Take it standing up or sitting down?

Earlier this month, we travelled to Lille in northern France, and grasped the opportunity of test riding a Segway pedestrian vehicle. We had to undertake a short 15 minute training session to get familar with the balance and control of the vehicle - there was a modest charge for this - and then we were set free to drive the vehicle*.

In Lille, large areas of the town are cobbled, and pedestrians are given priority over car traffic, and although the Segway brochure encouraged riders to take to the routes only elegible for pedestrians, we didn't see anyone trying to negotiate their way through the town. We didn't feel all that confident in or abilities to steer the Segway especially when trying to mount kerbs, so we kept to the Champs de Mars park where the Segways are stationed.

Using Segways on any surface doesn't seem to deter owners of the vehicles, according to the manufactuer's website, or the number of e-forums that have sprung up. However, the key issue being discussed appears to be whether such vehicles will be banned for use on pavements in various states in the US or in countries around the world. With a top speed well above that of any pedestrian, we can appreciate the arguments offered by predestiran orgnisations too.

So the Segway has an uncertain future, and may go the way of the C5 electric buggy, for ourselves, we are unlikely to be riding a Segway again (although we now hold Segway proficiency cards to prove our abilities). It may have value if you had a warehouse full of aircraft components that you needed to stock check on a regular basis, but we don't envisage much use for them. Do let us know if we have got this wrong?

* Segway manufacturer has argued successfully in the United States, that their product is not a vehicle, but a 'human transporter'.

Individual guided tours of Lille by Segway
What the manufacturers tell us about Segways in Lille
A pro-Segway community
International Federation of Pedestrians argues against the use of Segways
Meet other Segway users at Segway Social
Find out more from the Segway wiki
Just when we thought it was safe to go out, a Liberal Democrat MP has an idea
Take a tour of the Cardiff Barrage on a Segway