Think back to December 2015 — a time when children gliding on freshly unwrapped hoverboards roamed wild and free throughout suburbia. When dads were breaking bones left and right trying to keep up. When young girls turned into seals trying to save their beloved boards from sinking to the bottoms of pools. And, oh yeah, when hoverboards were overheating and lighting themselves on fire. Again, and again, and again.
Now, the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission is recalling over half a million hoverboards, citing the potential for personal and property damage. (You know, like your kids lighting the house, or themselves, on fire.) “There have been at least 99 incidents reports of the battery packs in self-balancing scooters/hoverboards overheating, sparking, smoking, catching fire and/or exploding including reports of burn injuries and property damage,” the CPSC explained in the recall.
CPSC has also provided a list of all devices affected by the recall. The top offender, popular hoverboard brand Swagway, will be recalling over 260,000 units, more than half the total recall. To see whether you or your teen is still riding around on a battery-powered piece of kindling, you can see the full list here.
