Road Safety Bill [HL]

My Lords, I suspect my noble friend Lord Attlee will be much encouraged by the support he has received this evening. I should like to add my name to that. I was in Lexington, Kentucky a month ago and managed to speak to a police officer there who patrolled the streets on a human transporter. He said he found it an excellent way of patrolling farmers’ markets and such street activities, and that it was a good public relations tool. He also said that he had used it to arrest and detain a thief trying to make a getaway in a stolen car. I must say I found that slightly hard to visualise, but he nevertheless assured me that he had managed it. Needless to say, his chief of police was delighted, strongly supported their use and has ordered a further three for use by the Lexington police force. As the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, said, the Italian police are using them quite extensively, and I believe our own police force are carrying out evaluation tests at the moment. In America, they can be legally used in 42 States. In Europe, they are receiving generally favourable support, particularly in France, Italy, Portugal and Greece. The German police are currently conducting a pilot which should lead to a change in their legislation. In May 2003, Luciano Caveri, then chairman of the European Parliament committee on regional transport and tourism, said:"““I have to admit that the Segway has positively impressed us for its maneuverability, its safety features and for the implications that a broad use could have on the environmental and traffic conditions of many of our cities. For this reason—on behalf of my colleagues of the Transport Committee—I would like to invite formally the responsible Member States bodies to authorize explicitly and as soon as possible the use of the Segway Human Transporter on European pavements””." I do not normally support everything that comes out of the EU, but I am particularly pleased to be able to quote that tonight, as I believe that they could provide part of the transport solution for the shorter journeys in our cities. Furthermore, I can even visualise park and ride with one option being the ability to rent a human transporter for the last leg of one’s journey. Because they are not cheap—costing upwards of £2,500—and have a top speed of just 13 mph, they are most unlikely to be used by antisocial or aggressive users. In any event, I understand that would-be owners are required to undergo training prior to use, at which time considerate use would be given a high profile. So I strongly support my noble friend’s amendments, and those of the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley. I hope they will receive a sympathetic ear from the Government.