How the Segway has changed your life

[IcanGlide]

I am working on an article for publication and I need to know how the Segway has enhanced your life. I intend to conclude the article by focusing on Disney's policy of not allowing Segway use by the handicapped, but I am approaching it from the viewpoint of "This was my life before the Segway, and this is my life now" point of view, and contrasting what Disney has used for an excuse with the law.

With your permissions, I will only use first names, and if no name is given, I will generalize the story.

Thanks for your help.

Frank

[wwhopper]

Or any one of the folks from DRAFT and you will find out more than you ever wanted to know.

I spoke to one of the recent Segs4Vets guys who had just gotten a Segway, and he told me how he goes places now, and people who had not seen him in a long time were amazed to see him out and about.

The three DRAFT guys in Washington DC last week, gliding the underground tunnels of the Capitol, no way they would have been able to do this on foot. Even those of us who followed them on foot had a hard time.

And for those of us who are abled bodied, having a quick and easy way to get around, without driving or parking a car, is a good angle too.

[IcanGlide]

Oh yes, I have been reading on that site too. I will be posting a message there soon. I have scanned the Seg Forum and have found some very good stories, but I feel compelled to ask permission to use their stories, and I thought it would be good to have these stories in one place.

Thanks for the insight,

Frank

[KSagal]

First off, although my stories and comments are far less earth shattering than most, you are welcome to use any and all the bits that I post...

Secondly, I am sure that you will receive many touching and wonderful stories from people who have had massive and lifechanging events and opportunities related to the segway. I will offer something much different...

I happen to be a pretty able bodied person at the moment. I have had some rather extensive reconstructions to my knees relating back to an army injury 27 years ago. Legally I am a disabled veteran, but functionally, I have 20 good days to one bad one. Still, mornings are tough...

I am still fairly active with my bikes, walking, and playing with the kids and the dog, and working on many levels, and as an electromechanical engineer who often fixes mechanical devices, I work in all sorts of positions...

Enough of all that... The segway has opened up in my life a very different focus than I had previously... I have met many many fine people thru my association with segways and SEG America, I spend more time on forums and the computer than ever before in my life...

I am active in town politics, and the segway makes me an even more visible person than before, I have been on the front page of the hometown paper 3 times with a segway, and only twice with a bicycle, all in the last 10 years.

I am on the zoning board, and Master plan committee in town. Segways, and more specifically, alternate forms of transportation to the car, are actively featured at all the public hearings that I attend or officiate at, influenced by my segway...

Previous to owning a segway, I was on the periphery of working at state level on trying to get my state to pass some legislation regarding N.E.V.s, but Massachusetts stays mired in the past. (Currently no NEV nor Segway legislation)

For me, the Segway has been a great green machine, and a natural extension of my normally outgoing nature, and a fun place to be.

I believe that the fact that there are so many able bodied people with segways, and that there are so many mobility challenged people with segways is very important... There are very few devices of any sort that are universally designed well enough that there is little difference.

I also believe that the universal design is one of the spectacular charms... If the segway was just a better wheelchair, then it would be the ibot 2. It is not. It is the "equalizer". When I am segging with 6 segs, I am with 6 segs... When I am not gliding, and with 6 friends, one has bad knees, one has a heart condition, one has some other mobility imparement, and three are just walking along enjoying the company... A different group afoot, a similar group aplatform...

I hope this is of a nature that you can use...

[nolegs]

I'm a double amputee who recieved a modified segway as a gift. The friend who gave me this gift told me about this chat room. He thought my story would be a good one. My story is long, and this is my first chat room ever, and quite frankly when it comes to computers, I'm an idiot! Any help anyone could give me as to start a thread would be helpfull.

[singman]

I have osteo arthritis in both my knees and hips. I used to use a 4 wheel scooter to get around, but the average store that says it is handicapped friendly is anything but.

If management would only place themselves in a wheelchair and try to navigate their own stores they would have an eye opening experience. No handicap accessible electric doors, narrow aisles, racks making movement difficult, and vision being obstructed, to name just a few of the challenges to movement. Clothes racks are so close together that in a wheel chair or a scooter your almost guaranteed to hook something and knock it to the floor.

With the Segway I can easily open any door that isn't power assisted, turn on a dime if the aisle is blocked (try that in a scooter or a wheel chair), and easily be seen so people do not just walk right in front of you and then suddenly stop. Navigating the narrowest of spaces is now a game rather than a challenge.

I've taken mine to our state fair where there were tons of people and had no problem, and went Xmas shopping the day after Thanksgiving and had no bad experiences.

One positive aspect is not having to be on a direct line of sight with someones rear end. Most of them aren't that good of looking and worth watching!!

Another positive aspect is that it forced me to get to the therapy pool to strengthen my knees and ankles. When I first got my Segway 20 minutes was aboult all that I could take. Now it's well over an hour before I even think about stopping to rest for a few minutes. I still have my two scooters but they are for sale now.

Every where I go people will stop me and ask about the Segway and how it works. Most people have only seen a Segway in a picture, so unofficially I'm a rolling Segway Ambassador.

[Tarkus]

Originally Posted by nolegs

I'm a double amputee who recieved a modified segway as a gift. The friend who gave me this gift told me about this chat room. He thought my story would be a good one. My story is long, and this is my first chat room ever, and quite frankly when it comes to computers, I'm an idiot! Any help anyone could give me as to start a thread would be helpfull.

Welcome, you did fine with your last post. Just do the same and type away !

One of our founders at www.DRAFT.org is also a double amp.

We don't mind a long story so let it rip.

Be Big,
Alan

[Timezkware Tim]

Originally Posted by nolegs

I'm a double amputee who recieved a modified segway as a gift. The friend who gave me this gift told me about this chat room. He thought my story would be a good one. My story is long, and this is my first chat room ever, and quite frankly when it comes to computers, I'm an idiot! Any help anyone could give me as to start a thread would be helpfull.

Welcome nolegs,

You can click on the Search choice in the blue menu bar above for lots of info on anything Segway. Put in any keyword and a list of the discussions with those names in the topic title will come up. Read. Post. Enjoy.

Tim

[nolegs]

Originally Posted by IcanGlide

I am working on an article for publication and I need to know how the Segway has enhanced your life. I intend to conclude the article by focusing on Disney's policy of not allowing Segway use by the handicapped, but I am approaching it from the viewpoint of "This was my life before the Segway, and this is my life now" point of view, and contrasting what Disney has used for an excuse with the law.

With your permissions, I will only use first names, and if no name is given, I will generalize the story.

Thanks for your help.

Frank

I lost my legs about five years ago, and since my disability is so obvious, I haven't had a problem going anywhere w/it. I'm from wisconsin, and I had no problem getting into the State Fair, or a music festival called summerfest. I went to the State Fair with a friend, Jere, who has no disability. I told the guy he was w/me and I needed his help. They then let him glide in w/me. I wish I would have read this earlier, as I just got back from LA, and I'm curious if they would have declined my entry into Disney. All I know is that since I've gotten my segway I'm back to doing what I always loved to do. I joke that I like the segway more then my old legs. Now I can go 6 blocks without breathing hard

[Timezkware Tim]

How has the Segway changed my life?

After sustaining an injury 6 years ago, I thought team sports were over for me. Now that I've discovered Segway Polo, I can play again! Also, I save a ton of cash using a Segway for every trip I used to drive a car when I didn't have passengers, large cargo, or many miles to travel. I look forward to travelling now. Instead of sitting in traffic breathing car fumes, I'm on the boardwalk and the bikepath with the breeze in my face. I no longer dread the "rush hour" bumper to bumper scene. I can get up and go whenever I want. Also, headlines about gas prices no longer phase me now that I have an alternative.

Tim