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U.S. Issues Recall for Segway Scooters
AP (Yahoo) ^ | 9/26/03 | JONATHAN D. SALANT

Posted on 09/26/2003 10:02:11 AM PDT by The_Victor

WASHINGTON - The maker of the Segway Human Transporter has agreed to recall the motorized scooters because riders have been injured falling off when its batteries are low.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (news - web sites) announced the recall Friday, saying that three people had been injured. One suffered a head wound and needed stitches.

The recall involves about 6,000 of the single-rider, two-wheeled scooters that can travel up to 12 mph. The scooter uses gyroscopes to keep it upright, making it less likely to fall or be knocked over.

The Segway was unveiled in December 2001 to much fanfare by Dean Kamen, an inventor who holds around 100 patents, including a wheelchair that climbs stairs and the first portable kidney dialysis machine.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: recall; segway; smegway
Maybe President Bush's tumble wasn't his fault.
1 posted on 09/26/2003 10:02:11 AM PDT by The_Victor
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To: The_Victor
Out of my price range.
2 posted on 09/26/2003 10:10:02 AM PDT by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: The_Victor
To further increase safety, I think 2 additional wheels should be added, as well as a back-up motor powered by gasoline, and lastly, it needs about 3000 pounds of steel placed around the driver to provide crash protection. If these steps are taken, the Revolution in Transportation may resume!
3 posted on 09/26/2003 10:11:14 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (France delenda est)
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To: The_Victor
I hope we haven't put the finishing touch on the plans to redo cities yet. suckers.
4 posted on 09/26/2003 10:11:28 AM PDT by kinghorse
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To: The_Victor
Hmmm. Tough break.
5 posted on 09/26/2003 10:11:50 AM PDT by Prodigal Son
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To: The_Victor
In his interview with Brit Hume he said he had injured his knee (torn his meniscus possibly). I wondered if it could have been because of that fall from the Segway.
6 posted on 09/26/2003 10:17:43 AM PDT by dawn53
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To: The_Victor
If you want the best machine for the job this thing is made for, buy a quality bicycle.

If you want the best in American innovation and dedication to quality, something like Maverick American's bicycles excites me much more then these things.

7 posted on 09/26/2003 10:19:12 AM PDT by bicycle thug (Fortia facere et pati Americanum est.)
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To: The_Victor
Good riddance. Some cities were considering allowing them on sidewalks. The injuries from that situation would be far greater than the injuries caused by a few idiots letting the batteries run down.

8 posted on 09/26/2003 10:24:36 AM PDT by Mears
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To: Cicero
Out of my price range.

Which is why San Francisco banned the devices. Leftists have trouble with jealously management. Anything that challenges their self-concept of God's gift to humanity invokes anger and envy, and they lash out. Many more injuries are caused by bicycles and skateboards however these devices are inexpensive and do not threaten anyone's self worth.

9 posted on 09/26/2003 10:25:03 AM PDT by Reeses
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To: ClearCase_guy
Love your wit. Thanks for the morning (Pacific time) chuckle.
10 posted on 09/26/2003 10:26:00 AM PDT by Wolfstar (NO SECURITY = NO ECONOMY)
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To: The_Victor
saying that three people had been injured.

Do you think that when 3 people are injured on bikes, skates, skis, rollerblades, etc. those items will be recalled as well?

11 posted on 09/26/2003 10:33:00 AM PDT by Onelifetogive
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To: The_Victor
It's always Bush's fault!
12 posted on 09/26/2003 10:41:54 AM PDT by xrp
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To: ClearCase_guy
Then it will need turn signals and a horn.
13 posted on 09/26/2003 10:57:00 AM PDT by kylaka
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To: Cicero
Out of my price range.

In the abomination of Nature range.

14 posted on 09/26/2003 10:59:06 AM PDT by RightWhale (Repeal the Law of the Excluded Middle)
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To: The_Victor
I still think a golf based version called the fairway would be awesome. Bag mounted in front, each player can get to their ball independently, thus speeding the game.
15 posted on 09/26/2003 11:11:20 AM PDT by doodad
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To: The_Victor
Sorry, I thought the search would return articles in reverse-date order. When this didn't pop to the top, I posted the complete CPSC bulletin:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/990187/posts

16 posted on 09/26/2003 11:42:54 AM PDT by justlurking
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To: The_Victor
A helpful customer review from Amazon.com"

4 out of 5 stars Great fun for the kiddos!, September 17, 2003

Reviewer: An electronics fan from Kanagawa, Japan
Yeah, I bought a few of these for the kids for Xmas and they absolutely love them! They box is pretty bulky and wouldn't fit easily under a normal Xmas tree, so we had to get a 50 foot Xmas tree instead. No worries, though: the ceilings in our main house are 20 meters high. Johnny, our oldest rugrat, has expecially taken to the thing. He has some fairly challenging behavioural disourders (which he inherited from his mothers genes, NOT mine, mind you) and he ended up riding the thing into our Olympic-sized swimming pool, but not to worry: Amazzon's return policy covered it and we were able to get a replacement at no charge. Billie-Joe, our second sprog, has taken to riding his Segway on his half-pipe skate ramp. After some modifications by our Afro-American mechanic, Mr. Belvedere, BJ's Segway now has enough power that he can do off-the-lips, rib slides, and "360s" with his Segway. Alls I gotsta say is, the Segway is segWAY COOL! And you can quote me on that.
17 posted on 09/26/2003 11:45:01 AM PDT by Bubba_Leroy
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To: justlurking
Sorry, I thought the search would return articles in reverse-date order. When this didn't pop to the top, I posted the complete CPSC bulletin:

No prob. There's actually a Breaking News story posted as well. When I searched for "Segway Scooter", the breaking news article "All Segways Recalled" didn't show up at all.

Since they're just upgrading the software to register a low battery condition, it's really not much in the way of news.

18 posted on 09/26/2003 11:50:18 AM PDT by The_Victor
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To: The_Victor
You mean to say it don't run on magic.
What a gip.
19 posted on 09/26/2003 1:32:30 PM PDT by PropheticZero
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To: ClearCase_guy
Segway Spills - Women and Minorities Fall Hardest
20 posted on 09/26/2003 8:40:15 PM PDT by dagnabbit (No Amnesty-Merger with Mexico)
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