Who cannot ride a Segway?

Segway is a great auto balancing personal transporter, which caused lots of controversial discussions and bad publicity. Death of the company owner Jim Heselden, or Segway fails of such celebrities as George Bush, Ellie Goulding and Piers Morgan, or even cameraman running over Usain Bolt didn’t bring much popularity for Segway PT. So, we face lots of skepticism from different people first seeing or being approached by a Segway. Most of them don’t believe riding this technological marvel is quite easy and fun.

Running a bit ahead, we want to reveal a huge secret- almost everyone can ride a Segway. Yes, almost everyone, well if you are not a dolphin, a mermaid or a dog, most probably you won’t face any troubles operating one. Riding a Segway is very intuitive and it might be compared to riding a bicycle or a scooter. Obviously Segway requires some time spent on training as no one is born with the knowledge on how to operate one. That is why 20-minute training is an obligatory condition before making a segway tour.

So, if almost everyone can a ride a Segway, then who CANNOT?

Let’s shed some light onto this topic:

Age restrictions 

The age restrictions might differ from country to country and even from company to company due to the law and insurance specifications. For example, in Rome, Italy everyone who’s below 16 is not allowed on Segway tour. While in Budapest there’re no minimum age exactly set by the legal system. However most of the companies will not allow children younger than 7 years old. Moreover, the child’s understanding of the main rules and ability to listen and follow the instructions of the guide is crucial.

Weight requirements 

According to the manufacturer the one riding a Segway should weigh between 45 to 113kg (100 to 250 pounds). These dimensions might as well differ from one company to another. Why is that so important? Due to the lack of weight, Segway riders might be struggling to properly operate the machine, especially when going down or up the hills. But we still make room for exceptions and corrections. Based on our personal experience we can assure you that 30 kg is quite enough for participant to be able to successfully operate Segway PT . Has it ever happened that someone over 113kg took a tour with us? Yes, of course. Everything depends on people. If after the training session, one can properly operate the Segway, shows the understanding of basics and feels comfortable- we are happy to take you on a tour!

Pregnant Women

Participating in a Segway activity is highly not recommended for women expecting a baby. We do not allow women carrying a child on our segway tours and no exceptions can be made. Despite the fact that Segway is a safe and stable device, there is always a chance of falling. However, we will be very happy to see you on our activities whenever your kids grow up so you can double the joy of riding Segway around the city

Participant with motor control or learning disabilities

All Segway tour participants must be able to easily and quickly step on/ off the Segway without any assistance, which is similar to climbing and descending stairs. Moreover, during the Segway tours there is always minimal physical exertion, e.g. you should be able to stand for long time (1-2 hours) depending on tour duration.

People under influence of alcohol or/and drugs

This point might sound funny and obvious, but forewarned is forearmed. We want each and every one of our customers to have safe and pleasant Segway experience, so we require all the tour partakers to be able to adequately assess main rules and situation on the road as well as consequences of their own actions. This means that in case one of the participants will get a “bright idea” of racing with his fellow Segwayers, crossing the street with the red traffic light on, or even outrunning cars or buses- we have a right to stop the tour. So once again, people whose behavior is affected by drugs or alcohol cannot ride Segway, for their own sake.

Hopefully you didn’t find yourself in this list and we will see you on with us on the Segway soon!

by Segway King Budapest