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Old 09-17-2013, 12:23 PM   #45
Lily Kerns
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Lily Kerns will become famous soon enoughLily Kerns will become famous soon enough
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: SW Missouri, near Springfield
Posts: 875
5 yr Member HT/PT Owner
Default Things have indeed changed...

Quote:
Originally Posted by KSagal View Post
You do bring up a good point. I have railed against these videos as presenting the segway in a negative light because of the absence of a positive light.

Considering your numbers, 3 mil hours of use will have to be seen by someone.

Also, in the past few years, I regularly get approached by neighbors and acquaintances who say they tried a segway on vacation here or there. That was something that just did not happen 6 or 8 years ago.

So, I for one, will lighten up a little on my statements of how this is a site that should encourage positive segway use, and not a good place to make fun of segways, the way that these videos do.
This is one point where I think you are both right and it depends on the viewer. If you know nothing about a Segway, these videos are a definite negative influence. Just read some of the comments posted after web news stories! Ignorance and misinformation are rampant!

On the other hand things have changed. Some of you will recall that I have been battling Missouri's Conservation Department for more than four and a half years. Just this summer they were still requiring disabled Seg users to get a permit (a separate permit, every year for every site in the state) AND requiring that you submit a doctor's prescription along with your application. I also discovered ( via a Sunshine law request and hidden at the very end of the safety rules where you can't see it until your permit is approved) that they have redefined EPAMDs to include motorized scooters and Hoverrounds...all of which officially therefore require permits! GRRR...

Well, Sunday, I was at the area Nature Center and was stopped by a uniformed volunteer official. He said that Segways are not allowed but that there are exceptions... I assured him that I am disabled and that I ride their trails frequently. He said that he had never seen me before (true), thanked me for my patience--- and that was it ! He didn't ask to see proof of disability, a permit was never mentioned. In short he did exactly what the ADA requires.

I'd say the MDC has a problem!
1. They have changed their policy and are refusing to respond to my requests and complaints.
2. They have an intelligent, informed... and highly independent volunteer.
3. They have a misinformed, poorly trained volunteer!

Who knows! But things have definitely changed!
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