Segway's expansion on course

Foster's Online ^ | Saturday, January 29, 2005 | ERIK STETSON

[Finny]

Replacing the HOV lane with 2 dedicated Segway lanes... What an EXCELLENT idea! We need some relief for transportation problems as we are a growing country and can't expand lanes infinitely, but OTOH America's unique nature demands one-person transportation. I think you arrived on a perfect solution, providing that Segway's patent isn't so restrictive that other companies can't build similar models.

Thanks for the kind words -- but Segways are NOT the answer. Gas or hybrid powered enclosed vehicles, "mini-cars," if you will, in which you can sit down and drive for many, many miles through any kind of weather at any time of day, are the solution. Segways you ride standing up and wouldn't be so great in the rain or on chilly cold nights. Here, the typical one-way commute is 25 to 50 miles, often more as people must live in less expensive suburbs far away. But I'm glad SOMEBODY agrees that I might have an idea here! I got to drive an SOV once, an electric powered little three-wheeled car called a Sparrow. It was very cool, but not practical because it could only go about 30 miles before needing to be recharged.

[KC_for_Freedom]

You did not note the recall when it was discovered that the Segway battery could run down and cause the control system to fail without the rider being warned. the system should fail "gracefully" and they went back to see if the software could be designed to do this.

[nightdriver]

"The machines could let golfers travel to their shots independently instead of using a group cart, he said, helping courses get more golfers through every hour."

Sorry! It ruins my secondary reason for playing golf in the first place. After walking on asphalt and concrete all week, I like to stomp on sod for a while. Restores tranquility to the nerves.

[wideminded]

Has anyone seen one of these things actually being used, as opposed to being demonstrated?

I have seen exactly one person using one. He appeared to be delivering mail at a university hospital. He was going up a fairly steep hill when I saw him.

[par4]

Amen to stomping on sod.

Also, has the author actually considered that the darn things seem to work by shifting the weight of the "driver"? That would mean that the clubs would have to be carefully balanced on the center of gravity, not just slung over the upright part.

I've seen them at BWI Airport and in downtown DC and, from the look of them, the tires are way too thin to ride down a damp fairway without leaving furrows. If you have to stick to cart paths, then the whole idea of saving time gets shot down pretty quick.

F&G's

[Nataku X]

You're right, one of those tiny Euroweenie cars would be a better idea than a Segway. Perhaps a maximum size and relatively low speed limit would work? That way, we can have mopeds, Segways, and tiny cars together. Can't imagine those tiny cars doing a lot of harm to a Segway.

I GISed for one of those Sparrows you mentioned... very cute... who would've thought that the third wheel would be in the BACK, not front. How does it handle?

[freedumb2003]

In downtown Fort Worth one of the Bass Hall private security cruises the streets in one.

[Finny]

The Sparrow handled pretty well and went from zero to 60 mph in a heartbeat -- electric vehicles accelerate very quickly. In a freeway setting, Segways would get in the way; they're too slow, too open, too unstable -- they're a sidewalk vehicle. What I'm talking about are single-occupancy cars narrow enough that two can be accommodated side-by-side in, say, a lane-and-a-half (a standard-width car lane would probably be too narrow to safely accomodate two lanes of SOVs). These SOVs need to travel at fairly high speeds, say, 60 mph. Here in Southern California, people are commuting one-way 25 to 50 miles and further. A 20-mph vehicle would be little improvement over freeway rush-hour speeds as it is, and thereby defeat any incentive people might have to opt for SOVs.