THIS IS A story of corporate greed, inventive genius, and gullible lawmakers. Sadly, it will end in death and injury to thousands of walkers nationally. If S.B. 1918 passes the California legislature this session, you had better not stop on a sidewalk to say hello to a friend, because a person on a silent, 12.5-mile-an-hour scooter could be commuting right behind you.

A millionaire, liberal inventor, Dean Kamen, tried to develop a wheelchair to climb stairs. Instead he invented the Segway scooter. If you can afford a $3,000 to $10,000 toy (and California legalizes its use), you too can take over the sidewalks. The scooter has two fatty wheels and looks like space-age push mower that stands on end. Its electric engine supposedly can be locked to not exceed 12.5 miles an hour. Still, the 83-pound scooter, with the weight of the driver, has the mass and speed to bounce pedestrians right and left.

Powerful electric scooters on the sidewalk? Who ordered that? Sen. Tom Torlakson (D-Concord) introduced the California legislation to allow the "pedestrian vehicle" on sidewalks. (Torlakson also sneaked through legislation a few years back allowing those noisy little motorized skateboards that are driving us all nuts.)

An army of lobbyists and public relations wizards was hired by Segway to get authorizing legislation through states for sidewalk use. The public was led by the press blitz to believe the scooter was a green machine to replace cars, but Segway's national legislative strategy was always to put it on sidewalks.

S.B. 1918 would legalize the Segway scooter statewide, forcing cities and counties to scramble to further legislate safety, insurance, testing, training, sidewalk etiquette, and selected bans. S.B. 1918 passed quietly through the state senate and the California State Assembly Transportation Committee.

A lot of people find the Segway alarming. When I jumped on one in Senior Action Network's conference room, I slowly scooted up to a stack of chairs and intentionally leaned forward. From the acceleration, the hundred pounds of chairs were thrown forward a few feet. Wouldn't this be a nice weapon for the aggressive commuter trying to get to the office on time from BART?

Environmentalists were told the Segway is a zero-emission vehicle, but it won't replace cars. It will replace pedestrians who walk from work to transit, or transit to home. In other words, there will be new pollution from the electric engine, which is powered by coal- or gas-burning plants, in neighborhoods like Potrero Hill or Bayview-Hunters Point. The Segway company has never shown any study or air quality model anywhere that proves that it could reduce pollution.

The sidewalk is historically the only safe haven from cars, bicycles, and motorcycles. Seniors and advocates for the blind and persons with disabilities ask for the sidewalks to remain a safe haven from motorized vehicles.

Assemblymember Elaine Alquist from San Jose asked during an assembly Appropriations Committee hearing why the state was going to force local communities to accept the vehicle: "Shouldn't it be the other way around? I mean, can't we let cities have the option to legalize it on the sidewalks, instead of scrambling to ban or control it?" No answer was forthcoming from the lobbyists.

Pedestrian activists are advising the legislature to kill this bill, not pedestrians. You could ask powerful legislators like state senator John Burton (D-San Francisco) and Sen. Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo) to send it to the Senate Transportation Committee again for an informed public hearing. Or this Christmas, you might ask for a helmet and kneepads so you can walk on city sidewalks and trails.