"The law on cool wheels"

[SegwayDan]

The was the title of a recent article in a local paper.

I helped train officers when we delivered two new "Cargo Ready" models to the Largo Police Department last Thursday.

The St. Petersburg Times ran a nice article yesterday and today:

http://sptimes.com/2005/09/16/Northpinellas/The_law_on_cool_wheels.shtml

I also took this shot while we were there:

http://homepage.mac.com/adobephile/LargoPolice.jpg

This was very good publicity for us.

P.S. The "Cargo Ready" models are i180s with 170 fenders so that they will take the brackets for the existing Lower Cargo System. They also come without a kickstand. So we bought a couple of Segway Junkyard's stands which worked well.

I made the "Police" signs for the occasion which we Velcroed to the cases. And we got the first of Segway's new police accessory flashing blue and red lights and siren which you may be able to make out on one of the units.

The officer on the right didn't want to get off the XT we brought for the training session ;)

We're going to be inviting other police and security forces around Pinellas and Hillsborough (Tampa) counties to first try out and (hopefully) buy Segways. LLC is strongly behind this market, too.

"Segway Dan" Swanson
727-403-2628
www.segwayclearwater.com

[JohnM]

"90 police forces around the country already have Segways". Any chance of seeing that list? Are those forces 'testing' or have they actually purchased? How many units does that total? Any idea on the ratio of tests to sales?

JohnM
Manchester NH, home of the first police force to test Segways and not purchase.

[SegwayDan]

quote:Originally posted by JohnM

"90 police forces around the country already have Segways". Any chance of seeing that list? Are those forces 'testing' or have they actually purchased? How many units does that total? Any idea on the ratio of tests to sales?

JohnM
Manchester NH, home of the first police force to test Segways and not purchase.


The "climate" has to be right. It's favorable here, and even in Chicago. Don't know about Manchester. Perhaps a few too many Yankee ("Can't get there from here!") skeptics! ;)


"Segway Dan" Swanson
727-403-2628
www.segwayclearwater.com

[jgrohol]

Well John, here's a partial list:

http://www.segway.com/segway/security_customers.html



--
All views expressed here are my own, not necessarily those of my employer or others. Check out http://grohol.com/.

[Brooster]

Granted I'm not at all places at all times, but I do live not far from downtown Chicago. Outside of SegwayFest '03, I've never seen--with my own two eyes--a Chicago Police officer riding a Segway. In fact, outside of the security guards at Millennium Park, I don't see any Segs ... period.

Brooster

[JohnM]

Interesting list.
I'll accept that airports, malls, Florida beach communities and college/office campuses are ideal applications for security use and that the use by bomb squads makes lots of sense, but we know that many of these entities bought one or two HTs as PR/community relations gimmicks or just for testing. The National Park Service, for example, got 2(?) machines in 2002 for testing, ran them around Washington DC and the Grand Canyon for a few weeks and haven't been heard from since. And the Navy got a bunch of HTs, but they were for the SPAWARS robot lab out in San Diego, not for security. This makes the list just a little suspect.

The Little Rock Bomb squad got an HT, but the rest of the force.... http://www.wavecrestlabs.com/newscenter/releases/pr_052405.html
Hey, Dan. You sell these too, right?

JohnM
Anything worth doing for 2 hours is 10 times more worthwhile if done for 20 hours.
RUSA #235

[fredkap]

John,

The market is now ready to move. As an example, meter maids (politically correct?) and utility readers needed the new batteries that have been out for only a few months.

Fred

[pam]

We have 2 in our little town of Niceville - yes, they're used at the airport - perfect application. Allows the officers to cover a whole lot more of the facility in a lot less time. And it's the police that are using them, not a separate airport security firm.
Pam

[SegwayDan]

I checked a Google map and see you're in Okaloosa County. I know the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Dept has two Segways, as they're our customer. One of the deputies told me their main use was for patrolling the airport. Their office is in Shalimar. Is the airport between Shalimar and Niceville? Are these the "police" you're referring to?

quote:Originally posted by pam


We have 2 in our little town of Niceville - yes, they're used at the airport - perfect application. Allows the officers to cover a whole lot more of the facility in a lot less time. And it's the police that are using them, not a separate airport security firm.
Pam



"Segway Dan" Swanson
727-403-2628
www.segwayclearwater.com

[pam]

Yep, these are the guys I'm talking about. There was a nice article in the paper about them. Talk about a small world - one of the officers who uses them in his daily work is a man who is the husband of one of the instructors here at the college where I work in Niceville.

Niceville is a little bedroom community for Eglin AFB (which covers about 864 sq miles) - one one side of the base you have niceville, the other side you have shalimar/fort walton beach. (and then on other sides you have other towns :). The airport is actually shared with the base. They graciousy allow us to use their runways.
Pam

[adobephile]

How about that! It's a small world, alright.

I've talked to the deputies on the phone. Nice folks--like the officers at the Largo Police Department. We all know what a socializing influence the Segway can have, and I think these Segway officers are noticing such effects themselves.

This is a good thing!


quote:Originally posted by pam

Yep, these are the guys I'm talking about. There was a nice article in the paper about them. Talk about a small world - one of the officers who uses them in his daily work is a man who is the husband of one of the instructors here at the college where I work in Niceville.

Niceville is a little bedroom community for Eglin AFB (which covers about 864 sq miles) - one one side of the base you have niceville, the other side you have shalimar/fort walton beach. (and then on other sides you have other towns :). The airport is actually shared with the base. They graciousy allow us to use their runways.
Pam


"The job of art is to chase ugliness away."
Bono, U2.
From a personal appearance
at an Apple Computer music event.
October 26, 2004

Daniel Swanson
http://www.van-garde.com