How can he risk arrest? Sutton Police use them.
http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/1877474.sutton_police_stand_up_to_crime_in_the_12_5mph_squad_car/
British MP risks arrest for Segway use
Summary
British Member of Parliment Lembit Opik braved arrest on Tuesday as he teetered along on a Segway at a cool 12mph outside the Houses of Parliament.
Topics
British Member of Parliment Lembit Opik braved arrest on Tuesday as he teetered along on a Segway at a cool 12mph outside the Houses of Parliament.
The MP for Montgomeryshire was willing to be hauled away by police in his protest against the ban on the two-wheeled transporters on UK roads saying: "It's either Segways or Strangeways."
Opik, who can regularly be seen weaving along the country lanes on his Segway Personal Transporter around his home in Newtown, Wales, believes the machines will be legal on UK roads by Christmas.
He argues the one-person gyroscopic vehicles could transform city centers--replacing pollution spewing cars with the electric vehicles--saying their top speed of 12mph is four miles per hour faster than the average car in London city center.
Opik believes the fact his action went unpunished will inspire other Segway owners nationwide to defy the ban and take to the streets without fear of arrest.
About 500,000 Segways have been sold worldwide and they are used by about 600 police forces. Around 2,000 are thought to be in the UK where they cost about £4,300.
Opik said: "The Segway Personal Transporter...is a revolutionary leap forward for travel, which virtually does away with short-haul journeys in the car.
"I use my Segway for many journeys, for example to travel the seven miles from Newtown to the nearby village of Abermule.
"The only barrier is the Department for Transport's vagueness about whether they are legal or not.
"I was prepared to be arrested but if they do not arrest a group of MPs in high-visibility jackets then how can they arrest anyone."
Opik pledged to raise the issue with transport minister Jim Fitzpatrick and to put forward a parliamentary question asking for them to be given the same classification as a bicycle on the road.
He said: "Let the Segway reduce congestion and pollution on Britain's roads."
The Department for Transport says it would be "difficult" for scooters such as Segways to meet the standards required to be classified as road vehicles.
Talkback Most Recent of 7 Talkback(s)
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akakos10th Sep 2008 -
RE: British MP risks arrest for Segway use
Have you never heard of a push bike? Just as fast as a Segway, its ?4200.00 cheaper even MORE enviromentally friendly and has a range as far as you are fit.
Get fit and get a bicylce not a Segway!!!
domfinn10th Sep 2008 -
Re: push bike instead of segway
As a cyclist I am certainly in favour of promoting cycling as a mode of transport but if the argument in favour of keeping segways banned is that they are less environmentally friendly and more expensive than bicycles then it would only really be fair to ban segways if you also ban cars. To allow cars but ban a cheaper more environmentally friendly alternative is unfair and actually more than a little stupid. Also if domfinn's thinking was utilised at the invention of the car then we would never have progressed and would only have bicycles now. However if we lived in a society where the mass consensus would echo such a ridiculous policy as domfinn proposes then the bicycle would have been made illegal before it was ever put in production as it is both more expensive and less environmentally friendly than walking. I am surprised domfinn is actually writing comments on a web page as using a computer must be more expensive and less environmentally friendly than living in a cave and foraging for nuts and berries, obviously he is not considering the logic of his opinion and is merely pushing his own misguided philosophy.
DarthCyclist10th Sep 2008 -
Mmm
Mmm I think DarthCyclist missed the point of both the story and the point of the post. The story is ridiculous and the post is simply laughing at the desire to get Segways legalised as if the moment they do we will all go out and buy one
One the other hand the main point was that Segways don't get you fit and a bicycle does. Surely there can be no aurgument against this????
Strange that you have just picked up on the environmental part
Another observation is that he seems to think that I am opposing the legalisation of Segways. Surley that long rant can not all have been deducted from 'get a bike not a Segway'?
It is DarthCyclist who is both misguided and unable to read a post and take it as jest
I think DarthCyclist is a secret Segway lover!domfinn11th Sep 2008 -
Meh, Segways are alright
While I personally wouldn't buy a Segway (huge waste of money in my opinion), I think people should be able to use them as long as they're not holding up traffic on a high-speed road. Lane-share with Segwayists and cyclists alike. But yeah, the idea that a Segway > bicycle is something even a monkey would think is ridiculous. But obviously not everyone wants to get fit, save money, go green, etc. by pedaling oneself around.
Personally I think a Honda Super Cub is a much better solution, it's just not "cool" like a Segway...I guess. They're quite the opposite IMO. The only ridiculously expensive and less-useful-than-conventional-travel vehicle I would buy is a JETPACK! How cool would that be, eh?
Larsix11th Sep 2008 -
it's NOT a "scooter"
I'll bet the Segway PR & Marketing people were smiling until the last line of the report.
Then their faces went ashen.
They keep trying to pound into people's heads that the Segway is not a "scooter" but rather something entirely different - a Personal Transporter. I guess the reporter didn't get the memo.
Terry Thomas...
the photographer
Atlanta, Georgia USA
www.TerryThomasPhotos.com
AtlantaTerry11th Sep 2008 -
Lets legalise the electric skateboard then....?
Skate Electric is an innovative company trying to push the electric skateboard as a mode of transport, which makes a whole load of sense for journeys up to 10 miles.. As the average journey in is 7 miles in London, sometimes you may want to arrive sweat free, earlier and have the option for another way. You can never beat the push bike in terms of a simple, cheap, fun and good for you, however we must welcome other new technologies such as the Seqway adn electric skateboards..
Check Skate Electric commuting in London at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqmEA3aW_60
or their website at www.skateelectric.com
I think Mr Lembit Opik MP is taking the right action as many of these laws are made by people who would not want to use them!!
I think the Segway like the electric skateboard, should be used in cycle lanes and not pavements as this could cause distress to
pedestrians...
The electric skateboard has not be classified, as of yet, however if we are going to legalise the 'Segway' with the electric bike then an electric skateboard should be classified as legal on Uk Public roads.
What do you all think?
Kind regards,
Nick
skateelectricnik13th Sep 2008
Talkback - Tell Us What You Think
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