Colleges in New Jersey and Elsewhere Instituting Bans on Hoverboards due to Safety Risks
Hoverboards were all the rage among gift givers this holiday season, but they also presented a serious injury risk to recipients. Now a number of U.S. universities are taking preventative measures to stop students, and others, from sustaining hoverboard-related injuries on college campuses.
At Kean University, which is located in Union, New Jersey, school officials recently notified all 14,000 students that hoverboards would not be allowed on campus. In an email sent to students, Len Dolan, the college’s managing director of fire safety, highlighted the possibility that a hoverboard can catch fire or explode through no fault of the user.
It will certainly be interesting to see how lawmakers respond to the increased use of hoverboards outside of colleges. For example, New York City officials have already prohibited the use of hoverboards on sidewalks and streets.
Additionally, all of the nation’s largest airlines, including American, Delta, Southwest and United, now bar customers from bringing hoverboards onto planes. Hoverboard fires are often caused while the devices are being charged, especially because manufacturers reportedly don’t always provide proper labels for the lithium-ion batteries used to power the devices.
In addition to the fire dangers posed by hoverboards, use of the popular devices can also result in slip & falls, collisions and other accidents.
For more information about college policies on hoverboards, view the AOL.com article entitled, “Colleges Tell Students to Leave Their Hoverboards at Home.”
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident anywhere in New Jersey, it is imperative that you speak with a competent, qualified attorney as soon as possible. The skilled product liability and premises liability lawyers at Drazin and Warshaw, P.C. have more than 70 years of combined experience with personal injury cases. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation about your case.
