NDanger. Fire. Explosions. These are all words you would not expect to be used when describing a toy, but with hoverboards, this is not the case. Many homes across the country have burned down from these “toys”. They may seem fun, but they are dangerous. Hoverboards are dangerous because not only can riders easily fall off and be injured, but they can also ignite if poorly manufactured and can even combust if damaged.

To begin, hoverboards allegedly appear as harmless toys; therefore, people will be injured while riding them. This is a serious danger because hoverboards are tremendously difficult to control. The lack of control can result in the board to swerve and hit nearby objects, or throw the rider off and seriously injure them. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has “logged 29 emergency room visits and 11 reports of fires in 10 states, said Elliot F. Kaye, chairman of the commission” (Rogers). The danger of hoverboards is spreading across the nation. The amount of injuries caused by hoverboards is out of control and is endangering many people. Many people are getting their children hoverboards birthdays and holidays. This will result in many possible injuries (Rogers). The rapid spread of hoverboards is going to multiply the number of possible injuries and lead to more dangerous conditions for riders because they will be surrounded by more riders. The hoverboards can go fast enough to cause harm (Rogers). The hoverboards top speeds are over 10 miles per hour. Thus, the hoverboards speed and instability is plenty to hurt someone because they are hard to control and people do not wear helmets.

Hoverboards have been known to explode, and many houses have been damaged, or completely destroyed because of them. Hoverboards have been causing damage all over the country in recent times. Two houses in Louisiana were scorched by these boards only months ago (Moynihan). Poor manufacturing can easily cause hoverboards to spontaneously combust, and can cause serious damage. They are getting so dangerous, that “major airlines have banned the little vehicles altogether” (Moynihan). If a major airline has banned these vehicles, it is clear that they are a danger to the lives of people.  Many factories in China are making lower quality, more dangerous, lithium ion batteries in order to save money and increase manufacturing rates (Moynihan). The main reason hoverboards combust is because of faulty and poorly manufactured batteries. Some Chinese manufacturers use cheaper components in order to save money. Clearly bringing a hoverboard into your home is a dangerous idea, and the components used inside of them can cause serious damage.
Many people have already bought dangerous models of hoverboards, so people are working to stop the spread and find out how to stop the explosions. If a product or product seller does not look legitimate do not purchase a board from them. This could lead to unreliable products, and consequently unreliable merchants (WFLA). Illegitimate hoverboard sellers are the main source of dangerous hoverboards. Their manufacturing processes make batteries that are not safe, and can easily ignite. The seal of a certified national testing laboratory means that a product is most likely safe to use (WFLA). National testing laboratories are testing whether a type of hoverboard is safe to use. If a product has this seal, it can be trusted that the product is safe to use. Some boards have exploded and caused fires, however, the Consumer Product Safety Commission is conducting a test to find out why this is happening (WFLA). The CPSC is investigating how to stop the hoverboards from exploding. They are running many tests and coming closer to an answer every day. Many people are working to inform people and stop dangerous models from being spread.

Many people say popular shopping websites have removed dangerous models from their site.Amazon has removed some popular models (Bolluyt).Amazon has taken of some dangerous hoverboards from their website, meaning that the remaining models on the website are safe. This is false. Just because popular models are not accessible, does not mean they are not for sale. Products can be disguised to be safe and high quality when in reality they are not made well.

As aforementioned, hoverboards are a huge danger. They are dangerous because they are difficult to control for many people and falling off of one, or worse without a helmet can result in serious injuries to the rider and the people nearby. Hoverboards have also not only been known to ignite but in serious cases have exploded. If we do not stop these dangerous devices, countless more people are going to be hurt needlessly. Are you honestly going to allow a simple toy put you and your loved one’s lives in danger?

Works Cited

Rogers, Katie. "Hoverboard Safety Fears Grow as Problems Mount." The New York Times. The New York Times, 14 Dec. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

Moynihan, Tim. "Why Hoverboards Keep Exploding." Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, Dec.-Jan. 15. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.

WFLA Web Staff. "CPSC Investigates Hoverboard Dangers, Offers Safety Tips." WFLA. WFLA Web Staff, 29 Dec. 2015. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.

Jess-Bolluyt. "Are 'Hoverboards' Really Dangerous?" The Cheat Sheet. N.p., 21 Dec. 2015. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.