They may not be exactly like Marty McFly’s, but hoverboards are now a part of the present. They’re also one of the hottest presents on many holiday lists. In fact, on Cyber Monday, online retailer eBay sold a hoverboard every twelve seconds. I know it’s pretty Grinchy, but maybe a skateboard would be a better gift for your extreme athlete. At least a skateboard won’t allegedly burn down your house.
They may not be exactly like Marty McFly’s, but hoverboards are now a part of the present. They’re also one of the hottest presents on many holiday lists. In fact, on Cyber Monday, online retailer eBay sold a hoverboard every twelve seconds. Their hotness doesn’t end there, though. Hoverboards often burst into flames.
I know it’s pretty Grinchy, but maybe a skateboard would be a better gift for your extreme athlete. At least a skateboard won’t allegedly burn down your house.
Jessical Horne of Louisiana experienced a house fire after plugging in the hoverboard she bought online. “It was like a firework, like you just lit a firework,” she said. “I saw sparks flying. And before I could yell, the house was on fire.”
The several reports of hoverboards burting into flames may be a case of “you get what you pay for,” according to one high-end retailer. Franchiser Rilwan Hassan of IO Moonwalkers said that many of the hoverboards available are cheap counterfeits. IO’s boards sell for around $1600.00, obviously opening the field for knockoffs.
Someone “brought a board in to us (that) stopped working and also broke in half, so we decided to open it and check what was wrong with it,” he said. “Basically it had duct tape in the wiring, wiring was loose, screws were missing — it was just terrible quality.” The board was not an IO Moonwalker board.
Even if you pay top dollar for a hoverboard, there’s no guarantee of safety. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) received eight reports of hoverboard-related emergency room visits. None were caused by fires.
Hoverboards really aren’t toys, according to safety experts. The speeds at which they travel are sufficient to cause serious injuries to those who fall off of their boards. Riders should always wear safety gear: helmets and elbow pads & kneepads. All problems should be reported to the CPSC.
So, what makes these products so potentially dangerous?
Currently, hoverboards are not regulated products. There aren’t any national standards governing quality for the many different brands available, according to the Safety Institute’s Sean Kane.
Kane said, “What’s the difference? What are the design practices? What are the standards? What is the testing that’s being done? And the answer is nobody knows because there aren’t any requirements they have to meet.”
In other words, caveat emptor (buyer beware).
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