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Comment by solardev | Hacker News Reader

Lol, I once saw a group (troop? pack? murder?) of police standing on their Segways in formation, in uniform and lightly padded body armor. It was hard to look tough while they were all in neat little rows, balancing on antique motor scooters.

All I could think was "whrrr whrr pew pew whrrrr whrrrrr"... like this photo: https://www.wired.com/images_blogs/gadgetlab/segway_1.jpg

It was impossible to take them seriously. Honestly, lol, I feel for them. Some higher up probably thought that was cheaper than horses and fancier than bikes, so... poor officers.

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I saw cops on Segways somewhere in Spain. I asked about it, and the reasoning behind it was that it would make it more likely that people would come up and talk to them. Initially to ask about the goofy vehicle, but then to start complaining about criminal activity they'd seen, or ask for advice, etc. Not being able to take them seriously was the crux of it!

That's a great take on policing!

I saw a tiktok yesterday of police in ?Netherlands or Denmark? patrolling a little county fair on modified Coin-Op rocking horses :)

I grew up in Manchester, NH where the Segway was developed and I was visiting relatives a little after 2000 and it was so creepy to see cops crusing around on Segways in the parking lot of the abandoned Zayres store.

One problem I encountered is that a Segway takes up all the space on a sidewalk with parking meters on it, pedestrians would have to step aside.

I think that’s an interesting take! Segway’s do seem much less maneuverable than a scooter. You can navigate small gaps that a Segway which is wider than shoulder width couldn’t.

Why should cops look tough? I would rather a cop on a segway than sitting in a camaro.

I saw cops on Segways in two major American cities as recently as this month.

They failed for the average consumer, but they served a purpose for other sectors.

Fortunately, the economic downturn seem to have killed them off for group tours.

They make sense for cops doing crowd control. You get a little higher then the crowd, stand out, and with the gear cops have walking all day is annoying.

I can't think of any reason i'd want one, they don't solve any problem I have.

I think cops like these things for the same reason they like horses - You can see above everyone's heads when you're standing up on them.

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