Traffic police in talks to buy two-wheeled Segway-style vehicles

Zippi, a Dubai-based company that makes ‘personal intelligent transporters’, has confirmed it is in talks with Abu Dhabi Traffic Police over the sale of 15 units.

DUBAI // Traffic police might could soon come to the aid of car-crash victims on quirky, two-wheeled vehicles similar to the Segway.

Zippi, a Dubai-based company has confirmed that it is in talks with Abu Dhabi Traffic Police over the sale of 15 of its “personal intelligent transporters”.

The managing director of the company, Jean-Paul Logiotatos, said it offered a modern-day answer to a push bike for patrol cops.

“They get to areas where police vehicles aren’t able to get to,” he said. “They’re also useful for patrolling small communities, areas like the corniche, or areas of heavy traffic.

“If there’s been an accident in a tunnel, for instance, it might not be possible to send a car in there.”

He said the Zippi Patrol, which is powered by an electric engine, had a maximum speed of about 20kph and could run for eight hours of continual use without a charge. It costs Dh28,000, about the same price as the Segway patroller.

“The push bike has its advantages – it keeps the officers fitter,” said Mr Logiotatos. “This is kind of a lazy way of getting around.”

However, one of the key advantages over a bicycle, he said, was the ability to transport medical equipment. Fire fighters can also use the transporter to carry a hose into the scene of a fire, using a bracket fitted to the side of the vehicle.

“You wouldn’t be able to carry that equipment on a bicycle, for instance,” he said.

The technology uses gyroscopic sensors to keep the vehicle upright, and users move by leaning forwards or backwards.

Other than the engine design, it is very similar to a traditional transporter manufactured by Segway.

“It’s exactly the same concept,” said Mr Logiotatos. “Its function and design are almost the same.”

In 2012, Abu Dhabi Police said it would use Segways to respond to medical emergencies in malls and other public areas. A spokesman was not immediately available to confirm whether those vehicles were still in use.

At the Beijing Olympics, the use of modified Segways for patrols by China’s security forces was widely reported around the world.