The hoverboard, AKA self-balancing scooter, was invented in 2013 and quickly gained a world-wide following of teens and adults who looked for an easy way to glide around town. Like every other portable means of transportation, the hoverboard quickly became in high demand, and its production was moved to the Far East, where it was a lot cheaper to mass produce them.
Unfortunately, the low production costs turned out to have a high price with hoverboards exploding due to faulty lithium batteries inside them. There's no need to say how hazardous hoverboards became when they started spontaneously combusting, but luckily, the faulty production led to improvements and the implantation of strict guidelines that now regulate how a hoverboard should be manufactured.
Are Hoverboards Safe Now?
The exploding hoverboard incidents that happened in 2016 led to the creation of new and strict UL (Underwriter Laboratories) guidelines that determine whether a certain hoverboard is safe or not. In order to prevent environmental damage, as well as physical harm, each hoverboard model has to pass no less than 150 tests before its receives UL 2272 certification.
Hoverboards that have the UL 2272 seal of approval are extremely safe and can be used as a means of getting around town. These types of hoverboards pose no fire hazard, and they follow strict guidelines that protect consumers and their surroundings from harm.
After the guidelines were implemented, hoverboards became a lot safer, and you can now purchase them without the fear of injury. To make sure that you purchase safe, good quality hoverboards, you have to buy the ones that have the UL seal of approval and those that are considered to be the best hoverboards. Hoverboards that do not have the UL 2272 certification pose a fire hazard, and you are better off leaving them on the shelf.