Even Colleges Are Banning Hoverboards

Hoverboards just can’t seem to catch a break, it’s been a bad couple of weeks for these self-balancing scooters, as they’ve pretty much been shown the door. They’re being banned left, right and center with colleges even jumping into the mix. The George Washington University has announced that it’s going to prohibit self-balancing scooters, a.k.a hoverboards, from its campus starting January 1st, 2016.

The George Washington University says that it has made this decision following recent concerns by the Consumer Product Safety Commission after it investigated the scooters for being a potential fire risk. The university has decided to do this in order to ensure campus safety.

It asks students not to bring hoverboards, battery operated scooters and hands-free segways to campus when returning from the winter break, pointing out that several safety and consumer agencies are still investigating multiple fire and injuries related to these devices.

GWU’s announcement follows a week after Newport College, a private outfit based in Rhose Island, also issued a similar ban on these gadgets. Hoverboards have already been banned by Amazon, Singapore Airlines and the U.S. Postal Service will no longer be shipping them by air.

Concerns related to fire safety are well founded and can not be disregarded, and that’s one of the reasons why Amazon has been telling customers that purchased certain hoverboards from it to discard them and claim a refund. If you do happen to own one do consciously weigh the risks against the benefits before deciding to keep a potential fire hazard in your home.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Gadgets
Tags: hoverboards