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Safety on Segways
Shortly after CoGo wrote about a new Web site for finding Segway tours around the world, reader Jean Hochron wrote to say that such tours are " potentially dangerous, both to life and limb as well as to your pocketbook."
On a City Segway Tours ride around downtown Washington this summer, Hochron said, she and two of her three friends fell and sustained minor but painful injuries . Moreover, Hochron was charged $500 because her Segway handlebar was cracked from her spill.
"I'm a 55-year-old woman; it's not like I was doing anything wild and crazy," Hochron said. In fact, she was going slower than 5 mph when she took the tumble.
As to the $500 charge, City Segway Tours manager Jack Louis said the handlebar had to be replaced, and that's the cost mentioned on the list of parts included in the damage liability form that riders sign. More than 32,000 riders have taken his tour since April 1, and "less than seven" were charged for damages, he said. In each case, they cracked a handlebar and were charged $500. Renting a Segway is "just like renting a car; you're responsible for damages," he said.
Louis couldn't provide statistics for injuries, but said that this season there has been "nothing really serious; just scrapes and things like that."
Carla Vallone of Segway Inc., the manufacturer, said riders should make sure tour operators train staff members and riders , provide helmets and have no more than eight riders per guide. Louis said City Segway adheres to those standards.
Hochron concluded: "It can be a fun thing to do, but not something I'd encourage."
BARGAIN OF THE WEEK
Hot Dog!
Fly from Dulles to Frankfurt this fall for $547 round trip, including taxes. Details: What's the Deal?, Page P3.
Reporting: Cindy Loose, Anne McDonough
Help feed CoGo. Send travel news to cogo@washpost.com. By mail: CoGo, Washington Post Travel Section, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071.
