Outrageous !

[Tarkus]

OK, I'm "Bombastic" !

I agree with Karls comments above , these are $$$ people and playing nice is not always the best bet.
The list of Corporate Officers shows they make good money to say the least.

Being intelligent is.

Karls letter was to the point and far more "soft" than many would write. Myself included.

I have spent the better part of the last year and a half writing "nice, oh please listen" letters and they without fail fall on deaf ears.

I have no problem with letting them know that I intend to put their policies to the test.

They are in violation of the ADA.

Be Big,
Alan

[Cube128]

The "safety" problem that so often comes up is not something that we will be able to easily change. WE know they're safe, but everyone else? It has been drilled into them by advocacy groups and the media that the Segway is inherantly dangerous, and one showing up will only cause the reaction "We'd better get that thing out of here before it hurts somebody!". This is the issue that needs to be dealt with, fast.

[Sharkie]

I don't think you've got the thinking right there Cube128. The "safety issue" thing is a standard catch all that is being used lately to disallow the use of MANY things, not just Segways. It's a standard canned answer that is used when no logical reason can be found. It doesn't mean that they don't think the Segway is unsafe, just that they can't come up with a REAL reason to not allow it.

Jim

[Desert_Seg]

Jim,

Your partially right. The safety card is played due to the risk of liability and being able to hid around potential liability is a good option for any business.

Yes, they are likely in violation of ADA regulations (I say likely because there will be exceptions to every blanket statement) but using the safety of many sure does help "ease their pain".

Steven

[ArtL]

Originally Posted by Desert_Seg

Jim,

Your partially right. The safety card is played due to the risk of liability and being able to hid around potential liability is a good option for any business.

Yes, they are likely in violation of ADA regulations (I say likely because there will be exceptions to every blanket statement) but using the safety of many sure does help "ease their pain".

Steven

Without an authoritative study to back up those claims, all they have are the opinions of one or two lawyers who work for them. However, contrary to popular belief among lawyers, lawyers are not all knowing, and corporate officers should take their advice on matters outside the bounds of the law and legal procedure with no more weight than that of any other employee. </Lawyer Rant>

My next brilliant observation is that the "safety" buzzword is almost as silver-bullet like as the equally bogus "Security" buzzword. We are living is sad times when the old women of the Safety community and the irrational paranoids of the Security community have such a say in how their betters live. Both groups are being granted authority far in excess of their abilities.

[KSagal]

Wow! Some of my best friends are safety and security folks...LOL


Actually, I still believe that facts have a value over speculation, but only when the speaker is put on the spot.

Ask for the study or document where the segway is anayzed and deemed to be dangerous, and when they cannot find one, show them one where it is documented to be otherwize, by the US or other government. There are a few of them out there, and you can find access to them on segway's website...

[ArtL]

Originally Posted by KSagal

Wow! Some of my best friends are safety and security folks...LOL

Yeah, me too... they're still old women and paranoids, respectively, though.

Actually, I still believe that facts have a value over speculation, but only when the speaker is put on the spot.

Ask for the study or document where the segway is anayzed and deemed to be dangerous, and when they cannot find one, show them one where it is documented to be otherwize, by the US or other government. There are a few of them out there, and you can find access to them on segway's website...

Exactly. Of course, a good executive would have already asked his lawyer to show the references on how he came up with those conclusions that are outside his domain of expertise. The lawyer won't be the one in the hot seat for the company following his bad advice when a Deputy US Attorney comes around to ask about thier ADA violations.

[Tarkus]

If I read the original post correctly management has said "You can use your Segway if it has a seat".

So with that I don't see how they can come back with the safety issue.
A Segways a Segway, seat or not so now where is their position?

That's why I linked this one here, so a wider audience could help a simple minded fool such as myself in understanding this.....

Be Big,
Alan

[KSagal]

Originally Posted by Tarkus

If I read the original post correctly management has said "You can use your Segway if it has a seat".

So with that I don't see how they can come back with the safety issue.
A Segways a Segway, seat or not so now where is their position?

That's why I linked this one here, so a wider audience could help a simple minded fool such as myself in understanding this.....

Be Big,
Alan

Actually, I think there are two different issues here... This thread was started about one event, and then a second one was introduced. At least that is how I read it...

On the seat issue, I find that laughable. They will let you glide on a seg with an aftermarket seat on it, even though the seg without one, which has been tested by the Consumer Product Safety Council, is not allowed...

That would put them in the manufacturing business. If they will only approve a device that has been modified, but not one that has been safety tested, how can that possibly give them a better legal standing?

And on the second case, where a local manager said she contacted her legal department and they decided to ban segways our of safety considerations to their patrons, they are the ones who need to be put on the spot to show a loss of safety.

One case will only approve the machine if it is used as it was not intended, and the other has dis-approved it without knowing how it tested in safety tests, yet decided out of the ether that it poses a risk.

[Desert_Seg]

Sorry Karl, the CPSC has nothing to do with the Segway (with or without the seat) and has never tested it. In fact, the Segway is an unregulated product and, as such, there are only voluntary guidelines to follow.

Steven