jwalker Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 Hey Guys In Switzerland we are currently conducting a research project to investigate various aspects of trendy electric vehicles, such as electric unicycles (but also segways, hoverboards etc.). The goal is to get an insight on the typical usage pattern and the safety of these vehicles. There is an anonymous survey that takes no more than 5 minutes to fill out: Link: goo.gl/d4Xbi1 Your help would be appreciated very much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 @jwalker, I have completed your survey and it very much deserves to be more visible in its own topic, so I have moved your post to its own topic under "General Discussion". we would all be very grateful if you report back on your findings when it is completed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwalker Posted August 31, 2017 Author Share Posted August 31, 2017 @Keith Thank you very much !! Since these vehicles are not (yet) allowed in public spaces in Switzerland (and I think also in other countries, how's the situation in the UK?), the motivation behind the research project is to investigate wheter or not they pose a thread to pedestrians or road users. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 1 hour ago, jwalker said: @Keith Thank you very much !! Since these vehicles are not (yet) allowed in public spaces in Switzerland (and I think also in other countries, how's the situation in the UK?), the motivation behind the research project is to investigate wheter or not they pose a thread to pedestrians or road users. Actually I addressed that in your survey. The UK law says a legal electric vehicle "must be capable of being powered by peddles" and in fact last year was altered to say the peddles must be used i.e. Even an electric bike cannot use a twist throttle, it must be peddle assist - which, at a stroke banned a whole group of people with disabilities from using anything other than slow mobility scooters. Anything not powered by peddles is a motor vehicle and must be licences, taxed and insured - but this is not possible making most Personal Electric Transport (PET) "private ground only". However, yes, they may pose a threat to pedestrians or other road users, but that is only a small fraction of the picture. You also need to ask, "If you were unable to use your personal electric vehicle what would you do instead?" Unless the answer is: "I stayed at home and didn't make the journeys" then they used something else, like a car which, surely is a MUCH bigger threat and polluter. In my case, an Electric Unicycle is very easily transported on public transport and used for last mile, so the only alternative is a car for the whole journey as if I cannot do the last mile the public transport isn't worth using. I have also found that the instinctive reaction to back away from danger means my braking reaction time is improved as that IS braking on an EUC. When I, a 61 year old, came around a blind bend to find a 20 year old on a bike coming the other way, both of us at about the same speed I stopped before I hit him, he shot past me and took another entire bike length to stop. Had it been two bikes they would have had a significant accident. In practice, in the UK, something like 70% of bikes break the law in towns by riding on the footway, because the roads are too dangerous. It is the 1865 Act about riding on footways that is usually cited as the one that would be used against PET's, as a result most police don't bother or don't know the act. However there was a high profile case a few years ago where a police officer forced a father to make his 3 year old son ride his trike back from nursery in the road. Hopefully most riders are more responsible than the riding you see here from around 2 minutes onwards: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 Depressingly and honestly, speaking from my personal experience, I wouldn't mind EUC's intended for public sidewalks being caped at around 15 of so mph. This is because I do not often have the self-control to go particularly slow and need someone to do it for me. I vowed I would ride 100 km on my KS16S before disabling the speed controls but within the first twenty minutes of getting my wheel I download the unlock code. I do not ride my MSuper at all these days because I average 19 mph on it. This is very bad. Speed kills, and faster speeds kill faster. All my EUC's brake so hard they buckle my knees, yet braking from 20 mph takes a lot of space even though it feels like it comes to a stop in under a second (maybe much less?). I would like to see EUC's common around sidewalks in cities, with speeds significantly but not dangerously higher than pedestrians, but no faster than bicycles. For such city commuting, it'd almost seem there's two classes of EUC's; sidewalk surfers and bigger ones directly comparable to bicycles, and perhaps legally they could be treated entirely differently. After completing the survey, I realize the great number of collisions with cars I've both been in and what I've witnessed. All of them are of the "right turn on red" where the car is looking left, glides into the crosswalk without stopping, and runs over me in the crosswalk, regardless if I'm on the EUC or walking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambino Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 @jwalker done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WARPed1701D Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 Done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radial Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 Done as well, and sure, I'll participate in your handling test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scatcat Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 3 hours ago, LanghamP said: Depressingly and honestly, speaking from my personal experience, I wouldn't mind EUC's intended for public sidewalks being caped at around 15 of so mph. This is because I do not often have the self-control to go particularly slow and need someone to do it for me. I vowed I would ride 100 km on my KS16S before disabling the speed controls but within the first twenty minutes of getting my wheel I download the unlock code. I do not ride my MSuper at all these days because I average 19 mph on it. This is very bad. Speed kills, and faster speeds kill faster. All my EUC's brake so hard they buckle my knees, yet braking from 20 mph takes a lot of space even though it feels like it comes to a stop in under a second (maybe much less?). I would like to see EUC's common around sidewalks in cities, with speeds significantly but not dangerously higher than pedestrians, but no faster than bicycles. For such city commuting, it'd almost seem there's two classes of EUC's; sidewalk surfers and bigger ones directly comparable to bicycles, and perhaps legally they could be treated entirely differently. After completing the survey, I realize the great number of collisions with cars I've both been in and what I've witnessed. All of them are of the "right turn on red" where the car is looking left, glides into the crosswalk without stopping, and runs over me in the crosswalk, regardless if I'm on the EUC or walking. Damn it @LanghamP, show some discipline! No I get it, the speed is mesmerizing. But going on the side-walk, my max-speed is 5mph, often slower. I often surprise pedestrians that aren't aware they have a EUC behind them, since I go at the same speed they're walking. And that is on my GT16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jojo33 Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 @jwalker Done... At the end of your study, will you come back and tell us the result please?thank you (oh, I forgot to mention a danger to my health using my Segway: my weight increased by 12kg) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptSalami Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 Done. Great job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 Did it anyways, but not happy with the survey tbh. They call it "Trendfahrzeuge" (trend vehicles). No mention of any offroad stuff at all. Maximum usage distance is 15 km, not 50. Some other stuff left out (for example, hardware failure is not a possible crash reason, or overleaning - for something that includes self-balancing vehicles!! - not exactly unimportant possibilities here). Finally some spelling errors. And even the injury and accident questions are superficial. They ask what protective gear is used, but not what should be used, what is important, etc. Not getting the impression these people "get" EUCs and think of them other than curious toys. "How did people hurt themselves and others when playing with these strange new toys" is the vibe I'm getting. No clues of any serious usage or possibilities? No question how they could be made safer? Only how people did something bad with them? And from studies like these, political decisions are then made (or justified)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 12 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said: Did it anyways, but not happy with the survey tbh. They call it "Trendfahrzeuge" (trend vehicles). No mention of any offroad stuff at all. Maximum usage distance is 15 km, not 50. Some other stuff left out (for example, hardware failure is not a possible crash reason, or overleaning - for something that includes self-balancing vehicles!! - not exactly unimportant possibilities here). Finally some spelling errors. Not getting the impression these people "get" EUCs and think of them other than curious toys. "How did people hurt themselves and others when using these strange new toys" is the vibe I'm getting. No clues of any serious usage or possibilities? No question how they could be made safer? Only how people did something bad with them? And from studies like these, political decisions are then made (or justified)... You're right. Wheels at first glance appear to be toys but they are more accurately classified as motorized vehicles. With no exceptions people who see this and talk to it regard it as a toy, and are very surprised to 1. hear the range is 20-60 miles (15km? <snicker>) and, 2. the cost easily exceeding 1k. To be very clear, unless you're @Marty Backe these wheels aren't toys but viable good weather transportation in urban areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Backe Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 18 minutes ago, LanghamP said: You're right. Wheels at first glance appear to be toys but they are more accurately classified as motorized vehicles. With no exceptions people who see this and talk to it regard it as a toy, and are very surprised to 1. hear the range is 20-60 miles (15km? <snicker>) and, 2. the cost easily exceeding 1k. To be very clear, unless you're @Marty Backe these wheels aren't toys but viable good weather transportation in urban areas. When I took my very first wheel (ACM) out of the box I was immediately struct with the 'seriousness' of the wheel. It was heavy, powerful, and solid. Felt very much like a manly machine He who dies with the most "wheels" wins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 4 minutes ago, Marty Backe said: He who dies with the most "wheels" wins You may want to switch brand then, 'cause as a Gotway fanboy, you might die early Just kidding, loving my ACM (until if or when something breaks, then it's the usual frustration/distrust for a while until I love it again). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Backe Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 6 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said: You may want to switch brand then, 'cause as a Gotway fanboy, you might die early Just kidding, loving my ACM (until if or when something breaks, then it's the usual frustration for a while until I love it again). I always keep at least one KingSong to better my odds of surviving Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caelus Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 Would be also interesting to see, how many use it in combination with public transport (and therefore don't use the car) and how much time they save per month of commuting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HermanTheGerman Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 Done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scatcat Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 I save around $65 a month on public transport, and won't buy a car unless it's a Tesla. (Now you know what to give me for my next birthday ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radial Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 2 hours ago, Scatcat said: I save around $65 a month on public transport, and won't buy a car unless it's a Tesla. (Now you know what to give me for my next birthday ) Ha, I reserved a Tesla model 3 last year. Not sure when they'll get to me in the queue, but I'm looking forward to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mono Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 6 hours ago, Scatcat said: Damn it @LanghamP, show some discipline! No I get it, the speed is mesmerizing. But going on the side-walk, my max-speed is 5mph, often slower. I often surprise pedestrians that aren't aware they have a EUC behind them, since I go at the same speed they're walking. And that is on my GT16 Same here, not on a GT16 though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novazeus Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 7 hours ago, Marty Backe said: When I took my very first wheel (ACM) out of the box I was immediately struct with the 'seriousness' of the wheel. It was heavy, powerful, and solid. Felt very much like a manly machine He who dies with the most "wheels" wins my 1st impressions too. very dense. could easily hurt you or others. and i see ninebot is selling 9bot1s1 which i think is a locked speed to 12.5 mph s2 for $499 delivered, no tax, is a lot of tech for very little. paid $700 for an s2. i think $200 more for 2.5 mph is no bargain. i see they have established a notification list for when the z hits the us. with padding or without padding, sidewalk, multiuse path, whatever, if ur euc hits anybody in the usa, if u have a pot to piss in, u will get sued, if you scar the individual, omg, ur toast. watching that guy weave thru pedestrians is amazing. i walk faster than anybody else, and i can't weave thru these pedestrian jerks that think they should block the way by walking arm in arm. usually the fattest people are the worst at this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Lutge Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 19 hours ago, jwalker said: Hey Guys In Switzerland we are currently conducting a research project to investigate various aspects of trendy electric vehicles, such as electric unicycles (but also segways, hoverboards etc.). The goal is to get an insight on the typical usage pattern and the safety of these vehicles. There is an anonymous survey that takes no more than 5 minutes to fill out: Link: goo.gl/d4Xbi1 Your help would be appreciated very much! Is the use of the word "trendy" a translation issue or was that the term you intended? If so it seems to imply a bias that these aren't vehicles to be taken seriously. Maybe that's just me though? I'm not saying some of these vehicles aren't trendy just questioning it's use in the survey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caelus Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 This kind of research is usually funded by car industry. So it is not surprising their main goal is to keep the usage of cars high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ir_fuel Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 On 31/08/2017 at 3:49 PM, LanghamP said: Depressingly and honestly, speaking from my personal experience, I wouldn't mind EUC's intended for public sidewalks being caped at around 15 of so mph. I think EUC's don't belong on sidewalks. They go as least as fast as a bicycle, so they should be follow the same rules as bicycles and use the same part of the road. 15mph is already very fast when there are pedestrians you need to avoid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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