A counter-terrorist exercise known as "Taishan 2008," took place yesterday in Jinan, Shandong Province, China. Among other things, the forces used Segways for transportation. As we've reported in the past, the Segway has become an increasingly popular way to travel now that gas prices have risen to record high levels in the United States. We've even seem some police forces using the urban runabouts and capturing criminals with them. Still, nothing we've seen in the past made us believe that somewhere in the world, the Segway scooter is being used by gun toting, armor wearing tactical defense teams. Seriously, is the Segway really the best choice for this type of operation?

Perhaps the T3 Mobile Defender would be a bit more appropriate. That machine has been specifically designed for police units and appears a bit more battle ready. Perhaps the advanced targeting system hooked to a non-lethal air gun would prove useful. Or maybe the S.W.A.T. team hopes to stun their opponents with disbelief to win the day.

[Sources: Engadget, Gizmodo]

The New York City Police Department bought ten Segway Personal Transporters (PTs) today, the first of these two-wheeled electric vehicles purchased by the City of New York. The popular tourist areas Central Park and Coney Island, as well as other city parks and beaches, are the likely targets for the Segways, which are the new i2 models that can go 12.5 mph, carry 260 pounds and have a range of 24 miles. They cost $5,660 a piece and the police version can be equipped with sirens.

Police departments in a lot of other cities - form Chicago and Honolulu to Miami and El Paso - currently use Segway PTs. Segway says the appealing factors for police include added height to see over crowds, faster travel speed (compared to walking), indoor operability, and "officers are also more approachable when on Segway PTs, making them highly effective in community policing applications." I'll say.

Segway's release is after the jump.

Related:

• Energy efficiency study finds Segways are 5-20 times more energy efficient than cars
• The Onion spoofs the Segway - with link to the video
• A look at the Segway Centaur - double the wheels, double the fun?
• Miles Automotive, Segway and ZENN join EDTA

[Source: Segway]