Bright Red Segways

Segway Recalls Scooters for Injury Risk

By MICHAEL P. REGAN
The Associated Press
Friday, September 15, 2006; 5:51 AM

NEW YORK -- Segway Inc. is recalling all 23,500 of the self-balancing scooters it has shipped because of a software glitch that can make its wheels unexpectedly reverse direction, throwing off the rider _ and in at least one incident, break some teeth.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Thursday said consumers should stop using the vehicles immediately. Segway is cooperating on the voluntary recall.

Segway has received six reports of problems with the Personal Transporter, resulting in head and wrist injuries.

Segway is offering its customers, which include more than 150 police departments around the world, a free software upgrade that will fix the problem. The upgrades will be done at Segway's 100 dealerships and service centers around the world, according to Segway spokeswoman Carla Vallone. The Bedford, N.H., company will pay to ship the devices to the appropriate center if need be.

It is the second time the scooters, which sell for about $4,000 to $5,500, have been recalled since they first went on sale in 2002. The 2003 recall involved the first 6,000 of the devices sold, and involved a problem that could cause riders to fall off the device when was the battery depleted.

Segway Chief Technology Officer Doug Field, who has been involved with the development of the device since its earliest days, said the problem that sparked the latest recall was found while the company was testing its new model. He said a very unusual and specific set of conditions can cause the problem.

The scooter's speed is determined by how far forward the user leans, and if the rider leans too far forward, it pushes them back to keep the device at its maximum speed of 12.5 mph. The problem happens if the rider then steps off the device and then gets back on it quickly.

Field said the actions that would cause the problem are of "very low probability, but possible, which then made us go pull every reported accident in the company's history." After the company found the six incidents believed to be related to the problem, it notified the CPSC and initiated the recall, Field said.

Field and Segway Chief Executive Jim Norrod would not comment on whether the problem has sparked any lawsuits, and would not give any details about the severity of the injuries sustained.

According to CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson, the injuries included broken teeth, a broken wrist and facial injuries including one that needed surgical repair.

"Any injury is too much to us," said Norrod. "This company has built its reputation upon its commitment to safety. From day one, that was and has been our goal."

The company last month launched a new generation of the Segway that allows users to steer the device simply by leaning in the direction they want to go, rather than using a small wheel on the handlebar. All new shipments will have the corrected software.

Norrod, who was brought in as Segway's CEO last year by the company's principal investors, Credit Suisse Group and the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, has made grooming the company for an initial public offering or sale of the company a top priority. He said there has not been a negative reaction to the recall from the dealerships.

"We don't see that it will have a negative impact on business at all," Norrod said.

The most famous tumble from a Segway came in 2003, when President Bush tried one out at his family's estate in Maine. The device went down on his first attempt, but Bush stayed on his feet with an awkward hop over the scooter. However, that incident had a different cause: Bush had not turned on the Segway.

Idlewild wrote: I'd like mine pimped. Chrome, rotating blade hubs with neon inserts. Purple prism paint with blueish white pin striping. A Alpine DVD/CD-R/RW, AM/FM/Sirius/Direct TV tuner head unit with mp3 support, coupled with a Garmin GPS, all powered by a modified McIntosh solid state power amp with 100W per channel, attatched to a 6 speaker Dyna Audio package with added 12'' subwoofer. Oh yeah and a HD light that dips and turns in the front with LEDs in the back. And some child labor to push the damn thing.

8thandPrez wrote: I was much more into the Segway when it was first rumored to be a revolutionary hovering device.

That said, I'm with Carnivore: I kind of want one.

By the way, they're also developing the much cooler Centaur. Looks like a cross btw a Bugaboo and an ATV, but is still very cool.