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While I'm no fan of anything SF does, I will go on-record as saying the Segway is a really bad idea, at least with regard to sidewalks.

Consider this. Here's the spec sheet on what seems to be the baseline model: http://www.segway.com/segway/specs_iseries.html

Top speed, 12.5 mph. Base weight, 83 pounds. Now, I go about 170 - 172 pounds, so combined, with me riding the thing at top speed, we have about 255 pounds traveling 12.5 miles per hour on a sidewalk.

So if I recall correctly from high school physics that Force = Mass x (Velocity squared), and convert the values to metric to do an actual mass calculation, we wind up with:

255 pounds = 116 kg
12.5 miles per hour = 20 kph

So we wind up with Force = 116 * (20 squared) = 46400 Newtons, I think. What does that equal? A sledgehammer swung full-strength by a lumberjack?

So what's going to happen the first time a yuppie answering a cell phone, getting distracted, impacts a pedestrian from behind at full speed? Look at the design of the thing - it's either going to smack them with that handlebar point somewhere in the region of the shoulder blades, easily snapping their spine or crushing their shoulder, and likely causing an impact arrythmia of the heart similar to what kids sometimes get from a fastball to the chest. Or, if the pedestrians somewhat more "lucky," it'll just clip them with the lower portion at around the region of the ankle-to-shin, leaving them with a probably fatal compound fracture.

I think this is a very likely scenario. How many times in the course of, say, a week, do you almost run smack-dab into someone else walking full speed, while rounding a corner, or because either of you were distracted? I know, usually you don't actually run into them, but only because your body is able to react in all manner of incredible ways to dodge the impact - and even then, ONLY if either or both of you actually look up and notice in time. So think about the amount of time, however miniscule, it takes to transmit, via leaning or whatever, your intention to this machine. What is it? A millionth of a second? Doubtful - probably at least 1/10th, and even then only if you're expert at it. More than enough time to leave a pedestrian a broken heap.

I expect at least $3000 of the asking price is for liability insurance alone. I won't ride the things, and don't think I'll feel too safe sharing the sidewalks with them.

A good reference regarding my previous post:

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

Testimony from Gary Smith, Director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Childrens Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

There simply is no place to ride this thing. It's too slow for traffic, too dangerous for sidewalks. In golfing communities where you have cart paths, fine.

For that kind of money, I can hire four guys to carry me around on a throne.