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This made me giggle.

Now only if they made baby segways.

*Dean, are you reading this?*

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I'M only mad because i didn't think of it first

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The era of the "Segway Mom"

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Is that Britney Spears? - with hair.
That's about as stupid as it gets!
I hope Child Serveces catches up with her. Before she gets that kid hurt, that is.

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My opinion: baby needs a helmet and mom needs some sense. I can think of a few ways that could go very badly very quickly.

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a. the shoulder bag
b. the balance of the mother even without the bag
c. the baby without the helmet
d. the street
e. where is the crosswalk?
f. the reach to the stroller handle

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She's actually IN the crosswalk, Jane.
But I agree, VERY dangerous.

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not a good idea whatsoever

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those stripey things are the crosswalk?
ok, that's good.

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How about a baby stoller trailer?

Ok, ok, I agree, not a very good practice.

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Come on guys, you're engineers, figure out how to fix the situation instead of complaining about it. People do stupid things every day and it's a great way to get inspired and make some money ;)

1.) Make semi-flexible extensions for the stroller to directly attach to the frame of the segway. That way when the segway moves, the stroller moves. The same force that would cause the segway to tip sideways is the same force that would cause the mother to flip sideways, therefore there's minimal risk due to this. In other words, Segways don't flip their passengers over by themselves, and mother's don't flip themselves over alone either.

2.) Make a carrier or hooks so that bags may be safely placed into/onto them on the segway frame. This way the mother can drive with both hands.

3.) I'm sure there's already speed settings, however the segway could have a sensor that detects when the stroller is attached. Upon detection, it would scale the max speed back to a person's normal walking speed or slower.

4.) If you wanted to get really fancy, you could come up with a simple differential system for the stroller so that when the segway turned the stroller turns slightly as well. This would allow for better direct stroller control.

So with modifications, how exactly is this dangerous? If she could put 2 hands on the stroller, it's as if she were walking behind it. If you compare walking down the street to driving in a car, this is as safe (with mods) as a a mom/dad in a minivan with a bunch of 6-7 yr olds -- and some of us know how much "fun" that can be. And just think -- she could be running across the street with the stroller in front of her.

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This is not a job for an engineer. A phychologist is needed to develop a test too weed out idiots.

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No need to spend money on that. It's called Natural Selection.

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Can they make a Segway Carriage so the baby can walk his mother?

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I fear we've reached a level of civilization where evolution has pretty much settled into maintenance mode. Physically, technology compensates for lack of fitness, and the unfit survive. Stupid "protect me from myself" laws keep those lacking sufficient quantities of common sense, skill, and/or blind luck from being weeded out quickly. We've locked Natural Selection away and replaced it with No Fool Left Behind. :(

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g. Is she wearing heels? High heels on a Segway takes quite a bit of adjustment - as I learned the hard way.

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You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Alan Anderson again.

This is one of those times where I assume there's a reason Segway hasn't put one out itself. As someone who's been on an older Segway, similar to the one pictured, two hands is highly recommended (and not just so you can steer with one of them).

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As Bernie Taupin observed three decades ago, times are changing, now the poor get fat. His lyric seems almost quaint these days, seeing how far freedom of stupidity has progressed.Can you see her heels? :confused:

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No, but it wouldn't surprise me. The telling sign would have been a more engaged leg (as is one of the purposes of heels), but her pants are too loose to be able to tell.

The elevation of the heel changes your center of gravity, and the Segway just accentuates the difference, especially when moving forward and backward.

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What I also wanted to add initially was the hair.
h. Her hair <blond, I can say that> should be pulled back out of the way, esp. with the posture she is in.

And the baby is totally vunerable.
A pull cart behind her like a sidecart for a motorcycle only behind, would be much better.

I didn't even think about heels. Good thing.

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Maybe completely replace the back wheels of the stroller with the segway drivetrain, and make the handles of the stroller the controller for the segway. Add a differential for the front wheels of the stroller so that it turns with the segway. I think that'd be practical and marketable to moms and dads.

Hmm, after typing some stuff out, I realised that the rest of what I have to say is fairly derrogatory to one reaction I didn't previously read, so I'll shorten it to a few sentences: Parenting isn't easy, everyone makes a mistake or two, including you and me. Calling CFS should not be the first words out of your mouth, for most CFS programs have more corruption/disorganisation than the mistakes parents make. I know because I've been there and no doubt some of the kids in FIRST have been too.

Please somehow keep comments more in a positive light, even if a photo irks you.

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It's not my place to make comments about how someone else parents, but it's interesting to see that the comments from FIRST folks deal largely with potentially unsafe operation of the Segway, while reaction from folks here in Seattle -- where the photo was taken -- is decidedly about how slothful and lazy the woman must be for even owning a Segway.

http://community.livejournal.com/seattle/4490843.html

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I find the difference in viewpoint and reaction interesting, too. So too are the most common responses in this thread: problem indentification and problem solving. Among the problem solvers seem to be two main camps: a) this is a functional problem deserving of an engineering solution, and b) this is a safety problem deserving of either remediation or to be allowed to continue in order to not interfere with natural selection. :rolleyes:

I bet these responses say as much about us as they say about the original subject.

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Nah. Very Dangerous would be if she was stroling through downtown atlanta or not using her knees to lift. Or riding the segway drunk. or on fire. this is just kinda hazerdous

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Can't you just mod this Segway and make a MASH helicoptor style carrier basket for the kid?




I guess it would need testing for durability, but I think it would still be better than this carrier for cats.

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I rarely ride my Segway without heels, as I no longer can walk in them it is my only way to still wear pretty shoes.

As a disabled user, I've had to tackle much more complicated things than a baby carriage. Costco and Ikea carts are amongst the largest objects I have maneuvered full. Cats aren't too much fun to transport on Segways either.

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now is there was only a sidecart attached to the segway it would be safer... yall know... like on a motorcycle

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Is it? They come in white and black, and that looks beige.

At any rate, I'd say it's easier to ride the tilt steer one with one hand than the old style. With the old one, you have to support yourself with one hand, as well as rotate it around the grip at the same time. It'd be very easy to accidentally rotate too far while riding over uneven surfaces.

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I was wrong, darn eyes...

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This isn't that bad, atleast the baby is getting some exercise.:yikes:


It would be much worse if she had a baby strapped to her back in one of those baby backpacks.

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If she had one of those "baby trailers" that are designed to be towed by bicycles, (such as the one pictured below) along with a "permanent" hitch on the Segway, that would be a lot safer.



I remember when Segways first came out, I was reading a pamphlet about them in 2002. And inside this pamphlet was a non-Photoshopped image of a worker in a warehouse on a Segway, towing a trailer with boxes on it. (It was also on the Segway website at one point about that same time period.) I can't seem to find the image online at the moment, but I'll keep looking.

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... and an english professor to take care of the grammar and spelling errors ... :p

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Why mod it? You could just put the baby in the golf bag! Well if you do want the segway to fly, I could see the point of that.

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Wow. This is incredibly unsafe, to say the least.

As far as I've interpreted the use and purpose of the Segway, this is NOT what they're meant for. When you get a Segway, you also get safety training or a safety training video, depending on how/where you buy it (if you get it from a dealer, they train you. if you buy it online, you'd get a video...you get my point). There is a REPEATED message of keeping your hands ON the Segway. Yes, it can balance by itself. NO, that doesn't mean you should use it in a dangerous manner. What if this lady didn't see a curb coming up, and accidentally ran into it with the stroller. The baby could be seriously injured.

There ARE racks you can put on the Segway to hold a bag, taking away the shoulder bag issue. If anything, one of those baby-backpacks would be of better use to her, because then she could keep the child close to her person, and not outside the Segway. If someone were to trip over the stroller on the street, they could harm the baby. If the baby were being held close to her, even if she did bump into someone on the Segway, the baby wouldn't be harmed because it's INSIDE the actual area of the Segway. If you've ever been taught to ride a Segway by someone who's ridden one before, they'll usually demonstrate that you can bump into someone and you'll bounce right back. Strollers can't quite do that.

My $0.02: In this case, it's definitely the Mother's issue for not thinking ahead about what she could have done to keep her child safe. I hope she got herself and her child safely to where they needed to be, and I hope she thinks ahead next time.

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People in this thread are way underestimating the abuse strollers can take while maintaining the safety of their passengers. It's what they're specifically designed for. My siblings and I regularly hold "stroller races" where the big kids (18,15 and 9) push the little kids (3 and 1) as fast as we can running on and off the sidewalk and over some sizeable bumps. No one has ever even come close to falling out, losing control or tipping over any strollers and we run way faster than a segway can travel.
I've never ridden a segway, so that mom may be at risk for toppling herself over, but her kid should be fine.

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IF you thought that was dangerous you have not seen here.

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I would classify that as a stunt.

My son recently told me that you can't fix stupid. People do and will continue to do stupid, careless things. As long as they don't harm others in the process, I can deal with it - to an extent.

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That is one of my favorite quotes from a very inspiring Texan named, Ron White.

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That picture is most likely Photoshopped. As soon as a Segway is airborne, the wheels will keep spinning to keep the platform level. (Meaning, they could start spinning backwards.) When you hit the ground again, since the wheels aren't free spinning and if the current speed of the wheels is not exactly the speed you're going when you hit the ground, you can very easily be thrown off the Segway.

:ahh:

Plus, I honestly don't know how something that only goes 12.5 mph can get that much air. I ski a lot, and it takes quite a bit of speed to get that much air!

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That pretty much speaks for its self. This isn't that severe, though.

I like the cat carrier idea. :rolleyes:

It wouldn't be hard at all to adjust the segway to carry a trailer like that.

Her falling off the segway isn't my problem. Nor is the stability of the stroller. What I'm worried about is the lady losing control of the stroller and the stroller rolling off into the road or something:ahh:. That is what's so dangerous about it. One had on a stroller won't cut it.

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Since when do babies in strollers need helmets?
Do you really think Mommy Wheels is going THAT fast? :rolleyes:

I agree this is just stupid and just lazy.
I'm sure the kid don't mind the ride.

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My oo key doouble strikes :o

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I googled baby and infant safety helmets and found products for babies that are learning to walk. I also found another article about safety helmets for infants/babies and bicycles. I haven't linked either here. The concern seems to be with the neck and back development of babies and methods of transport like a bicycle trailer and the weight of a helmet on the neck/back.

I do know that an adult on wheels and a baby on wheels is reason for practicing safety and using common sense.

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My parents didn't cover me in safety gear... and I'm nice and healthy, as well as incredibly athletic. So I don't see how a helmet should be put on a baby in this situation. Now on the mom? Sure. That's a pretty dumb move with the stroller.

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I totally agree! Where were all these safety nazi's when my generation was coming up, we rode bikes without helmets, sometimes even without brakes!
We played outside in hot weather without sun screen.
We got bumps and bruises but we learned to be more careful and to toughen up. Oh... and lets not forget building tree forts and play dodge ball! :eek:

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Don't we do most of that today anyways? All except for the bikes with no brakes. And I can't stand to go on a bike ride without my helment. Kinda like taking off your saftey glasses after wearing them all day, feels awkward. Plus, it saved my life a few dozen times already. :rolleyes: