Segways banned in the Netherlands due to a "lack of brakes" - Engadget

That's interesting, considering the Dutch customs and security at Schiphol use Segways to move about themselves.

wel there goes mine dream of buying one, when i'm old enough:( Dutch political decisions are meaningless on an international scale. To compensate they make outrageous decisions on a local scale to get noticed internationally.

Oh darn. Another government makes anti-Segway legislation. Should I be as upset as I was supposed to be when NYC wouldn't allow Segways (motorized vehicles capable of speeds of 12 mph) on sidewalks.

I don't read this an as active banning of segways. Rahter, the police realized that segways don't conform to the current law and thus issued a statement. It's not much different to here (Switzerland): We have a restrictive street-legsilation which basically only allows the common vehicles.

Almost everything not being a car, motorcicle or bicycle is banned from public streets. The city council from Zurich actually wanted to use segways in a campaign but had to stop the idea because they realized that segways are not allowed on public streets. ^^'

The reason this pops up now, is that last year the laws regarding motor vehicles has been adjusted.

Now all motorized vehicles of a certain type (transportation, so not lawnmowers) need to have a licence plate. Within this stricter law some vehicles had to be categorized, something not neccesary before. The Segways turned out not to fit into any of the motorized vehicle-categories, and now suddenly find themselves illegal outside of private property.

I suppose the Segway company will lobby for adjustments to the category. They will probably be succesful, although it will take some time to get done.

So now they will have to trek miles like the rest of us at Schiphol, what a pity.

As usual, a decision here means that it's time for negotiations to start. Another chance for the magic of the "polder model" to find a solution.

now i will never be able to fulfill my lifelong dream of riding around amsterdam on a segway while tripping on mushrooms and smoking a fat joint.

Just more regulations, restrictions, and unnecessary legislation that make lawmakers appear to be doing their job when in fact it's just further restricting the freedoms of the people they pretend to represent - in any country.
Sheesh those dutch just have the weirdest language ever. Like a hybrid between german and swedish.

Very OT I know.

Boy, I bet these guys: are upset.
In the case where failure of a component .

...

. a fail-safe functionality. Fail-safe functionality is typically provided for each motor 51, wheel amplifiers 46, 48, and 50, cluster amplifiers 52, and power amplifier controllers 54 and 56, as well as sensors monitoring a force handle (used for external control of the vehicle), brakes, and seat installation in the ground-contacting module.

" i bet soon remote control cars will be banned from our streets.

Is it me or is there a simple solution? Install a hand brake.

Sure, no one in their Segway mind would/should use it, but just in case...

. I think a simple BMX brake could be modded to the wheels.

Wait, they go fast enough to need brakes?

Pretty soon they'll say the freaking pedestrians'll need onboard braking systems!

Funny how news which involves countries almost always invokes the most laughable comments regarding the country at hand. Especially Americans seem to be prone to this sometimes, for one reason or another.

But so too non-Americans on many occasions. Could for the most part be a reason for a good laugh (at the one making such a comment) if it wasn't so sad, mean-spirited and shortsighted. In response to Niels: we (the Dutch) make our policy descisions based on how we feel it is best for our country, as it should be.

We don't give a damn about another country's view on our legislature. In response to Arno: Funny, we feel the same weirdness to the English language, a hotchpot of Saxon, French, Frisian, Danisch, and God knows wath other languages..

. :-)

THAT DAMM (and very expensive) THING DOES NOT HAVE BRAKES??

? - it can go up to 20km/h (12.5mp/h for unfaithful).

That means braking distance (provided it had brakes) would be 4 meters. 4 meters is far enough - if one passes crossroad.

Horses don't have brakes and can't be classified as a vehicle, so I assume they are illegal for ues on public roads in the Netherlands as well.

Yes, engadget, you are clearly too cool for the Segway, what with your smart phones, HD DVD players, and bluetooth out the wazooo. Aren't you guys just the pinnacle of cool and chic, with every right to bash the Segway at any remote opportunity..

..

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