Segway Crisis

Jim Heselden, British businessman and owner of the Segway company, died after riding one of the scooters off a cliff and into a river at his home. It was reported that he was riding a rugged country version of the two-wheeled vehicle when he lost control and fell thirty feet.  Heselden bought the company from U.S. inventor Dean Kamen in December 2009. 

Segway now has a problem.  If the owner of the company cannot safely operate one of their vehicles, how is the general public supposed to?  I predict that sales will go down and people will sell their shares of the stock.  Media coverage will probably be harsh as well.  I have already seen news reports out about Segway safety, and this accident only happened two days ago. 

I think Segway probably had a crisis plan in the event that a customer was in an accident while operating a Segway, but not if the owner did.  I would never think to create a crisis plan for that situation.  So far, a spokesman for the company has confirmed the accident and not said anything else.  This crisis is still in an early stage since the accident happened two days ago.  Within a few days we should be able to see how Segway handles this. 

Read the full article here.