Ride a Segway in Finland, get charged with a crime
Everyone’s seen these Segway thingys, right? Well the Finnish police could charge you if you drive one on public property. Yay government…!
According to Sgt. Pertti Mäkeläinen of the National Traffic Police, the Segway can only be driven on private property.
“There is no going on public roads covered by the Road Traffic Act.”
And what happens if a Segway user defies this ban?
“Well, the response would be a caution or a charge. We have the means to intervene in this sort of thing”, says Mäkeläinen.
A safe, clean method of transportation, but Finland doesn’t allow it. However – Sweden, France, and the rest of the world don’t seem to have these ridiculous regulations…
In Paris, guided tours on Segways have been a big hit since 2003, and closer to home in Stockholm a similar arrangement has been up and rolling since June last year. The Swedish Road Traffic Act doesn’t know anything more about the Segway than do Finnish lawmakers, but thus far there has been no action from the Swedish police against users.
See why I love the Finnish government so much? I thought Finns weren’t riding these things because they were too expensive, or that no one wouldn’t to look like a complete dork in public – but the Finnish cops might chase after you if you have one!
I’m sure as the Finnish state finally does get involved – you’ll be required to wear a helmet, knee pads, elbow pads – you’ll need to have a special license to operate one, they’ll be tests (not available in English) and yearly check-ups at Katsastus. You’ll need to belong to a “Segway Club” and you’ll be required to ride it ‘x’ amount of hours each year. The Segways will be required to have turn signals, brake lights, reverse lights, untinted windows, a horn, and a bicycle bell. You’ll be required to take out an insurance policy in case you ram into another Segway, and alcoholocks will be installed on each unit. But fortunately for us, the government will impose such high taxes on these things – we’ll never have to worry about these requirements cause we won’t be able to afford them. 
Probably they couldn’t find a category for this kind of vehicle and so it is banned. Yeah, it sucks. When I was around 15, I constructed a bicycle with an electric motor, but couldn’t drive it in the public places, because the police thinks it’s damn ‘mopo’ and needs all kinds of type approvals. Kills all the spirit of innovation.
Segway is from the devil though. People wouldn’t get the little excersice they would otherwise get by walking the short line between A and B and in the future, streets would be filled with fatasses cruising around on two wheels.
Comment by Antti (the red neck one) — Thu, Aug 11th, 2005 @ 2:09 pm
Bloody fingers, it is ‘exercise’
Comment by Antti (the red neck one) — Thu, Aug 11th, 2005 @ 2:38 pm
I think same rules apply to this vehicle than applies to scooters and mopedies. It probably needs turning indicators, rear mirrors and brake light. And I think it has to be “tyyppihyv?¤ksytt?¤?¤” as all motor vehicles.
Not big deal if manufacturer really wants to sell them here.
Comment by Syltty — Thu, Aug 11th, 2005 @ 2:51 pm
A similar thing happen in the UK, but this time with those electric micro-scooters that goes at 8km/h (think a razor kick scooter with a tiny electric motor).
They were later found to be legally a moped, so a provisional licence, insurance, helmet, a number plate (together with L/D-plates), and you have to be 16 or over to ride one!
Comment by Philip — Thu, Aug 11th, 2005 @ 3:11 pm
Finland is the promised land of stupid and unfair vehicle- and transportation taxes – and laws. One of the most interesting things is that if you own an electric car, it’s categorized as a diesel vehicle and thus you pay the diesel tax. (At least it used to be like this. If things have changed I apologize.) Also the taxation of new, more energy-efficient cars is insane, people typically tend to buy rather older, used cars because of that. Finnish government also fights very aggressively against imported, used cars with insane registration fees.
I personally tend to agree that we should tax things that pollute, but also we should have some sense while doing it. Public transport is going backwards all the time while more unnecessary motorways are built, for example.
Comment by Juha — Thu, Aug 11th, 2005 @ 4:03 pm
Although generally I read your anti-government rumblings with a grain of salt, in this issue I totally agree with you. It isn’t necessarily the elected government that is to blame but the corrupt officials in ministries. For example our Ministry of Trade and Industry is really a bureau of stagnation and non-development that does anything it can to prove the world is flat and history has ended and that they planned it that way. It should definately be on the top 5 list of ‘who’s screwing Finland’ you recently requested. Maybe the list would be full of ministries and it would be hard to fit in all the other that really need to be in that list.
In the end, the Finnish “concensus elite” of govenment, main stream media, old industry and labour unions – the bunch with a static world view – can only delay an inevitable reality check of this country. You cannot by legislation stop people from inventing. (Although they do try hard.) The future of inner city traffic is in walking, cycling, Segwaying, public transport or driving ultra small cars or something like this:
http://www.jalopnik.com/cars/images/bombardier_embrio_1.jpg
They should start banning those big and bulky ancient horse and buggy replacements i.e. cars in inner cities instead.
Comment by Tom — Thu, Aug 11th, 2005 @ 4:04 pm
“One of the most interesting things is that if you own an electric car, it???s categorized as a diesel vehicle and thus you pay the diesel tax.”
I don’t know this but it wouldn’t surprise me a bit. It took decades to remove an idiotic punishment tax from biogas vehicles. If you converted a car to use biogas, you had to pay an extra tax that was 20 times the diesel cars annual tax. Can you imagine?!?! For what reason? Apparently the government owned oil company Neste (at that time) had insisted and what wouldn’t the governmental officials do to distort the competitive market position of their own businesses. Last year the tax was reluctantly removed (you still have to pay that 500 euro diesel tax once but not 20 times) but at the same time the emission limits for these vehicles were tightened to discourage anyone from experimenting or possibly even developin a usable product that could create exports, revenue, jobs and tax income for the government. This all happens at the same time when OTHER governments provide tax relief or even subsidies for people and businesses that try to develop these new technologies.
Comment by Tom — Thu, Aug 11th, 2005 @ 4:31 pm
Oh, and by the way, read an article about the tax “relief” the government recently provided to the biogas vehicles:
http://www.vihrealanka.fi/2003/45/biokaasu.html
The government official Heikki Kuitunen seems to be proud of his efforts to support renewable fuels and interpretation of the EU directives. What a clown! And here is a great part, his reasoning why you have to pay diesel fuel tax for using for example fuel you produced at your own back yard in your own bioreactor out of your own s**t thus lowering our national CO2 emissions and thus doing a great favor for everyone burneded by green house gas limits:
“Vero johtuu siit?¤, ett?¤ t?¤llaisilla autoilla ajetaan bensiini?¤ lievemmin verotetuilla tai verottomilla polttoaineilla”
“The tax is due to the fact that these vehicles run on fuels that are taxed less than gasoline or not taxed at all.”
What a catastrophe, there is something that is not taxed!
Comment by Tom — Thu, Aug 11th, 2005 @ 4:45 pm
There’s a reason why the idiots who pay 5,000 or more euros for these are collectively called ‘dorknation’. I walked the entire length of Kamppi metro station, up the escalator and chatted with a friend before the dorks blasting through the station at high speed, nearly running over a few people and spinning around just to be sure someone would look at them, made it to the exit. I’m glad it’s illegal and the next time I see them, I’ll be happy to call the cops.
Like any vehicle, in the hands of the stupid they’re a menace to society at large, especially when they have about as much consideration for pedestrians as the local bicyclists do…which is about less than none.
Comment by hfb — Thu, Aug 11th, 2005 @ 6:13 pm
Hi Phil
This is an excellent blog.
I never knew there were libertarians in Finland. I had always heard that all Finns basically go along with mild tax and spend socialism.
Keep up the good work.
I might point out to those who don’t like Segways: you don’t need to use them. But some people might need something between a motorize wheelchair and using their own legs to get around. People should be free to choose if it doesn’t hurt others.
Comment by Michael H. — Thu, Aug 11th, 2005 @ 11:14 pm
Ho-hum… once again the fickle finger of Finland Without Forethought points at the Finnish authorities as though they were a unique bunch of neanderthals, but the situation is not quite so black and white…
Check this out:
http://tyler.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2005/4/25/618820.html
Here’s a sample…
QUOTE
Segway driver in Niagara Falls was fined $8,000 last year. Latest updated Mon, 04 Oct 2004 13:35:57 EDT
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/10/04/segway_041004.html
San Francisco has banned Segways Nov. 25/04
21282. Notwithstanding Section 21966, for the purpose of assuring the safety of pedestrians, including seniors, persons with disabilities, and others using sidewalks, bike paths, pathways, trails, bike lanes, streets, roads, and highways, a city, county, or city and county may, by ordinance, regulate the time, place, and manner of the operation of electric personal assistive mobility devices as defined in Section 313, and their use as a pedestrian pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 467, including limiting, prohibiting entirely in the local jurisdiction, or prohibiting use in specified areas as determined to be appropriate by local entities.
New York has banned Segways (in Aug 2003 the NYPD banned the use of the Segway HT on public streets, sidewalks, and parks. Not sure what the situation is now)
Disney has banned Segways from their theme parks
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/02/10/segways_banned_from_happiest_place/
Most of Europe except France is off-limits to Segway. Apparently Segway didn’t seek approval in the European Union. Under current regulations, the gyroscope-driven scooter would have been classified as a moped even though it doesn’t meet basic technical requirements for such a vehicle. Among other things, the Segway doesn’t have lights or brakes, which are mandatory on a moped.
In some states, under new regulation, electric vehicles i.e. Segways will be allowed on the sidewalks, but only at maximum speed of 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) per hour, about the speed of an average pedestrian. However, going that slow on a Segway, which can travel at speeds up to 12.5 miles per hour (20kph), seems to defeat its purpose. As stated on the Segway site at (http://www.segway.com ) the idea of the Segway is to “travel quicker and accomplish more in less time.”
The scooter finds itself with more detractors than customers. Consumer and health advocates warn of possible injuries and rising obesity.
City governments worry about chaos on their sidewalks.
Workers at businesses and municipalities that have tested the transporters aren’t exactly sending in rave reviews, either. “You can’t keep warm if you’re not walking,” says a postal worker in Concord, N.H. “You end up like a frozen popsicle on a stick.”( Ref http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jan2003/sb20030116_1926.htm )
END QUOTE
Of course all this does tend to get in the way of bashing the dastardly Finnish authorities, which is a crying shame, as we all know. On the other hand, I’ve ridden an HT (great fun, but silly price-tag), and my sister-in-law has one. She’s been busted not once but twice in NYC for riding it on the street. Not the sidewalk.
So there’s nothing very special about the present situation here. Hope for (but don’t hold your breath) a change in the law, or a compromise by the manufacturers/importers. And it WAS totally f**king daft of them not to get type-approval.
If you read the Hesari piece, you will see a BBC link that contains the following, referring to the situation in the UK:
“The low sales can in part be put down to the legal nightmare the two-wheeled scooter finds itself in, as well as an average price tag of ?£2,800.
Segways are designed for use on the pavement, but the only motorised vehicles allowed alongside pedestrians in the UK are electric wheelchairs and mobility scooters.
It would require Parliament to change the law for the Segway to become legal. BAE has been lobbying hard for such a change, but as yet without success.”
It’s a worldwide conspiracy!
Comment by pogostick on wheels — Fri, Aug 12th, 2005 @ 12:31 am
Segways are dangerous, no doubt about it. Just look what happened to this highly educated test driver.
Comment by Peter Elk — Fri, Aug 12th, 2005 @ 4:24 am
Well, if Bush can’t ride a Segway, then who’s to say the rest of the American population can? j/k!
Here in Baltimore we used to have a problem (like the one in the UK mentioned a few posts up) where kids were riding their motor scooters and mopeds on sidewalks.
But then there was my brother’s friend who had a “go-ped” and would ride that on busy streets. A go-ped is a really small almost Segway-like scooter that goes about 10 mph. That’s genius.
Comment by Jenny — Fri, Aug 12th, 2005 @ 5:28 am
I hope too many Finnish people don’t get these motorized bikes or boards. In Florida it was sad to see so many ugly fat people sitting in different kind of means motorized transportation on wheels, for example some systems not being quite bikes but not wheelchairs either.
First I was wondering why some many disabled people had come to DisneyWorld and Universal Studios’ parks, but then I noticed many fat people hired them at the gat for not having to walk during the day. So they took a bus from the parking area, walked a few metres and then got a wheelchair after that.
Comment by Tero Lehto — Fri, Aug 12th, 2005 @ 9:09 am
Americans don’t use their brains much and now they don’t even use their feets
Custer would be ashamed of this sorry bunch of folks.
Comment by tim73 — Fri, Aug 12th, 2005 @ 9:40 pm
Americans don???t use their brains much and now they don???t even use their feets Custer would be ashamed of this sorry bunch of folks.
It’s just amazing how much bigotry there is in evil little Finland.
Comment by Finnpundit — Sun, Aug 14th, 2005 @ 6:11 am
Actually, as “pogostick on wheels” wrote, this and the DMCA case illustrate the inability of legistlation to be both fair and up-to-date at the same time. The most moronic thing about the nanny-state is that everything is forbidden unless regulated.
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