Rupert Goodwins' Diary

Monday 6/05/2002

Remember the Segway? That electrified shopping trolley that the inventors said would change the world and everyone else thought was about as useful as deely-boppers? Well, it ain't given up yet. Following intensive salesmanship, various post offices, police departments and hospitals have been trying it out -- most bizarrely, as paramedic transportation at the Boston Marathon, where the two-wheeled wobble wagons were decked out with blue lights and sirens. Can you imagine?

And now the device has claimed what may be its first victim. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that, "A member of the Central Atlanta Progress Ambassador Force toppled from one of the personal scooters on Cone Street near Luckie Street about 8:40 p.m. Thursday. The officer, whose name was not released, injured his knee going up a driveway onto the sidewalk, said Atlanta Police Sgt. Michael Giugliano. He was taken to Grady Hospital."

Now, I don't know what the Central Atlanta Progress Ambassador Force is, but the accompanying picture shows a prone gentleman in a white shirt receiving medical attention next to the Segway in question.

The court case should prove extremely entertaining.