Scooter Bill In Assembly

The makers of the Segway Human Transporter are hoping that one day, people will leave their cars in the garage and take their electric scooters to the grocery store instead. But first, they have to get the scooters on the sidewalk. A bill by Senator Tom Torlakson would allow the devices to cruise city sidewalks for a five-week trial. The bill is up for a vote in the Assembly Appropriations Committee today. But advocates for senior citizens, the disabled and pedestrians say the scooters would turn California sidewalks into dangerous raceways. Segway says though, that thousands of hours of company testing and real-world use by police and emergency medical services show the scooters are a safe tool that could cut down on highway traffic.