it doesn’t take much chum to roil these waters. I hope for his kids’ sake that by now he’s bought them modern bike helmets.

I can say that as a rider in Phoenix AZ and Tempe AZ, I have had not major problems riding on the sidewalks. It’s legal here to ride on the sidewalks.

Segways can easily mingle in with moderate-sized sidewalk congestion.

When it’s butt-to-belly button like NYC sidewalks, however, I’m not sure Segways would fit so well into the flow of foot traffic.

And Hilary, I’m not making a choice for disabled people, I’m speculating that your argument about how much Segways will benefit them has a big logical hole in it that you seem unable to patch.

I think they belong on the streets, and if Segway users don’t feel the streets are safe enough for them, well, now they know how cyclists and street skaters feel, and I hope they’ll join us instead of using Kamen’s power to carve their own loopholes in the traffic laws.