Lawmakers get firsthand look at high-tech scooter

HONOLULU, HAWAII - Lawmakers who have spent much of the 2002 session debating speed and the traffic camera enforcement program did a little speeding of their own around the Capitol rotunda and grounds Thursday, taking turns aboard the Segway high-tech scooter. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s amazing,&#39;&#39; said Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono shortly after stepping off the two-wheeled transporter. The city of Atlanta is among the other early purchasers of the scooter. <br> <br> Senate transportation chairman Cal Kawamoto was equally impressed after taking the Segway for a spin. <br> <br> ``Very good! I can see multi-uses for this thing,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> Segway officials have held demonstrations in state capitals across the nation as they try to convince public officials of the transport&#39;s benefits. <br> <br> The Segway Human Transporter code-named ``IT&#39;&#39; and ``Ginger&#39;&#39; prior to its unveiling in December is a two-wheeled mobile device that looks like a cross between a hand lawnmower and a ``Razor&#39;&#39; scooter. <br> <br> The battery-operated transport can travel up to 12 mph and uses gyroscopes to detect shifts in a rider&#39;s weight to move in that direction. <br> <br> Legislation working its way through both houses would amend the state traffic code to define Segways under the state traffic code and allow them on sidewalks and bike paths. <br> <br> Those opposed to the legislation include the Honolulu Police Department and the state Department of Transportation. Both want more time to study the Segway and other new mobile devices, such as motorized Razor scooters, before allowing them on public areas. <br> <br> Among those who test drove the Segway on Thursday was John Lovstedt, a highway safety manager for the state Transportation Department. <br> <br> ``There&#39;s bound to be some applications for them,&#39;&#39; he said. ``They&#39;re easy to use. It&#39;s got, I think, a great deal of capability. <br> <br> ``The department wants to look not only at this but at all of these unusual type vehicles that are coming out now. The objective is to find a way of classifying them.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Matt Dailida, a spokesman for Manchester, N.H.-based Segway LLC, said so far 11 states have passed laws regulating the transports. <br> <br> Segway officials say the devices could be a boon to Hawaii&#39;s hospitality industry by reducing auto traffic in crowded Waikiki or helping tourists travel across sprawling resorts. <br> <br> Kawamoto had his own suggestions. <br> <br> ``We, as politicians, we can use this to go from house to house,&#39;&#39; he said.