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Segway vs Cliff

daisycutter

Turbo Monkey
Apr 8, 2006
1,651
124
New York City
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-11416654

Segway boss Jimi Heselden dies in scooter cliff fall
People on a Segway Mr Heselden acquired the Segway operation in 2010

The millionaire owner of the UK Segway company has died after apparently riding one of his company's motorised scooters off cliffs and into a river.

Jimi Heselden, 62, crashed into the River Wharfe while riding the vehicle round his estate in Thorp Arch, Boston Spa, West Yorkshire, on Sunday.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. The scooter was found in the water.

Mr Heselden, who founded Leeds-based company Hesco Bastion, acquired the Segway operation in 2010.

A spokeswoman for West Yorkshire Police confirmed Mr Heselden's identity.

She said: "Police were called at 1140 yesterday to reports of a man in the River Wharfe, apparently having fallen from the cliffs above."

She said a "Segway type" vehicle had been recovered.

Mr Heselden had worked as a miner before losing his job in a wave of redundancies in the 1980s.

His engineering business went from strength-to-strength and he was estimated to be worth £205m.
 

4xBoy

Turbo Monkey
Jun 20, 2006
7,014
2,847
Minneapolis
good lord I don't speak british. Translation anyone? wtf "strength to strength" and "wave of redundancies"?
strength to strength, one good idea to the next.

Wave of redundancies, mass firing of worthless people in a company.

Clearly the real stroy is the segway is not a capable big drop machine, maybe moar shimz are needed, or possibly some Hulk infused toughness to the operator.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,921
borcester rhymes
that's what I figured, but a "wave of redundancies" as written implies 30,000 unemployed useless guys coming at you over the beach. Imagine D-day with mcdonald's workers.
 

Jeremy R

<b>x</b>
Nov 15, 2001
9,698
1,053
behind you with a snap pop
Marketing. Its a mother****er.

"What I do know is that it is almost impossible to fall off one because the Segway will always balance itself no matter how far forwards or backwards you lean."
 

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,519
7,068
Colorado
I say the guy had a heart attack, fell forward, and it just drove off a cliff.
 

daisycutter

Turbo Monkey
Apr 8, 2006
1,651
124
New York City
http://www.segway.com/about-segway/media-center/press_releases/pr_091406.php

"A condition has been identified in which the Segway PT can unexpectedly reverse the direction of the wheels which can cause a rider to fall". (off a cliff perhaps?) Hmm

SEGWAY INC. ANNOUNCES VOLUNTARY RECALL TO UPGRADE SOFTWARE IN Segway® PERSONAL TRANSPORTERS
BEDFORD, N.H. &#8211; SEPT. 14, 2006 &#8211; Segway Inc., in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and other regulatory agencies outside of the U.S., today initiated a voluntary product recall to upgrade the software in Segway Personal Transporters (PTs). Segway PT owners should contact the company at 800-750-6557 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, or visit www.segway.com to register for a free software upgrade. No hardware changes are required. Owners outside the U.S. should contact the Segway authorized distributor in their country to learn how to obtain the free software upgrade.
A condition has been identified in which the Segway PT can unexpectedly reverse the direction of the wheels which can cause a rider to fall. This can occur when the PT&#8217;s Speed Limiter tilts back the machine to slow it down and the rider goes off and then back onto the PT within a short period of time.
&#8220;The safety of our customers and our products is our top priority. When we identified this condition we notified the CPSC and immediately began working on a software upgrade to address the issue,&#8221; said Jim Norrod, Chief Executive Officer, Segway Inc. &#8220;We have a software upgrade available now for consumers and we strongly encourage our customers to obtain the upgrade as soon as possible. We are committed to making the upgrade process convenient for our customers.&#8221;
The voluntary recall applies to all Segway PTs sold to date including all Segway PT i Series, e Series, p Series, XT, GT and i2 models. The Segway x2, due for release later this month, is not affected by this recall and all new shipments of the I2 are being shipped with the new software release.
About Segway
Segway Inc. develops intelligent motion control technology known as Segway® Smart Motion&#8482; that is embedded in the light electric transportation devices it manufactures, such as the well-known Segway® Personal Transporter (PT). Segway Smart Motion provides intelligent motion control that enables a device to monitor its environment, control its motion and make decisions about how it should move.
Segway markets a full line of zero-emissions Segway PTs for sidewalk and cross-terrain use that deliver impressive energy efficiency &#8211; equivalent to 450 miles per gallon/191 kilometers per liter of fuel. The company&#8217;s line of Segway Robotic Mobility Platforms (RMPs) offers reliable, durable mobility solutions for robotic applications.
Segway Inc., based in Bedford, N.H., U.S.A, has a worldwide distribution network of more than 250 retail points in 61 countries. For additional information about Segway and to find retail locations, please visit www.segway.com or call 1-866-4SEGWAY. Media materials and digital images are available at the Segway Press Center.