seg use at smithson' institute??

[gracefuli]

Hi folks- i'm planning a weekend trip to dc area. Any idea if segways are permitted in smithson' and other museums??
thanks- i

Originally Posted by gracefuli

Hi folks- i'm planning a weekend trip to dc area. Any idea if segways are permitted in smithson' and other museums??
thanks- i

We were there just last summer and while I have no idea if they are, or are not, permitted my advice, as both a Segway user and a recent visitor to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum is....

(wait for it... wait for it....)

Leave it at home.

Admission to the museum itself is free; you must, however, go through "airportesque" security to enter. The place is wall-to-wall people, of every age and nationality. The set-up of the museum itself, with exhibits everywhere (including the walkways/aisles and ceilings) is conducive to sudden stops by everyone. It's not like there a nice, compact queue one files into, and it is not designed for compact queues. It's designed to wander and look.

We were on foot; we had a great time and got a ton of photos. But we did see that even people in wheelchairs were given absolutely no respect; at one entrance (to the Television/Film exhibit), there was an older, larger woman in an electric wheelchair who was, literally, pinned to the wall by people crowding to get around her to see Dorothy's slippers - the first exhibit in that area.

So we left Gilligan at home... but we also took a FANTASTIC tour of DC on Segways. Check out Capital Segway, 1350 I Street, NW, Washington DC, (202) 682-1980. As I said, we took the twilight tour... but we also went in August, and I'm unsure if there's a seasonal limitation to the tours.

[wwhopper]

And here is what the scoop is:

Segways are not permitted on the National Mall, or any of the Smithsonian Museums.

Though if they may or may not bother you on the Mall. But they will not let you into the museums with your machine. THough I do know some folks who have done it, but it was not an easy task, as the rent-a-cops are not well versed on disabled use or Segways.

You can go into the National Building Museum on a Segway - we did it for SegwayfesT DC in 2005. But only into the great hall, no galleries.

You may use your Segway on our subway system METRO - on the weekends and non-rush hours during the week, just use the elevators and not the esclators.

In general DC is very Segway friendly, Segways are everywhere here, thanks to a number of tour operations, many security personnel on Segways and an active commuter and civilian user group.

Find a good place to park, and just use your Segway to get around DC it is a great way to see the city. This weekend there are a number of neighborhood christmas house tours, and gliding to the houses is often a great way to see the neighborhoods.

Let me know if you need any help.

And our Downtown DC Segway dealer is Capital Segway - Steven is the Manager there and is always welcoming to out of town gliders.

[fredkap]

The Smithsonian Instution informed DRAFT that they absolutely permit Segway usage by individuals with qualifying disabilities. Please contact their Accessibility Program.

-Fred

[sitseg]

Wednesday, at the Segs4Vets ceremony, I asked the disability coordinator for all of the Smithsonian museums if there had been any policy changes at the Smithsonian's since I had spoken with her in a few years ago. In 2005, I informed her of the growing number of persons with disabilities using a Segway as their mobility device. Immediately their policy concerning Segways, when used by a person with a mobility disability, was enacted. They are and have been allowed since 2005. She assured me that there have been no changes in there policy.

[stedler]

Originally Posted by gracefuli

Hi folks- i'm planning a weekend trip to dc area. Any idea if segways are permitted in smithson' and other museums??
thanks- i

I was in D.C. in October 2006 and was allowed in The National Air and Space Museum, The Smithsonian, and all the Monuments and the Mall.... Now that being said, while I was in the National Air and Space museum I had a Museum Director Come up to me and ask me how I got my machine in because they are not allowed. I showed him my handicap placard from my car and a copy of the A.D.A. and he didn't bother me again, and I came back two more times.

It's been my experience that almost every place that doesn't allow Segs inside, will make an exception if you whip out the A.D.A. and it works even better if you include the D.O.T. regulation that says that the USDOT now accepts the Segway as a mobility device, and that Public transportation that is handicap accessable IE: Trains, Subways and Buses, must allow the Seg onboard. (if you have something that shows your disabled like a placard, and they have room on board for you and your machine.)

There is also a study recently published in the American Jounal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Vol. 88, Nov 2007, that says that the Segway is a viable mobility option for people with functional Disabilities. I keep a copy of this study in my segway bag with the above mentioned items.

No one can garantee that you will be allowed in with your Segway. We can only tell you what happened with us and what we did to be allowed inside. But as more and more of us are successful at getting in on our segs, hopefully they will amend their regs to allow the Segway in for disabled personel.

Good Luck,

Stedler

[hellphish]

Do you have the entire ADA printed out?

[jackives]

Originally Posted by hellphish

Do you have the entire ADA printed out?

Would that even be possible? The ADA contains over 7400 documents to print them all out would be rather difficult. Here's a decent link though:

http://www.jan.wvu.edu/links/adalinks.htm


Jack Ives

[stedler]

Originally Posted by hellphish

Do you have the entire ADA printed out?

I don't think the entire thing would fit on my segway.... (unless it was printed in that little tiny font they use for disclaimers.)

I printed out the brief over view from the website below..

www.jan.wvu.edu/links/adasummary.htm

and the entire document from here.

"Nondiscrimination on the Basis of
Disability by Public Accommodations
and in Commercial Facilities"
which I generaly leave in my car cause its close to 80 pages I think.
www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adastd94.pdf

I'm not sure that this is the part that we need to carry on our segways.... But my Doctor said it would be good to keep on hand just in case.
I've only needed something other than my handicap placard from my car, once. And then they only looked at the first couple of pages from the Brief overview from www.jan.wvu..edu website before the turned me loose.

Last time I visited my doctor he gave me a Emergency alert bracelet with the basics of my injurys on it and a little note card to keep in my wallet. He also gave me a copy of an article from the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Volume 88, November 2007, titled:
The Segway Personal Transporter as an Alternative Mobility Device for People With Disabilities: A Pilot Study. Which I now have a digital PDF copy of and can make available to anyone who wants it.

It's been my experience though that most places see the handicap sticker on your Segway and let you go. The biggest annoyance you may find is people riding around in other mobility devices like wheel chairs or power chairs stopping you and quizing you about the
Segway.(I've made a habit of keeping a handful of flyers and business cards from my local Segway dealer with me to hand out to people who have questions)

I've looked through the A.D.A. for the section that pertains to mobility devices, but to date have had no luck finding it, just in case someone were to ask for it. If anyone knows what it is I'd love to know...

Thanks

Stedler
PM me if you want a copy of the Article mentioned above.

[Desert_Seg]

Originally Posted by stedler

...
I've only needed something other than my handicap placard from my car, once. And then they only looked at the first couple of pages from the Brief overview from www.jan.wvu..edu website before the turned me loose. ...

And you actually think they would have known what they were looking at / for? My guess...pictures is the only thing that would have helped.

A great experiment would be to modify one section with two pictures.

- Picture one - Segway within a circle (no diagonal line)
- Picture two - a "thumbs up" symbol

Put a bunch of words before and after (they could be the Magna Carta for all these folks would read them).

Voila, an "official" document that says the Segway is OK.

Steven