Skip to main content

Own a hoverboard? Feds say get yourself a fire extinguisher, too

hoverboard
Ben Larcey/Creative Commons
You know the hoverboard safety situation is serious when a high-ranking safety official tells owners to keep a fire extinguisher with their machine at all times.

The advice comes courtesy of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in an update to its investigation into the personal transporter published on Wednesday.

Recommended Videos

The board – one of the hot-ticket items of the holiday season – has been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently following incidents around the world where it’s burst into flames while plugged into the wall. In the U.S., the CPSC says it’s so far received reports of 39 hoverboard fires in 19 states.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Dodgy batteries and components have been blamed, with many of the poorly made boards coming from inexperienced “tech” companies keen to cash in on the craze.

Some reports suggest the device, which doesn’t really hover at all but instead trundles along on two wheels, can also catch fire when not being charged due to a fault with – or damage to – the on-board battery.

Fire safety concerns have even forced a slew of major airlines to ban the device from planes in recent months, while Amazon last month took down listings for the product while it conducted its own investigations.

CPSC Chairman Elliot F. Kaye said in his report the commission’s investigators and engineers are continuing “to work diligently to find the root cause of the hoverboard fires that have occurred throughout the country,” with particular attention being paid to “the components of the lithium-ion battery packs as well as their interaction with the circuit boards inside the units.” The commission is currently examining the safety of hoverboards made by these companies.

Besides keeping a fire extinguisher close by, Kaye sensibly suggests charging the device “in an open area away from combustible materials.” Yes, some serious hoverboard-related house fires have indeed made headlines in recent months.

The report also voiced concerns about injuries from hoverboard tumbles, something Mike Tyson knows all about.

Kaye said that while it’s tempting to dismiss falls as nothing more than user inexperience, he’s concerned that current hoverboard designs don’t consider different weights of different users, “potentially leading to the units speeding up or lurching in a manner that a user would not have reason to anticipate, especially a first-time user.”

He added that because of the “increasing number of serious injuries,” investigators are now examining the design of the boards to see if they can be improved.

Hopefully all this somewhat gloomy publicity won’t have put you off jumping back on your board, but just take care when you do. And get yourself an extinguisher, too.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Hyundai Ioniq 5 sets world record for greatest altitude change
hyundai ioniq 5 world record altitude change mk02 detail kv

When the Guinness World Records (GWR) book was launched in 1955, the idea was to compile facts and figures that could finally settle often endless arguments in the U.K.’s many pubs.

It quickly evolved into a yearly compilation of world records, big and small, including last year's largest grilled cheese sandwich in the world.

Read more
Global EV sales expected to rise 30% in 2025, S&P Global says
ev sales up 30 percent 2025 byd sealion 7 1stbanner l

While trade wars, tariffs, and wavering subsidies are very much in the cards for the auto industry in 2025, global sales of electric vehicles (EVs) are still expected to rise substantially next year, according to S&P Global Mobility.

"2025 is shaping up to be ultra-challenging for the auto industry, as key regional demand factors limit demand potential and the new U.S. administration adds fresh uncertainty from day one," says Colin Couchman, executive director of global light vehicle forecasting for S&P Global Mobility.

Read more
Faraday Future could unveil lowest-priced EV yet at CES 2025
Faraday Future FF 91

Given existing tariffs and what’s in store from the Trump administration, you’d be forgiven for thinking the global race toward lower electric vehicle (EV) prices will not reach U.S. shores in 2025.

After all, Chinese manufacturers, who sell the least expensive EVs globally, have shelved plans to enter the U.S. market after 100% tariffs were imposed on China-made EVs in September.

Read more