Photo: Screenshot from YouTube
Hoverboards have become very popular and nearly a must-have lately. After Amazon, some airline companies, and the British Government have taken actions against them, it is now time for the US officials to investigate these self-balancing gizmos.
Christmas is nearly here, and maybe you were thinking about getting a so-called hoverboard for you or someone else. Well, you should think twice before it’s not too late.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has been empowered to conduct a series of investigations against these futuristic self-balancing scooters. All these actions come after 10 people have already reported their boards caught fire and 29 claimed they have injured themselves after falling while using the board.
The CPSC has declared it does everything in its power to finalize the investigations as soon as possible and measures will be taken if something wrong is found. Some possible measures could be the implementation of voluntary standards or, if the industry doesn’t comply, the possibility of new regulations is also taken into consideration.
An example of voluntary standard is the measure adopted by Amazon, who promised to carry only US-certified products. So, this would be a great start in solving this problem, according to Engadget. Still, there are some companies that refuse to offer recalls.
If you still don’t believe these hoverboards are something you should be afraid of, find out that airline companies such as British Airways, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, Virgin Atlantic, American Airline, Delta and United banned them from their flights after some boards spontaneously caught fire.
Another case happened in Louisiana, where one such gizmo burst into flames while charging and destroyed a family’s home.
It’s true that not all boards are built in the same way, and their quality depends on the manufacturer, but bear in mind that, being a new product, you can’t know for sure which brands are trustworthy.
Sure, they are fun and very futuristic looking, but don’t forget, safety comes first.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has been empowered to conduct a series of investigations against these futuristic self-balancing scooters. All these actions come after 10 people have already reported their boards caught fire and 29 claimed they have injured themselves after falling while using the board.
The CPSC has declared it does everything in its power to finalize the investigations as soon as possible and measures will be taken if something wrong is found. Some possible measures could be the implementation of voluntary standards or, if the industry doesn’t comply, the possibility of new regulations is also taken into consideration.
An example of voluntary standard is the measure adopted by Amazon, who promised to carry only US-certified products. So, this would be a great start in solving this problem, according to Engadget. Still, there are some companies that refuse to offer recalls.
If you still don’t believe these hoverboards are something you should be afraid of, find out that airline companies such as British Airways, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, Virgin Atlantic, American Airline, Delta and United banned them from their flights after some boards spontaneously caught fire.
Another case happened in Louisiana, where one such gizmo burst into flames while charging and destroyed a family’s home.
It’s true that not all boards are built in the same way, and their quality depends on the manufacturer, but bear in mind that, being a new product, you can’t know for sure which brands are trustworthy.
Sure, they are fun and very futuristic looking, but don’t forget, safety comes first.
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