dmethvin Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Hope this will be useful to someone. I live in Maryland and was looking at taking my Firewheel into Washington DC to see the sights. So I decided to do a bunch of research to see what the rules are. I know @^tom^ mentioned he was going to be in this area, it might interest him too.Washington DC is one of the few US jurisdictions I know of that has a definition that definitely includes single-wheeled electric unicycles. Their "Personal Mobility Device" or PMD is similar to the EPAMD term used by most other US areas, except that it includes one-wheeled devices. If you want, you can print out this PDF summary of the DC definition and carry it with you in case someone asks.The key rule to know is that PMDs are allowed to use either sidewalks or bike lanes, except in the DC Central Business District (CBD) where they are only allowed to use bike lanes or the street. If you look at this map of the CBD you will find that it includes most of the best sightseeing areas. But if you look closer, you'll see that several of the areas inside the CBD (in green) are actually the jurisdiction of the National Parks Service, and they allow PMD use. In fact, several companies run Segway tours that go through this area. So if you're in doubt, it's probably safe to do whatever the Segway guys are doing. You cannot, for example, ride your wheel inside the memorials themselves, just around the outsides.I found a really nice bike lane map that might help you figure out the best way to get around in this area, and here is another official map. The red paths in particular are likely to be good since there shouldn't be a lot of fast commuter cyclists in this area. Just watch out for inexperienced Segway drivers, they only get about 10 minutes of practice before they are let loose. I am planning to go into DC soon and taking the Metro subway as well, so I will report back on my trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Vu Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 The PDF you link does not explicitly say that PMDs include one-wheeled vehicles. It just says two non-tandem wheels unless I am missing something. The Texas law is very similar. Texas Law on EPAMD Sec. 551.201. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "electric personal assistive mobility device" means a two non-tandem wheeled device designed for transporting one person that is:(1) self-balancing; and(2) propelled by an electric propulsion system with an average power of 750 watts or one horsepower. It would be better if these laws included one-wheel devices like what was recently passed in Seattle, but really both of these laws aren't stopping me from riding on the sidewalks and bike lanes anyways. EUCs are still so new and foreign to America that any police encounter I've run into within Houston, Austin, and San Antonio has always been met with confusion, ignoring me, or happy curiosity. But riding around DC is something I want to do the next time I go up there. It would be nice to have other peeps to ride with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmethvin Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 The PDF you link does not explicitly say that PMDs include one-wheeled vehicles. It just says two non-tandem wheels unless I am missing something.Maybe I am parsing it favorably but the doc says:Personal Mobility Device (“PMD”) means a motorized propulsion device designed to transport one person or a self-balancing, two non-tandem wheeled device, designed to transport only one person with an electric propulsion system. So I took the "a motorized propulsion device designed to transport one person " as including electric unicycles. The second part of the sentence says two wheels but I think the first part stands by itself and would include one-wheeled devices. EDIT: Also, love your youtube videos @Michael Vu ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
^tom^ Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 Even if I am looking for rent it arround DC, I will use it most the time in the OBX area.Still do not know what I will drive there......but I have an idea and will post in the sale section Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaleOsaurusRex Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 maybe I'm missing something but what exactly is a two non-tandem wheeled vehicle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Tandem refers to one behind the other as in a bicycle so it is referring to Segways and two wheeled eucs etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
^tom^ Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 maybe I'm missing something but what exactly is a two non-tandem wheeled vehicle?In Switzerland this would be a vehicle with two wheels behind each other BUT not for two person with seperate pedal.(so a child seat would not be the second person) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmethvin Posted August 13, 2015 Author Share Posted August 13, 2015 Following up on this, as I finally made the trip into DC to see the sights last week. Here's the map of where I went, using Google Tracks. The red segments are where I was going faster than 15kph (about 9mph), it was pretty hard to get up any speed due to all the pedestrians unless I was in the bike lanes.I got off the Metro at Metro Center stop and took the bike lanes on G Street over to the White House. Nobody gave me any trouble while riding. One of the Secret Service agents there was really friendly and asked a bunch of questions about how it worked. Another guy there stopped me, he's a local and heard of Airwheel and Solowheel, wanted to know what ones were good. I passed several Segway tours, they were really interested in the wheel as well. Lots of smiles and questions from tourists. After about 90 minutes I stopped at a Starbucks to grab a drink, make a bathroom break, and top up the battery for about 15 minutes. Near the end I took a run down Constitution Avenue on the bike lanes that are in the center of the street. Traffic was heavy enough that there was no problem keeping up with the bikes and we were stopping for traffic lights every block anyway. Finished with a run around the Capitol and over to Union Station to get back on the Metro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirGeraint Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 I sure would have liked having an EU when I visited D.C. Of course, the people I was with wouldn't have had them. It would have especially been nice at the Arlington National Cemetery. But I doubt they are allowed there. Do you know if they are or not? The paths are like streets and cars do drive on them. In that regard I don't think an EU would be too bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GQS Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 I went to DC earlier this year with my Gotway 14. DC is such a perfect spot for riding an EUc. It's flat a majority of the streets are either numbered or letter is corresponding order. The quadrants are measured as NE SE NW SW with the capital as the center. The police are really cool cats. Its pretty similar to riding your EUc in London. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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