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1. Hoverboard Dangers
Hoverboards can be a dangerous toy.

2. Hoverboards are fun, one of the trendiest gift items
of 2015, and unfortunately, potentially dangerous.
Plenty of hoverboard accidents have occurred due to
user failure, such as some well-publicized celebrity
falls, but recent reports attribute many of the worst
accidents not to the hoverboard user or the
hoverboard itself, but to the lithium ion battery that
powers it.

3. According to CNET, the lithium batteries contain
flammable liquid, and many hoverboards have been
made cheaply, or even by factories manufacturing
counterfeit brand-name toys—or using cut-rate
batteries.
And, as Wired reported, any lithium ion battery is more
likely to explode when it gets bumped around, which
will inevitably happen with a hoverboard.
Lithium Batteries

4. As we noted in a piece on not-so-safe tech gifts last
December, some tech gifts—such as hoverboards—
are so new, there are no safety standards attached to
them.
But hoverboards were outlawed in New York state
prior to Christmas, have been banned by more than
60 airlines, and are prohibited on a number of college
campuses.

5. Are all hoverboards dangerous? Is it possible to
purchase a safe hoverboard?
While no toy can be guaranteed accident-free, there are
precautions you can take to buy a safer hoverboard,
and specifically to help avoid some of the battery fires
that have endangered other consumers.
The Safest Hoverboards

6. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
(CPSC) recommends buying hoverboards at a trusted
retailer, not from mall kiosks or websites.
Look for a UL or ETL emblem on the toy or on the
package to show that the hoverboard has been
inspected by an independent lab for safety.
(Remember, of course, that counterfeiters sometimes
manufacture products with fake emblems.)

7. Finally, if you already have one—and operate it in a
city where it’s still legal—take some safety
precautions of your own.
The CPSC recommends never charging a hoverboard
overnight or longer than the owner’s manual directs;
keep it away from flammable objects; and let it cool
for an hour after you use it before charging it again.