"red-danger Will Robinson - Humpty Dumpty had a great fall!

[gracefuli]

Just came back from Vegas, very seg friendly but crazy hot. Which my gen 1 seg apparently did not care for. Went to the pool-parked it in the shade, even draped towel over it. A few hours later was heading back to my room, i rode about 4 minutes-fine. Then stopped (indoors)waiting for a friend and decided to use my seat. That's when i got the "red-danger Will Robinson-shake". And made some very wrong assumptions:

1. Thought "if i stop fiddling with the seat it will go back to green" - wrong. (Will it?)

2. Thought "I can just hold onto this counter when it shuts down and i can balance here"...

After the crowd of people helped me off the floor, the emt's iced a few spots and my friend yelled at me for not waiting for help, i was able to ride it back to my room.

The same happened each afternoon - but we knew what to expect, so were better prepared and i did not fall. Looking back i realize it was the heat not the seat.

So my question is: is this a common occurrence? Does it indicate that my seg needs some repair? How do people in hot climates use their seg's?

Thanks-grace

[Tarkus]

Hello,



That is not acceptable performance from your Segway. The machine needs to be checked out by a professional.

Any time you receive a warning you should dismount the Segway immediately, not look for ways around the warning.

As I don't know which seat you are using I couldn't tell you if that's part of your problem.

Bottom-line is if you get an emergency warning take it seriously and dismount as soon as possible.

I would suggest taking the machine in having it checked out. Good luck to you.


Be Big,
AMAC

[L3Research]

Very happy to find that you were not seriously injured. That said.

I must add a gentle rebuke! Incidents like your, in which EMT's are called, cost money, and put fear in the hearts of business owners and glee in the eyes of lawyers. If your Seg is shaking, don't chance it.

Please be careful with yourself, of course, and try to make decisions that err on the side of caution when gliding in Seg-friendly lands, less they become less so.

As a direct comment to your dilemma, hot concrete will radiate upward right at the batteries and I believe they have a temp sensor and not too much ventilation. I've "enjoyed" the LV summers and I am not surprised at the events you describe.

[gracefuli]

Sorry if my discussion made light of my fall. I did not take it lightly and I was only sharing what my thoughts were in the 10 seconds i had, hoping others could learn from my mishap. I knew i was not going to be able to get off fast enough. I have practiced since then and are better prepared.

But here's my question- when it does give the warning and shake, is it still operable? Can I navigate in those 10 seconds to a safer location to dismount?

Please understand, I have MS. Falling is part of my life whether i like it or not. Making light of it, is coping. Without a humorous outlook, I wouldn't get out of bed each morning.

Congratulations on the inclusion in ada. I know many of you worked very diligently on it. Please know that "We" do appreciate all you have done!

grace

[KSagal]

Originally Posted by gracefuli

Sorry if my discussion made light of my fall. I did not take it lightly and I was only sharing what my thoughts were in the 10 seconds i had, hoping others could learn from my mishap. I knew i was not going to be able to get off fast enough. I have practiced since then and are better prepared.

But here's my question- when it does give the warning and shake, is it still operable? Can I navigate in those 10 seconds to a safer location to dismount?

Please understand, I have MS. Falling is part of my life whether i like it or not. Making light of it, is coping. Without a humorous outlook, I wouldn't get out of bed each morning.

Congratulations on the inclusion in ada. I know many of you worked very diligently on it. Please know that "We" do appreciate all you have done!

grace

That is actually a good question. In the few seconds between warnings and shutdown, I have never tried to do anything but get off. I don't know if you can drive anywhere.

This becomes an issue as an example, if a person is in an intersection, should they finish crossing the street then dismount?

For me, I think not. I don't know that there is actually 10 seconds to act. I believe that the time during the stick shake and like that is just to let you off before it falls.

I am sure others will chime in, but for me, it is warning, and off. Period.


Furthermore, while I do not think you fell on purpose, or wanted to create more of a situation than you needed to, but the society at large does not understand what you understand. You say that falling is a 'normal' part of your life, like it or not. You know that, and now we do too.

What about the people in the hotel or place you were in, who watched you fall with the segway? Do they know?

How about the next person who arrives, and prefers to use his segway, instead of a wheelchair? What does he say, when the management of the place you were in says, Wheelchairs are ok, but segways are dangerous, because we saw one make a person fall!

They could be wrong in their conclusions, but it will be hard for that guy that follows you to convince them of that.

The truth is that people are still learning about segways, and are still forming their opinions. If you are sitting there, and you faint, and fall out of your wheelchair, no one will presume the wheelchair threw you out. IF the exact same thing happens on your segway, the newspapers (and television too if there is video) will all report how your segway threw you to the ground. Most media would follow up on how it then proceeded to drive over you several times. (or wander off into the crowd and kill innocent bystanders, or whatever else they choose to make up) and no one will question them.

That is the truth.

I see that as people who are among those who use this new tool early, before many have made up their minds, have an additional responsibility to blaze a positive trail, even if it requires more work from us. (Or potentially diminishes some of our enjoyment, some of our freedoms, or some of our activities).

I am glad you are not hurt. I hope the machine is a great tool that works well for you. But I also hope that you understand that while some here may be defensive about the impressions that some leave while using their segways, it is often because we have had to be the person who follows others, and have had to explain the truth about what really happened.

[MowTin]

Originally Posted by gracefuli

Just came back from Vegas, very seg friendly but crazy hot. Which my gen 1 seg apparently did not care for. Went to the pool-parked it in the shade, even draped towel over it. A few hours later was heading back to my room, i rode about 4 minutes-fine. Then stopped (indoors)waiting for a friend and decided to use my seat. That's when i got the "red-danger Will Robinson-shake". And made some very wrong assumptions:

1. Thought "if i stop fiddling with the seat it will go back to green" - wrong. (Will it?)

2. Thought "I can just hold onto this counter when it shuts down and i can balance here"...

After the crowd of people helped me off the floor, the emt's iced a few spots and my friend yelled at me for not waiting for help, i was able to ride it back to my room.

The same happened each afternoon - but we knew what to expect, so were better prepared and i did not fall. Looking back i realize it was the heat not the seat.

So my question is: is this a common occurrence? Does it indicate that my seg needs some repair? How do people in hot climates use their seg's?

Thanks-grace

Once it starts shaking it will not go back to green. It's telling you it will shutdown. Did you watch the safety video?

I had mine in direct sunlight on a very hot day without problems. I dont' think the heat should cause such a problem.

I'm sorry to hear what happend. The first seg I had was defective and had random emergency shutdowns. The one I have now has worked pretty well but I'm always worried that it will shutdown on me while I'm crossing a street or gliding up a hill. And certainly falling in front of people is something I fear.

Is it working fine now?

Sometimes I think the emergency shutdown is the problem. It detects and problem, beeps and shakes to warn you...that's all good...but does it really need to shutdown in 10 seconds? I think warning the rider that they need to dismount asap is sufficient. They may be in a situation where they cannot dismount within the 10 seconds.

Overall, were you able to enjoy your trip? How did you get from airport to your hotel with the Segway?

[gracefuli]

Thank you for asking, my trip was great. And my seg was fine after an hour or two in air conditioning. My family is saying that it is smarter than I am- because I shouldn't be out in the heat that long either.

I have taken my seg to several "big" airports and cities with no problem. I check it at the gate then board the plane. All airports and hotels have no problem pulling up a handicap taxi that it rolls into or an SUV and the driver lifts it in with help.

I will tell you that I follow the advice of many of the members of this message board. I display my handicap placard, (and have a back-up in case it disappears), I bubble wrap the handle bar and control shaft. Stuff the front tote with bubble wrap also. I carry with me my seg manuals, and doc's that it is a dry cell battery. As well as some basic Ada info that others have kindly posted for us. I also put a large trash bag over the top and tape it tightly closed, just to keep it clean.

Knock wood- so far traveling has been good.

grace