San Francisco says no to Segway Transporter

The Union Leader (NH) ^ | 01/20/02 | Denis Paiste

[not-an-ostrich]

Elderly and disabled not know for good reflexes and balance. I and my siblings seriously discussed the Segway for our mother, but all agreed it would be dangerous.

[DWSUWF]

"...I just bought a new motorcycle for $3,000! Why would I buy a Segway for two thousand more and can't use anywhere else but on a sidewalk?!..."

I agree... I wouldn't give you $5 for a Segway, let alone $5000.

My point is that the people who sell them appear to be living in a fantasy world.

It's not a good thing that many (if not most)decision makers take bribes, but it IS a real thing.

And it's probably an eternal thing as well.

A 70 pound gizmo, doing 12 mph on a crowded sidewalk is a do-able thing, but it's just dicey enough in today's civil law environment to provide a little bit of friction...

The kind of friction that can almost always be greased by an envelope full of money.

It's been this way all my life, and my father's as well.

It's real simple... If you hate the idea of bribing people so much that you refuse to do it, your business options will always be constrained by your choice not to do so.

[MrB]

I was wondering what happens to an elderly person's 69 lb Segway when it runs out of juice...
They can't carry it, I doubt if you could push or drag it unless the motor disengaged somehow.
Recharging from a wall socket would require some sort of transformer/rectifier that wouldn't be onboard because of the weight.

You seem to be the Segway guy here, and someone has surly thought of these problems.

[runningbear]

LOL... I read this story. Thoughts, trial attorneys are frothing at the mouths to see who has the cash cow dollars for injuries and sufferings.....

[Tijeras_Slim]

See you on the sidewalks Skag!

[Aquinasfan]

The real problem is security.

[Jon Geb]

All segway has to do is donate about 100 of these to the DNC so that the campaign workers can zoom around town to get out the vote. They wil soon be legal in SF after that.

[spodefly]

[Mr. Jeeves]

In hilly San Francisco, officials feared Segways would cause more problems than they would solve, particularly for the disabled and senior citizens.

This from "officials" who don't give a damn what drunken bums, petty criminals, and careless city bus drivers do to San Francisco's disabled and senior citizens on a daily basis...

[NewHampshireDuo]

LOL

[oyez]

McQueen in a snare(LOL) That is symbolic of the public in liberal cities like SF. They(city leadership) don't want solutions to their problems. They want issues to perpetuate the same old tired routine. Mienwhile, the public is hung out to dry.

[templar]

I was wondering what happens to an elderly person's 69 lb Segway when it runs out of juice..

I've been wondering what happens when some elderly rider has a stroke and falls forward while riding on the thing. Months later a decomposing body or skeleton is found riding down a lonely sidwalk?

[joesnuffy]

I cant wait for somebody to drop a big V-4 gasser in one

[MrB]

Months later a decomposing body or skeleton is found riding down a lonely sidwalk

That's pretty funny, in a distasteful way.
Yeah, it wouldn't fall over... until the batteries ran down. And how would you catch it? Someone would have to jump from one to another.
I can see it now: "Speed IV - A Segway to a better movie"

[muleskinner]

LOL...excellent McQueen. Who's the other guy?

[csvset]

The other guy is Dick Cheney.

[Gritty]

The company hired lobbying firms but has made no contributions to any public officials or candidates, said Matt Dailida, the company’s director of state government affairs.

...the real reason the HT has been banned from San Francisco!

[I_Love_My_Husband]

Actually that isn't true.

Decoutu (sp?) does all the public toilets here in SF, and they're a disgusting mess with drug addicts who use them all the time, and the homeless that sleep in them. So you're not correct.

[I_Love_My_Husband]

Since I live here, I am familiar with the argument against Segways.

The argument was that our sidewalks are too crowded to let these things on them officially. Then, while demonstrating how safe they were the Segway sales person crashed into one of our historical buildings and caused a big crack in the side of the building (marble). They were seen by a reporter and other witnesses, denied they did it and have refused to pay for the damaged marble and building. It's a pretty big scandal here.

The problem, since I live here, is that our sidewalks are too crowded to have these things, and they don't have adequate braking systems (see paragraph above).

[Free the USA]

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