Stopped by police

6 April 2017, 19:52 UTC

@enjoi408 I've had similar experiences as well in Pasadena. I ride it to and from work every day, and cops will go by when I'm riding on the sidewalks and not have any problems with it. Might get a few odd glances or a "Did you make that" comment, but no scolding or tickets. I've passed by a guy on a motorized scooter (old-school gasoline powered) getting a ticket and the cop nodded to me as I went by as well.

But there are just certain areas where they seem to take issue with people riding ANYTHING: In train stations, on train platforms, and I could only assume they wouldn't like me riding it through a parking structure. Guess I was wrong (at least about those two particular cops).

7 April 2017, 00:32 UTC

Its the rent a cops people who have no authority that freak out.... Real cops, are like Hey, that's really cool.

But, Litereally I have had cops pull up next to me and are like, You wanna race......

We were finishing up a parade and cops in a car were like checking it out, so i put my head down in race mode.

Same thing at a football game pre-game some motorcycle cops right outside the stadium pulled up next to me and were like, want to race, I just smiled, and of course they were going to take off, but we Rode for a couple minutes at speed....

It also helps if your 40 Yrs old.... If you are 15 they are going to be interested, but ready to step in if things get CRAY CRAY. :)

And it may not Be a crime, but, its generally an ordinance violation.... :)

7 April 2017, 05:09 UTC

@thegreck said in [Stopped by police]

They sure do act like it is when I ride it on the train platform! And this was the parking structure at the station, so I'm just used to cops yelling at me there, like I'm some 15-year-old doing rail slides or something.

Hey Greg, what's wrong with rail slides?! Some of us like them :)

7 April 2017, 13:30 UTC

@mekon Yeah I got it Wednesday night! We had severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings on Wednesday afternoon / evening so I rode it around my parking garage for awhile. Also rode it out in the rain to get some food once it slowed down a bit. I did have a pretty nasty nosedive that really got my attention. I honestly have no idea why or what happened. I was going 10 -12 mph and the nose just dropped straight down sending me flying. Thank god for my helmet! I didn't get home from work till almost 9 last night so I just rode it to get food and back. There are a few things I am struggling with and have concerns about which i don't know if there is some settings / adjustments I need to make to the board, if there is something I am doing wrong, or if there is something wrong with my board. I think I start a thread a separate thread to discuss these. But thanks for asking :)

7 April 2017, 13:42 UTC

@Aaron-Broward-FL Yeah I am 33 and a lot the time I am in a suit riding my electric skateboards, but the rent a cops still tell me "can't ride a skateboard here." I always try to be nice and explain to them that electric skateboards fall into the same category as bikes under the law since they are used for commuting etc versus grinding rails. However they always just come back with "Looks like a skateboard and those aren't allowed here." Then I just come back with "Sounds good! I'm going to continue running my errands (or whatever I am doing) so feel free to call the cops." One time there happened to be a cop sitting down the street watching when this was going on a property about 10 miles from my normal riding area. So the cop rolls up on me and the rental cops, and asks what is going on. They tell him, and the cop responds with "Leave this guy alone, he is awesome. I see him riding up and down Peachtree St. all the time with his dog on the board or in a suit." This made me feel pretty good since I was pretty far from my usual area. Hopefully the OneWheel will not get as much grief from these guys.

7 April 2017, 13:53 UTC

"You can't ride here, no skateboards allowed"
"It's not a skateboard, it is a unicycle. See the One Wheel? It even says One Wheel on the side so there is no confusion"

7 April 2017, 15:03 UTC

@RandomNate Haha much easier defense than the electric skateboard! :)

8 April 2017, 03:23 UTC

@goodblake-eskate said in Stopped by police:

@Aaron-Broward-FL Yeah I am 33 and a lot the time I am in a suit riding my electric skateboards, but the rent a cops still tell me "can't ride a skateboard here." I always try to be nice and explain to them that electric skateboards fall into the same category as bikes under the law since they are used for commuting etc versus grinding rails. However they always just come back with "Looks like a skateboard and those aren't allowed here." Then I just come back with "Sounds good! I'm going to continue running my errands (or whatever I am doing) so feel free to call the cops." One time there happened to be a cop sitting down the street watching when this was going on a property about 10 miles from my normal riding area. So the cop rolls up on me and the rental cops, and asks what is going on. They tell him, and the cop responds with "Leave this guy alone, he is awesome. I see him riding up and down Peachtree St. all the time with his dog on the board or in a suit." This made me feel pretty good since I was pretty far from my usual area. Hopefully the OneWheel will not get as much grief from these guys.

Totally classic...... I go with the you let the disabled people and motorized wheelchairs right? Can you tell me a difference between this and that? ... you don't need it. I dont? You want to see my back scars? I have had several fusion surgeries in my back and am in constant pain. Again, I haven't said I will continue riding it in the mall your getting very adgitated for no reason, I am just asking you to tell me the difference between this and an electric wheelchair. (Where is would like to snidely say, other than your ignorance and predjudice because I am safer than the 85 Yr old trust me....)

For the most part, it's my son I gotta reign in, when I take him out, because he doesn't think, so, he is the one who would go whipping past people on a sidewalk and cause cops to be concerned. I think I have him trained now... to think about 1. Safe operations. But 2. Not doing anything that makes copes even look 👀 at us like we're not acting safely. Cause clearly on sidewalks and in most of the parks, we are violating rules. But everyone has been cool so far.

Just don't go to South beach 😂

9 April 2017, 03:58 UTC

I got stoped one time like he put his lights on, probably just to scare me. But I was going super fast and this is when I got my top speed around 26mph and it was in a 15 zone, so I thought I was gonna get a ticket. I pull up to his window and he told me I was speeding and that he was impressed that I did it on that. He tole me it was cool ask a few quetsions I gave him a onewheel card and he told me if I was gonna go that fast (said he got me at 26.5, app says 26.4) that I should do it in the street so there wasent a chance of me running into a kid or something like that. Overall he was a nice cop, they are usually cool about it.

9 April 2017, 22:17 UTC

@OffRoadOW Please post a very simple cell phone video of you traveling this fast on a Onewheel.

9 April 2017, 22:49 UTC

I was riding my onewheel on the street that vehicles travel on through a shopping center in Uptown Houston last week and a rent-a-cop on a Segway chased me down to tell me I couldn't ride "that thing" through here. I said "says who?" He said that they just put signs up banning bicycles and skateboards from the entire shopping center and starting pointing towards a direction where the signs were at. I continued on through and around the entire shopping center and didnt see any signs. After that I was certain he was full of B.S. because a bicycle ban sounded really odd to me but it was uptown houston where lots of rich people go to shop and get drunk so who knows. I continued to Onewheel all around that area with no other issues and even past by other rent a cops whom didnt care to even bother.

10 April 2017, 15:01 UTC

@r1alvin said in Stopped by police:

I was riding my onewheel on the street that vehicles travel on through a shopping center in Uptown Houston last week and a rent-a-cop on a Segway chased me down to tell me I couldn't ride "that thing" through here. I said "says who?" He said that they just put signs up banning bicycles and skateboards from the entire shopping center and starting pointing towards a direction where the signs were at. I continued on through and around the entire shopping center and didnt see any signs. After that I was certain he was full of B.S. because a bicycle ban sounded really odd to me but it was uptown houston where lots of rich people go to shop and get drunk so who knows. I continued to Onewheel all around that area with no other issues and even past by other rent a cops whom didnt care to even bother.

Soooooo..... a rent a cop, told you, you can't ride your electric vehicle, while he was on his electric vehicle chasing you down??? hmmmmm......

10 April 2017, 22:11 UTC

While first starting I was practicing riding goofy in a field in town. Cops use this spot for speeding traps (30mph speed limit) on adjacent road.
I must have been riding for about 20 minutes when this cop finally got out of his car and came over and ask "Can I try that thing?"
So I let him and now they just wave when I go by👍.

11 April 2017, 16:47 UTC

@Aaron-Broward-FL I am not sure if I posted this link in the OW forums or not, but here is the link to the American Disability Act law that states that someone with a disability has the right to pick whatever "Power-Driven Mobility Device" best suits their needs. OW definitely falls under this law which basically means that a OW is the same as a wheelchair if you have a disability.
https://www.ada.gov/opdmd.htm

11 April 2017, 20:30 UTC

@goodblake-eskate now I just need to read up on disabilities that would not be easily identifiable that would also still allow me to rip around on my OW.

11 April 2017, 20:42 UTC

@CBR-954rr haha I already have mine down. You figure yours out and we will go rip around Lenox or Phipps (inside that is)! :P

12 April 2017, 00:05 UTC

@CBR-954rr I'm a type one diabetic and I use it for this purpose. If I'm in Florida and try walking 5-6 miles I'll burn a lot of sugar and go into a coma possibly so I use the one wheel to get around easier. I'm on an insulin pump so I show them that if they question.

12 April 2017, 05:20 UTC

Had another fun cat and mouse situation tonight with a state parks officer while carvin it up on freshly repaved and totally dry asphalt at Seacliff beach. So fun to act like you don't see them while they speed up on you only to turn and ride off through the pedestrian gate at the last second. I'm tempted to stop and discuss the risks involved in speeding through a beach parking lot in a huge pickup only to pursue a harmless padded Onewheeler doing a little carving and not endangering anyone. If they end up catching up with me I guess I will suggest they get themselves OW's.

12 April 2017, 05:56 UTC

@goodblake-eskate
Ohh, good catch, I'll have to print that out, that will irk the shit out of people. I just hate being discriminated against based on ignorance. Maybe I'm disabled (which i am) maybe I'm not. But, you have no idea what the hell this thing is I'm riding and you just start freaking out - coming at me. You have no idea how much skill and control I have over it in small spaces...
and while I respect you have a job to keep your area safe for your customers... Let's just start by having a calm conversation and not with the assumption I'm Kelly from Bad News Bears 1 (front the 70's) driving my motorcycle in the mall...

There is a call back reference for ya.... eat that millenials :)

12 April 2017, 21:00 UTC

@Aaron-Broward-FL I agree about trying to have a conversation with this rent-a-cops. I try to be as nice, calm, polite, and cooperative as I am able, but without fail the rent-a-cops get very defensive and argumentative. The only time one ended somewhat positively was when the real cop came over and defended me.

13 April 2017, 02:15 UTC

@dcosmos not sure if I can soon... iPhone 6s fell out of pocket shattered... of course and now it is not turning on completley toast said the apple support guy. Now I just have to rely on my senses to figure out when i need to turn back when im on the onewheel, I found a new path today that I feeel like I can regularly hit high speeds, felt like 24-26 or faster, once I get a replacenemt phone I will try and get a video, this is coming soon keep a lookout!

21 May 2017, 14:11 UTC

Yep, just got stopped by the police myself.
Thought some type of an issue,
only to learn cop was so excited to learn about this thing.
Answered all his question and told him where I am so he can swing by and test it.

21 May 2017, 15:50 UTC

@sonny123 Makin' friends wit Da Man!

21 August 2017, 01:05 UTC

Stopped by police again yesterday, me and @PowerWheel5000
He wanted to know all about it.
Offered him a ride. He said he can't in uniform.

21 August 2017, 12:19 UTC

This past weekend was the music festival in my town so they closed the main road to cars. People were walking around and of course several police were out in groups to make sure we were all safe. I cruised next to them walking (at walking speed). They could see I was not doing stupid stuff and I could easily skirt around people very, very slowly. I got a thumbs up for not being a jerk and I certainly hope other OneWheelers do the same. if we start getting a bad reputation for being wreck-less it will hurt us all. So far I am so loving this thing!!!

21 August 2017, 13:20 UTC

Had a cop drive up next to me, slow down, and stare yesterday. That's my only real encounter so far... like @sonny123 said, he seemed more interested in the board than anything else.

Possibly the same cop I was driving towards up a one way (the wrong way) a few weeks ago....