Too quick for Bolt – and great fun for a polo match

IT MAY only do 12mph, but the Segway was fast enough to give Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt a run for his money last month when he was knocked over by a photographer riding one in Beijing.

It’s probably a good thing, then, that the self-balancing electric twowheeler cannot be legally ridden on pavements in Britain.

This is because the two-wheeler is classed as a motor vehicle under the Highways Act 1835. It is also barred from roads as its unusual design does not comply with road traffic laws.

Health and safety officers have not outlawed the £5,000 machine altogether – they can still be driven on private grounds and for sport.

April Baron-Harrison, 40, from Warwick, has a Segway to play polo – and represented Britain in an International Segway Polo Tournament this year.

She says: ‘It is incredibly easy to learn to ride – intuitively turning when you lean a certain way. It is both versatile and fun.’

April adds: ‘The beauty of the Segway is that it does not discriminate on sex grounds, size or level of fitness. All are equal when standing on it.’

You can hire a Segway from £8 an hour. A list of authorised Segway providers is available at segway-uk.net.

There are other exciting new electric-wheeled inventions that might also take your fancy. These include a £550 TrapBoard Bandit Evolution; a £385 Segway MonoRover; a £480 Muzeli Self-balancing Unicycle Scooter; a £400 Tera 2 Wheels; and an £850 Onewheel electric skateboard.

The UK Segway Polo Association is holding a National Friendly Tournament in Bristol on September 26 and 27.