Are Hoverboards Really Safe?

Each Christmas, there has to be something unique that will eventually become the fad for the Holidays.

For this year, the one that has been creating quite a stir are these so-called two-wheeled hoverboards or gliding motorized scooters that can practically be seen everywhere these days.

These things run on lithium-ion batteries. To enjoy it, folks need to just balance themselves properly, with the hoverboard responding to the body tilts and stability to get it up and running.

Though the hoverboards seem neat and something tempting to have, there is one question that comes into mind- are these things safe?

The answer to that may depend on where they would be used. Most are used on sidewalks while others in malls. Depending on the nature of the one using them, folks who are not fully aware of how to control these devices may eventually encounter accidents or even hurt someone they come across.

Now, while that should be a mild issue that can easily be corrected, here is something eventual owners may have no control of.

There are apparently reported cases where some hoverboards explode or catch fire. Over in Louisiana, warnings have been issued in light of alleged incidents tied up to such.

The culprit for such are the lithium-ion batteries used by the said devices. Though defects could occur, the issue mounts all the more when folks turn to the budget models being offered to the public.

The prices for authentic hoverboards vary, with the cheapest priced at $329 from sites such as Powermax, with the price incrementally shooting up depending on the features it carries.

Seeing how expensive one costs, imitations have come out as well, which go for as low as $166, over at eBay.

However, at the end of the day, imitation or not, it seems that the problem will still be the lithium-ion batteries that these devices would be running on.

Seeing how these versatile and lightweight batteries are tasked to render the necessary juices for electronic stuff, there is no clear way to safeguard consumers from them.

Of course, the better-quality batteries will pull down the probability of explosions and eventual fire, but the reality of it all is that such unforeseen events can occur despite exhausting all preventive measures to avoid unfortunate incidents, as pointed out by Wired.

“There is no way to tell when buying since the catastrophic failure likely will not manifest until the battery is fully charged and discharged several times,” Jay Whitacre, professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University said. “This charging/discharging mechanically exercises the guts of the cell and typically provides the ultimate trigger for the failure.”

Leading online sites such as Amazon and Overstock have already pulled out listings for the hoverboards on their end

However, for the ones who know their way around the web, the hoverboards can still be purchased from several outlets.

Some customers who have been longing to get one may find these developments as something to discourage them from the hype these hoverboards have created. When you start hearing and seeing from reports that explosions, fires and other accidents are indeed a reality, you may want to make a serious reconsideration before making decisions.