Segway ban in Orland Park official!

[Bill Keil]

Spoke to police chief Tim McCarthy today, asked for an appointment to talk about the scooter ban vs epamd, maybe a demo, got shot down. Even though the ordinance states in 9-12-3 that exemptions to the ban are "2. Motorized wheelchairs and any other motor driven cycle that is specifically subject to Article 11 of the Illinois Vehicle Code." which the Segway (epamd) is mentioned in article 11, he stated that unless I was handicapped they consider the Segway to be a scooter and BANNED! He said the person I should talk to about this is his traffic officer so I spoke to Sargeant Sowkup who had the same opinion, unless I was handicapped the Segway is a scooter and is BANNED! I am going to call the village hall on monday and see how I go about getting the ordinance changed to allow the Segway, any advice on what steps to take would be greatly appreciated! I plan on calling Segway too on monday and asking for some kind of help, I am no lawyer and I don't do well speaking to a large group so I am a reluctant champion of the segway cause here in Orland, but its either that or I have to sell my 1 month old I series that I love so much! I know there are 3 other people here in Orland that have Segways, if you are reading this please email me billkeil@aol.com so we can show up as a group if I can get the village board to take a look at the Segway.
Any help out there much appreciated!
Bill

[SegwayUtah]

Last time I checked, it's the job of the police to enforce laws, not to determine them. It may be that the police chief and traffic officer are interpreting the law incorrectly, since they may not understand the Segway HT and may think it's "a scooter."

I would get a lawyer to analyze the law -- if you are in the right, and you ever did get ticketed, a judge would put a quick stop to the misinterpretation of the law when they threw your ticket out of court.

Chris

[Poindexter]

It is the job of an Officer to determine what the law is to decide if a law is being violated and ticket/arrest the violator. Can't have one without the other.

Officers do misunderstand the laws at times. The quickest way establish the function of a law is to have it tested in court. The way to do that is to get a ticket.

If the Judge misunderstands the law then appeal the decision and take your case to a higher court.

There are two types of law:
Common - established by court case.
Code - established by legislation.

The two don't always match.

Good luck.

[Brooster]

Sorry to hear about your experience Bill, but I still think it's a case of misinformed police officers, as suggested above. I'd contact Matt Dailida at the LLC ... I gave you his e-mail address in your other thread. This is the sort of stuff he handles for a living, and he's good at it. The police were giving some of us the same treatment in Chicago until Matt and his team got involved.

As far as I'm aware, the only municipality in Illinois that's expressly banned the Seg is Skokie. And X-man cruised around Old Orchard Shopping Center in Skokie, and had no troubles at all ... go figure ...

:)

Brooster

[BruceWright]

Listen folks, LOOK at the regulations of Orland Park.


http://www.orland-park.il.us/government/html/govt_set.html

LOOK at them. Read them. If a judge says the Segway isn't, in fact, banned, and you get off on a ticket, the VERY NEXT MONDAY they will pass a law that bans it specifically by name.

This is the town that made "fancy bike riding" illegal. Both hands on the handlebars or it's a ticket in Orland Park.



Sorry Bill, you WILL NOT have good luck unless you can convince the Board of Trustees.

It's not easy. It really isn't. You have to go the "slow and steady" route. Make friends on the Board, meet with them on their off time. Find someone who is a big roller in the town and give them a Segway ride. Figure out who holds the influence and make a friend. The Segway makes friends easily.

Figure out who has a local charity that's big in town. The local hospital? Boys Clubs of America? Find out when their next big event it and have Segway rides as a fund-raiser. USE THAT to get yourself and the Segway involved in your community in a positive light.

Emphasize the environmental aspect and the quality of life aspect. Use the study in Celebration Florida, another master-planned community that has embraced the Segway and other electric transportation.

It will take time and effort. Good luck.

-Bruce Wright

Segway: Vehicle of Dream

[Brooster]

I understand your point about Orland writing less-than-sensible ordinances Bruce, but I wonder if we're not making a mountain out a molehill that the LLC could easily smooth over.

I'm certainly willing to help in any way I can during my free time. Don't e-mail me through the site, as my hard drive crashed last week and I'm on my wife's machine until I can get back up. Best way to reach me is to relay through X-man or Fathertime, who can get me by phone.

Brooster

[BruceWright]

Brooster!

:D

-Bruce Wright

Segway: Vehicle of Dream