At 09:32 PM 12/28/02 -0600, Dan Minette wrote:
----- Original Message ----- From: "Trent Shipley" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Opinion: > > Given: > It is right and proper that the disabled be able to use powered personal > mobility devices in pedestrian traffic. > > Resolved: > Therefore, in the interest of equity, anyone should be able to use powered > personal mobility devices wherever they are allowed.Most of the people that I know who are disabled, including my wife, could not use the Segway for more than a few minutes at a time. For my wife, using a Segway for 5 minutes would be as hard or harder than walking 5 minutes. A motorized wheelchair is much better for a handicapped person.
I don't know what Dan's wife's specific problem is (and am not asking unless he wants to tell us), but for several years I had trouble with my kneesı, and at times I wore some sort of support on them (sometimes like those neoprene sleeves you sometimes see basketball players wearing) and sometimes I used a cane or walking stick when walking. While walking was uncomfortable, for me at least it was more uncomfortable to stand in one position for any length of time than to keep moving².
Anyway, my point is that it looks like the person riding the Segway would be essentially standing still on the platform, which would probably make it uncomfortable for someone like me (when my knees were giving me trouble) to use it in lieu of walking. And from talking to other people with various disabilities, I think a significant number would agree with me on that.
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ıDetails, with big, tongue-twisting doctor-type words, available upon request. I thought it better not to burden this post with them.
²I got to the point that when I was going somewhere where I could expect to have to stand in line to along take one of those light folding stools like some people use when camping. Someone once gave me one of those canes which has a little seat which can be folded out but (1) it is not very steady when used as a stool, (2) the seat is awfully small (which may contribute to (1)), (3) it is awfully heavy, and (4) it has an annoying tendency to try to unfold into a stool while being used as a cane. OTOH, the folding stool was the right size when folded to attach to the backpack I often used, so it wasn't too inconvenient to take along.
--Ronn! :)
I always knew that I would see the first man on the Moon.
I never dreamed that I would see the last.
--Dr. Jerry Pournelle
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