No hoverboard currently for sale meets the standards laid out by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.
our hoverboard is a potential deathtrap.
We didn't say it. The US meting out did.
Hoverboards "postscript an unreasonable risk of blaze" if they don't meet voluntary safety standards, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a letter Thursday to manufacturers, importers and retailers. No hoverboard currently upon the express meets those standards, which lid everything from the boards' electrical systems to labeling.
The CPSC furthermore said it might manage to pay for advice away as soon as or recall hoverboards that don't meet the standards.
The commission's criticism is the latest slant in the odd records of hoverboards, the ably-liked if misnamed mode of transportation that has gained so much popularity the head coach of the Carolina Panthers had to bar the team from using them ahead of the Super Bowl. The self-balancing boards became a hot item last year after celebrities taking into consideration Justin Bieber and Kendall Jenner posted shots of themselves zipping not in the make remote off from (and falling off) the boards.
But just as unexpectedly, hoverboards transitioned from must-have toy to health hazard after reports of the boards catching blaze or exploding started rolling in last December. In the along with than three months alone, the CPSC has received reports of 52 hoverboard fires resulting in more than $2 million in property blinking.
The agency said many of these incidents could have been prevented if the self-balancing boards met the newly outlined standards.
"Consumers risk huge offend or death if their self-balancing scooters make worse and burn," wrote Robert Howell, acting director of the CPSC's Office of Compliance and Field Operations, in the letter.
The CPSC letter said all boards should be credited affix by Underwriters Laboratories, a widely used independent scrutiny recognition, and meet United Nations requirements for lithium-ion battery products.
UL began submissive hoverboards for investigation in February, but has not endorsed any boards still.
"Not one [hoverboard] has a endorsement by UL," said John Drengenberg, the consumer safety director at UL. "Manufacturers would be wise to see at it and make deferential their product meets the requirements."
UL could not have the funds for an estimate for once a venerated hoverboard might hit the avow, Drengenberg said, adding that product chemical analysis generally takes a few weeks.
Consumers who already own a non-UL-attributed hoverboard should admittance the manufacturer and demand a refund, said the CPSC. Consumers should halt using any uncertified hoverboards and permit the batteries in the device counsel down, the agency recommended.
This CPSC accomplish alone isn't a recall, but it will likely prompt recalls by major manufacturers and retailers. Companies that continue to create or sell hoverboards that don't meet standards could slant civil and criminal penalties, said the agency in its letter.
