Are Hoverboards Safe Now?

When your kids are riding a hoverboard, their safety is just indispensable and mandatory. If you don’t want your kids to get hurt, you have to pay attention to the material you’re acquiring. There are, without any shade of doubt, other factors like terrain and training but the quality of the board is a pressing matter. You can never compromise the quality even if you have to pay extra for the board.

A hoverboard is a two-wheeled motorized device, which is also called a self-balancing scooter. You can easily achieve a speed of up to 12 miles per hour, depending on the board and your weight too. The rider steps onto two pressure-sensitive footpads; allowing you to control steer and speed. Usually, they have a low center of gravity, which paves the way for your fall. 

There has been a meticulous study published in Pediatrics which states that there were around 27,000 hoverboard injuries reported in the last two years. It’s massive because wrist injuries were common, followed by head and forearm injuries. In addition to that, around 500,000 hoverboards were recalled after reports of the devices exploding or combusting. When you read all these stats, you start prioritizing the safety element. 

Safety of hoverboards also depends on the hoverboard brands that you are using. 

What are the safety tips? 

If you’re about to start riding a hoverboard and you take your safety very seriously, make sure you wear protective gear. You can also search Onewheel Canada for more info.

  • Wear a bicycle or multisport helmet to protect your head 
  • Wear wrist guards 
  • Wear knee pads 
  • Also, wear elbow pads 
  • You have to supervise your kids all the time
  • Check with local laws, peculiarly about age, before you allow your kids to ride the hoverboard. In some areas, it is actually against the law to ride hoverboards on sidewalks or streets. 

What is UL 2272 Test For? 

The Batteries

We know that nearly all hoverboards use lithium-ion batteries because they are small but they can store massive power. There is a scary part to that because they are also susceptible to overheating and explosions. To find out about the battery, UL comes with tests that stimulate a battery cell by heating it up and seeing if a battery gets punctured. A self-balancing scooter fire can literally devour an entire house. 

The Charger

How can you forget about the charger? It can stir the pot easily and cause multiple problems. Hoverboards use USB chargers and most of the time they are not really safe. Before the UL certification, the lab tests the charger, and using a charger that is not UL certified would be a perilous idea. A faulty charger can overcharge a perfect battery and then the battery can explode. Get the UL-certified charger because it would be safe for everyone. 

 The Wires

It’s the gist of the manufacturing process because the wires are going to be everywhere and if they don’t function well, you can land in real trouble. To make it perfect and impeccable, the manufacturing process has to be very top-notch. There are some brands that are not mindful and prudent about the fact that this can cause colossal problems for anyone. UL opens up the hoverboards they are testing and then takes a closer look at everything. If a hoverboard fails the test, it means the wires were extremely cramped and exposed. What does it mean? It means they can cause a short circuit and the circumstances can be lethal in that case. 

Other Tests

There are other tests for hoverboards that UL has to offer like a leakage current test, crash test, shock test, water exposure test, thermal cycling test, vibration test, motor overload test, mold stress relief test, etc. If you are a beginner, I will highly recommend you to try hoverboards under 200 USD.