Sunday, December 7, 2008

Surprisingly Taser International misses rare marketing opportunity

The CBC ran tests on 41 Tasers used by the majority of policing organizations in the world and found that ten percent of the tested weapons fired a stronger current than the company claims.
The tests' designer, University of Montreal biomedical engineer Pierre Savard, says they provide a rare glimpse at the effectiveness of Taser's weapons, which are not subject to rigorous independent examination.

"When you use a cellphone, well, cellphones have to respect a set of standards … for the electric magnetic field that it emits. The Taser, well, nobody knows except Taser International."

The four faulty stun-guns were all manufactured before 2005, raising concerns that the weapons deteriorate with age. The RCMP they will be pulling a sample of their own Tasers for testing based on the results.

Savard says weapons that fire a too strong current present a dangerous situation because officers are trained to fire the Tasers directly at a target's chest.

"When you combine an increased current intensity with a dart that falls right over the heart for somebody who has cardiovascular disease or other conditions such as using drugs, for example, it can all add up to a fatal issue," he told CBC.
Surprisingly in response Taser International who are usually right on the killing edge of marketing techniques , completely missed the opportunity to expound on “the built in obsolescence” feature.

A rare opportunity to be replenishing every police force every two years... planned obsolescence equals planned sales growth etc.

Instead they stuck to their old "shocking criminals is less harmful than whatever police forces did before" gambit.
TASER International appreciates the continued interest in TASER technology, and sincerely hope that the CBC report will focus on the proven injury reductions law enforcement experience with this technology, rather than using engineering minutiae to confuse the viewer and create a false sense of controversy over a test that confirms the output of TASER X26's are consistent, and well below acceptable safety thresholds.
No wonder Taser’s stock remains under four bucks with such shoddy marketing gaffes.

Meanwhile 26 Canadians and 380 Americans have died after being struck by a Taser.





Reference: Raw Story here and the CBC here .

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