Scourge of the Sidewalk

[Peter iNova]

...it hasn't been.

So far no instances of damage to a pedestrian has appeared in the news. They WANT to print stories about how terrible these things are, and they'll all roll on the floor with laughter when the leader of the free world forgets to turn his on, but I simply haven't heard of one instance of Segway HTs damaging a pedestrian. The only blood I've heard about belongs to pilots who glide into a pothole, curb, rock garden or some such. Or from pinching a finger with the fender's sharp edge, but that's it.

In 2002 the Atlanta Ambasador Corps officer was the last press I saw on those, too. If we actually KNEW how many HTs there are in the world we could estimate the milage per shoulder rub, toe crossing, etc. from the stories we hear here. Hear, hear!

The little old ladies that marched in front of the SF Supervisor's offices were genuinely afraid of this thing, even though they'd never seen or touched one. And that kind of fear comes from one of two places, either they can't think for themselves or somebody with a well-worn agenda put the fear into them. One of the ladies had collided with a bicycle, so naturally anything with wheels is out to kill her.

That sort of non thinking may be at the heart of the SF protests, but the question still remains: How many miles of travel draws how many drops of blood? Without knowing the factors involved in answering similar questions, everything is a guess or a string of unverified stories.

So far, my own gliding is pushing the 500 mile mark and not a drop of blood or a bruise. But thats just my anecdotal experience. Poster Phillip Torrone has a long history of non-problems and he's somewhere in the 1200 mile range.

So what's your distance versus collision ratio?

-iNova

http://www.glidewalk.com

[BruceWright]

I estimate well over 1000 miles so far, with no injuries save a small bruise on my knee in my first week.

Oh, yeah, I also scratched my knuckles on a telephone pole while I was attempting to help a fallen bicyclist who performed a spectacular jump. (He actually didn't fall. But I was concerned that he had, and scratched my knuckles while checking on him!)

-Bruce Wright

Segway: Vehicle of Dream

[Peter iNova]

quote:Originally posted by BruceWright

I estimate well over 1000 miles so far, with no injuries save a small bruise on my knee in my first week.

Oh, yeah, I also scratched my knuckles on a telephone pole while I was attempting to help a fallen bicyclist who performed a spectacular jump. (He actually didn't fall. But I was concerned that he had, and scratched my knuckles while checking on him!)

-Bruce Wright

Segway: Vehicle of Dream


I was kinda hoping for miles versus injuries to the general unsuspecting public.

-iNova

http://www.glidewalk.com

[BruceWright]

Miles, about 1400.

Injuries to the public, zero.

-Bruce Wright

Segway: Vehicle of Dream

[q]

quote:Originally posted by Peter iNova

quote:Originally posted by BruceWright

I estimate well over 1000 miles so far, with no injuries save a small bruise on my knee in my first week.

Oh, yeah, I also scratched my knuckles on a telephone pole while I was attempting to help a fallen bicyclist who performed a spectacular jump. (He actually didn't fall. But I was concerned that he had, and scratched my knuckles while checking on him!)

-Bruce Wright

Segway: Vehicle of Dream


I was kinda hoping for miles versus injuries to the general unsuspecting public.

-iNova

http://www.glidewalk.com


//

200 {?} miles; 0 injuries
to the public (unless were
talking, "injury from
"jealousy").

kthxbye.

q.

http://www.pcisys.net/~qwhew/segway/jpg_segway_sfest_08312003_sunday_3g.jpg

//

[powderhound]

about 200 miles and no pedestrian accidents - I did check out the emergency stop capability when a truck came flying out of a parking garage exit. Pulled back so fast on the stick that I screeched the tires and stopped immediately. Didn't fall at all - simply amazing!!

[dhugger]

I'm approaching my 4th month at a very large, very heavily populated campus (UNH) and have had ZERO accidents. Even in crowded pedestrian areas, the HT has proven itself to be unbelievably safe. In fact, I think it has proven itself to be just as safe as walking... if not safer in some instances.

-Derek Hugger-

[mzokc]

330 hours in the first 6 months. 1.8 hours a day average. 1000+ miles, very possible. Over 500 demo riders. The only problems:

1. Hit tire against a door.
2. Fell when riding on my steep wet grassy hill because the HT turned right and I went straight ahead. The HT remained upright. No injury.
3. Lady in Chicago walked into the side of a tire, because I was pushing the HT instead of riding it. No injury, all is fine.

Not very exciting is it?

Mark

[statmed]

6 months usage, approximately 500 miles and not one incident, accident, or negative experience.

H.M. Stern
statmed@optonline.net

I Love It When A Plan Comes Together (Hannibal Smith)

[pt]

1500 miles.

nothing. nadda.

where is the carnage we were told about?

cheers,
pt

[fastfreddie]

4 months--200 miles, lots of comments from pedestrians, but injuries to them or to me.

ff

[fastfreddie]

Make that ****no injuries****

ff

[brina]

ive hit a friend bc he was curious as to what damage could be done, so head on at about 8-9 mph, he got a bruise on his leg.

and just to reiderate i was asked to, so it wasnt an accident.

[SegwayUtah]

brina,

A bruise on a leg from someone who was doing something which would normally be criminal (trying to run into another someone at full speed) isn't too exciting. Someone on foot trying to run over another someone at a similar speed could do a lot more damage without question (think football tackle :).

The HT in this instance seems an even lesser risk than a fellow pedestrian. Not too exciting, but a good thing nonetheless.

Chris

[brina]

thats what i meant,
that even with a bad hit there was minimal damage and it sounds as though no walking pedestrian has ever been hit by a segway, so it doesnt even matter that he was ok, because under normal circumstances he wouldn't have been hit.

[SegwayUtah]

All of this has me thinking -- one day, inevitably, some dumb criminal will probably try to rob a bank and "get away" on an HT. They may even try to plow people over left and right in their attempt to run.

Boy will they be in for a surprise ;) They'll probably just make people very, very angry at them--not good when you're trying to escape!

Chris

[brina]

if i see that in the news i will be forced to
think of u segwayutah

[patnowak]

5 months @700 miles. one incident two young teenagers at a blind corner ran full tilt into my bag brushing it and could not stop for approx 20 feet. they came to a stop in the middle of the street and apologized.
other than that super. I've been in very crowded conditions without incident.
Peter Inova- those blood letting incidents (when applied to autos) are sometimes called warrants, another soft word for fatal auto "incidents"
Peter, if we knew more about mishaps we could send our "unknown brothers and sisters" get a well card(s) perhaps we could use the same method some cowhands use for counting cattle- count the legs and divide by four

senior glider Pat