Why do hoverboards keep catching on fire and injuring people?

While hoverboards may be the hot item of 2015, concern has risen over how safe the self-balancing devices are. Aside from the dangers of operating the motorized vehicle, reports have indicated that hoverboards could be a hazard if improperly handled; the devices have already been banned from New York City, Overstock.com, Delta, American, and United Airlines.

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is conducting a massive investigation into the risks of hoverboards as there are no current safety standards in place.

“The CPSC is looking into the safety of the entire product line,” Scott Wolfson, the agency’s communications director said. “We have active investigations into incidents that have occurred in California, Ohio, Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama. There have been additional incidents in Florida and Pennsylvania.”

The investigation includes accidents that caused injuries by hoverboards catching on fire; this week alone, an electric balancing device burst into flames in a Washington mall and another caught fire in a New York home, both of which happened a couple weeks after a flaming hoverboard destroyed a family’s home in Louisiana. 

What’s scariest are the incidents that send hoverboard users to the emergency room. The CPSC is in constant communication with hospitals around the country that send updates as people arrive to the emergency room with gadget-related injuries.

“As of this week, we have received more than 30 reports of people that went to ER and that number is likely to grow,” Wolfson said.

As part of its on-going investigation, the CPSC has collected numerous makes and models of hoverboards and plans to test them in a lab outside of Washington, DC. They are testing not only for basic functionality, but also for the battery issues that could be causing the devices to catch fire.

The outcome of the current hoverboard investigation could lead to the establishment of a safety standard for the devices. As for now, the CPSC has issued safety tips for hoverboard users: wear a helmet, elbow pads, and kneepads when riding, and do not plug in overnight.

Source: Gizmodo