New law allows Segway
on sidewalks, bike paths
The Segway, a high-tech, battery-powered scooter, could soon be zipping around on Hawaii sidewalks.
Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday signed into law a bill that allows and regulates the novel transport mode. The devices, which sell online for about $5,000, would be allowed on sidewalks and on bike paths if a sidewalk is obstructed. Operators would have to be at least 16 years old and the maximum speed would be set at 8 mph.
The law took effect immediately. Among the bill's supporters was Sen. Cal Kawamoto, D-Waipahu, who disagreed with opponents who said the Segway poses a safety hazard to pedestrians.
Kawamoto, one of the lawmakers who took a test ride around the Capitol atrium on a Segway earlier this year, called it "an extension of the wheelchair" that "gives us old guys the freedom to move about."
The Segway Human Transporter is an upright device with parallel wheels and controlled by body movements with the help of tiny computers and balance-controlling gyroscopes.
Thirty-three other states and Washington, D.C., also have approved the use of the Segway on public property.