ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
electric personal assistive
mobility devices
Defines an “electric
personal assistive mobility device” and prescribes the rights and duties of persons
operating electric personal assistive mobility devices.
On December 3, 2001, Dean
Kamen introduced the Segway HT, a two-wheeled battery-powered device designed
for transporting a single standing rider over a variety of surfaces. The Segway HT has the ability to travel at
speeds up to 12.5 miles per hour and has a range of 17 miles. This device weighs 80 pounds, is the width
of a person’s shoulders, has a foot platform that rests eight inches above the
ground and has the carrying capacity of 250 pounds for a person and 75 pounds
for cargo.
The New York Times reports
that the United States Postal Service, the National Park Service and the City
of Atlanta plan to begin limited field tests of the devices in 2002.
Amazon.com, GE Plastics and Michelin North America plan to use the devices to
try to save money by reducing the time it takes employees to move around
corporate campuses and large warehouses.
Similar legislation is
currently being considered in Alabama, Indiana, New Hampshire and Virginia. The New Jersey Legislature recently adopted
legislation allowing for the use of electric personal assistive mobility
devices by government employees, employees of commercial businesses performing
business-related duties or employees with mobility-related disabilities.
There is no anticipated
fiscal impact associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Defines an “electric personal assistive mobility device” as a self-balancing two nontandem wheeled device with a electric propulsion system that limits the maximum speed of the device to 15 miles per hour or less and that is designed to transport only one person.
2. Exempts “electric personal assistive mobility devices” from the definition of “motor vehicle.”
3. Expands the definition of “pedestrian” to include an “electric personal assistive mobility device.”
4. Allows electric personal assistive mobility devices to be driven on sidewalks.
5. Grants a person operating an electric personal assistive mobility device all of the rights and duties given to a pedestrian in Title 28, Chapters 4 and 5, except those provisions which by nature have no application.
6. Specifies that a person must be 16 years of age in order to operate an electric personal assistive mobility device.
7. Makes conforming changes.
8. Provides for a general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Staff
February 5, 2002