SEGWAYS: GREENER THAN WALKING AND WANTED BY THE POLICE - ÖPIK (Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrats)

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Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrats <montlibdems@gmail.com>

SEGWAYS: GREENER THAN WALKING AND WANTED BY THE POLICE - ÖPIK

January 13, 2009 4:31 PM

Lembit Öpik, Liberal Democrat MP for Montgomeryshire, is holding a debate in Parliament tomorrow evening (Wednesday) to try to persuade the Government to accept the legal status of Self-Balancing Personal Transporters which are eco-friendly and wanted by the Metropolitan police.

While use of the Personal Transporter, an example of which is the Segway, is legal to use on private land, the Government remains unclear about the status of these novel devices on the open road. They are electrically driven, with twin gyroscopes that keep these gravity defying devices upright even when they are stationary.

Lembit said:

"The electricity usage by a Segway equates to just 16.6g of CO2 per km while the CO2 exhaled by the average person when walking is 11.25g per km. However, if the "fuel" consumed by a human is also taken into account, then the Segway is MORE economical than walking.

"The vehicle is regulated for use in 44 States in the USA; the Segway is also approved in many other European countries, including most recently the Netherlands. In addition over 750 police departments and security agencies use the Segway PT worldwide to patrol city centres and critical infrastructures. And it is also wanted by the police! Indeed, Commander Hussein of the Transport Police in London has confirmed his desire to trial the machine in the city. What greater endorsement do we need?

"This is a chance to make in-roads into our transport carbon emissions. I see no reason why this electrically powered vehicle does not fit legal requirements to be used in cycle lanes. I think they're a great idea, and I'm hoping to persuade the Government of the benefits of using the Self Balancing Personal Transporters. I'm now taking the debate to the rest of the House and the public. With over 2,000 Segways in use in the UK already, it's silly to pretend they don't exist, or that they're not already in use. It's time to legalise the Self Balancing Personal Transporter, in the interests of carbon, convenience and common sense."