Atlanta Replaces Horses with Segways

[Casey]

In addition to using 10 Segways to patrol Hartsfield International, Atlanta has replaced their mounted police horses with 6 Segways.

http://66.241.210.178/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=334

[Blinky]

Using the Segway-HT will certainly be less maintenance than keeping using a horse. They can now even use them on the sidewalks now. Good for them.

[Casey]

And no pooper scooper needed.

[Blinky]

I am sure alot of animal activists will love the fact also that horses could possibly be used less on city streets. As for the pooper scooper people, can you see a whole bunch protesting to keep their jobs? :)

I just wonder though, I have not really seen here in NYC a police man w/horse speeding down in any particular occasion. Could the Segway work out better than they thought.

[n/a]

quote:I just wonder though, I have not really seen here in NYC a police man w/horse speeding down in any particular occasion. Could the Segway work out better than they thought.

Neither horse nor Segway can climb stairs, but horses do take up considerably more space.

[ftropea]

Hmmm, the car replaced the horse and carriage...

The Segway is replacing the horse...

What will replace the rider? :D

Regards,

Frank A. Tropea

[Blinky]

Ftropea writes,
quote:Hmmm, the car replaced the horse and carriage...

The Segway is replacing the horse...

What will replace the rider? :D
Nice way of looking at it. What do you think one day will replace the car(don't have to answer)?

Segway would make a huge impact on the streets/sidewalks if they were filled with them. But, this won't likely happen for many reasons. One being we still need a means of transporting large amount of loads (people/supply/etc.)

[GlideMaster]

I was trying to stay out of this horse and buggy discussion but I think I should bring up some important points.
True a mounted unit is very expensive to maintain, but it is an indispensable asset in certain situations and I'm not referring to public relations so that adults and childern can pet the horses.
If you every been in a riot or very very large crowds the horses are without equal. The lenth of a horse is probably equal to about six to eight people. The Segway equal to one person. You can put four or five horses across a skirmish line and control far more people with greater ease, less manpower and less chance of a mounted officer getting hurt in comparison to a Segway officer that would be very vulnerable in a crowd. Also when you put the mass of a horse up against several people in a crowd there is no contest. Just like when a car hits a dear on the highway the car will in most cases loose. When they start side stepping the horses you had better move or start getting signatures on the cast on your foot. Also the smart cities feed there horses before they go out for crowd control or riots; get the picture? Have you ever seen how they clear the streets at night in New Orleans at the end of Mardi Gras? The drunks don't stand a chance. How do you push an unruly crowd back with a Segway, especialy if they don't give a dam about the police? But if you use your horses the tables turn instantly.
I love and preach the Segway but Atlanta is making a big mistake if they think the Segway can replace the horses in the above situations. [8D][|)]




quote:Originally posted by Casey

In addition to using 10 Segways to patrol Hartsfield International, Atlanta has replaced their mounted police horses with 6 Segways.

http://66.241.210.178/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=334

[Blinky]

Thanks for that Weskifm. Those are very good points you brought up. I think if those situations there would be a problem for sure. Especially of Segway's are planned for use for those crowds and there is no 'alternative' way of stopping a mob of people.

But there will be a day that horses will become obsolete in cities. Animal activists will find some reason(maybe the segway) for getting them off the streets. Perhaps just the fact that they would use a horse to stop a mob of people would be enough reason to stop using them. Why put the animal in harms way.

I just like to sometimes argue too Weskifm ;)

[GlideMaster]

It's OK to argue sometimes Blinky. But believe me, I know for a fact a crowd is no match for adult horses, especially when you consider the girth and length of a horse compared to a human.[^]




quote:Originally posted by Blinky

Thanks for that Weskifm. Those are very good points you brought up. I think if those situations there would be a problem for sure. Especially of Segway's are planned for use for those crowds and there is no 'alternative' way of stopping a mob of people.

But there will be a day that horses will become obsolete in cities. Animal activists will find some reason(maybe the segway) for getting them off the streets. Perhaps just the fact that they would use a horse to stop a mob of people would be enough reason to stop using them. Why put the animal in harms way.

I just like to sometimes argue too Weskifm ;)

[ftropea]

You know, some cops nowadays have girth that is equal to or surpasses that of your average horse ;) j/k

Umm, before the Segway was revealed... back when we were having fun speculating... some of us imagined "Ginger" as a sort of mechanized horse. Something you just jumped on and it took 'ya wherever you wanted to go.

Although, I do understand your point weskifm.. A real horse is a lot more intimidating that a person standing on a Segway-HT. So if the whole point of the horse patrols is to intimidate... then I'd have to agree. However, I'm still not sure why we have horse police patrols nowadays...

Regards,

Frank A. Tropea

[GlideMaster]

I guess in large crowds they would rather use horses than tear gas. You can control where the horse goes but you can't control the wind. A lot of innocent people could be overcome by tear gas and there are still a lot of large cities that have large demonstrations. Plus it's easier to train people on horses than to train thousands on the use of tear gas and the cost of tear gas and tear gas mask. Also maybe fewer law suits with horses than with tear gas. A lot of cities are starting to have protest about the posibility of war with Iraq. I remember the 1968 riots here in Chicago I also remember my time in Vietnam. If they talk about starting up the draft again they may need those horses and tear gas. :(






quote:Originally posted by ftropea

You know, some cops nowadays have girth that is equal to or surpasses that of your average horse ;) j/k

Umm, before the Segway was revealed... back when we were having fun speculating... some of us imagined "Ginger" as a sort of mechanized horse. Something you just jumped on and it took 'ya wherever you wanted to go.

Although, I do understand your point weskifm.. A real horse is a lot more intimidating that a person standing on a Segway-HT. So if the whole point of the horse patrols is to intimidate... then I'd have to agree. However, I'm still not sure why we have horse police patrols nowadays...

Regards,

Frank A. Tropea

[charmed]

Seems like pepper spray and rubber bullets are in vogue, at least in the recent demonstrations in Portland. It seems to me that the trend, both in civil and military maneuvers, is to attack from a distance, or perimeter. Who wants to ride a horse (or Segway) into a hostile crowd when you can shoot at them with an ever expanding arsenal of weapons from a safe(r) distance?

I've seen horses used in the midst of demonstrations, as well as dirt bikes and harleys-- all with pretty chilling effect. Threat of crunched bones and broken bodies, etc. is very real when you get that much power and weight flying through the crowd. I remember seeing one guy running for his life with a cop on a harley roaring after him at speed across a grassy traffic median, and at the same demonstration people being run down by officers on horseback, charging the crowd on dirt bikes, etc. Whatever is at hand, I guess, but probably not Segways.

But if you are just trying to create a presence in a pedestrian mall on the other hand, the Segway is tough to beat.

[GlideMaster]

Some cities, Chicago included, are very reluctant to use any type of projectile dispensing weapon when it comes to shooting into large crowds. Plus, being the litigious society we are they feel that they would incur even more law suits or people would receive a more serious injury in some cases. Even though the city sets aside millions of dollars for frivaless law suits each year still don't want the bad publicity that goes with the thought of shooting into any type of crowd for any reason. :(



quote:Originally posted by charmed

Seems like pepper spray and rubber bullets are in vogue, at least in the recent demonstrations in Portland. It seems to me that the trend, both in civil and military maneuvers, is to attack from a distance, or perimeter. Who wants to ride a horse (or Segway) into a hostile crowd when you can shoot at them with an ever expanding arsenal of weapons from a safe(r) distance?

I've seen horses used in the midst of demonstrations, as well as dirt bikes and harleys-- all with pretty chilling effect. Threat of crunched bones and broken bodies, etc. is very real when you get that much power and weight flying through the crowd. I remember seeing one guy running for his life with a cop on a harley roaring after him at speed across a grassy traffic median, and at the same demonstration people being run down by officers on horseback, charging the crowd on dirt bikes, etc. Whatever is at hand, I guess, but probably not Segways.

But if you are just trying to create a presence in a pedestrian mall on the other hand, the Segway is tough to beat.

[Blinky]

Weskifm writes...
quote:Some cities, Chicago included, are very reluctant to use any type of projectile dispensing weapon when it comes to shooting into large crowds. Plus, being the litigious society we are they feel that they would incur even more law suits or people would receive a more serious injury in some cases. Even though the city sets aside millions of dollars for frivaless law suits each year still don't want the bad publicity that goes with the thought of shooting into any type of crowd for any reason.
I think the police would care less Weskifm if 'gas' and rubber 'bullets' were needed to control a hostile crowd. I don't think horses(or segways) would have been useful in the L.A. riots after the Rodney King beating verdict came in. Or would have been useful in calming down those protesters in N.Y. in front of the U.N. building this year.

As for law suits, I think that is a major problem for police to do anything these days. But, people have the right to sue for what ever they want to sue for. Until our cities realize that they can't be paying out millions of dollars in judgements, this will be a problem for all cities for a long time.

[ftropea]

OK, what if police rode really big Segways? :D

Regards,

Frank A. Tropea

[Blinky]

ftropea writes..
quote:OK, what if police rode really big Segways? :D
As funny as that sounds I am sure down the line with Segway it will evolve in many different ways. Some bigger and smaller depending where you need it for specifically.

[GlideMaster]

Blinky this is a good point. I could sort of invisiion a Segway with car size tires (Mitchlins of course), to be used on airport runways maybe because of the size of the planes in order to service them in some ways on the exterior. It would be a real big Segway with an electric ladder or lift to mount the unit and of course it would have to be the electric kickstand model (e model). It would have plenty of load carrying capacity for tools and parts. It would be a great way to inspect the exterior of the plane for problems or defects. It could even have a canopy or removeable cab for inclement weather. All they would need to do is to maybe quadruple the size of all of the Segways redundant moduals and the system program modules would just have to be designed to handle a specific task within a larger program. Oooppps I'm getting carried away. But I'm sure you get the point if you're the visionary I think you are.





quote:Originally posted by Blinky

ftropea writes..
quote:OK, what if police rode really big Segways? :D
As funny as that sounds I am sure down the line with Segway it will evolve in many different ways. Some bigger and smaller depending where you need it for specifically.

[luix]

hi, i discovered this discussion and it is nice to see that police replaced horses with segways in Atlanta.

police could use tallbike also, check: http://tallbike.net/freehorz.html, also in general tall bike forum you can participate with ideas. Combination of segwey and tallbike could be a good replacement for mounted police horses in riots.