Recently, electronic coasting devices, or hoverboards, have been completely banned on campus including in all buildings, residence halls and on campus grounds due to their safety hazards. At first, this might sound ridiculous, but upon further investigations into these “hazards,” one might feel differently about them.

For me, when I first found out about hoverboards, I felt like they were a waste of money and just a great way to be lazy. Not to mention, that they shouldn’t even be called “hoverboards.” Anyone that is a “Back to The Future” fan knows that a hoverboard doesn’t have wheels, for starters. Going back to the money and lazy issues, why would someone want to spend anywhere from nearly 200 to thousands of dollars just so they can stand on something and move at nearly the same speed as walking? 

Beside my own feelings on hoverboards, the fact that they have safety hazards completely convinced me that they are better off banned on campus at the very least. All across the world, including but not limited to the United States, in the U.K. and even Hong Kong, there have been multiple reports of hoverboards catching on fire and/or exploding while charging or in use,  causing injuries to users. 

According to nola.com, one report even includes a local house being destroyed because of a fire caused by a hoverboard in Lafitte, Louisiana, a small town less than 30 miles from New Orleans. I have seen countless videos and firsthand accounts of people falling off of hoverboards or crashing into things while riding hoverboards. 

Many U.S. airline industries, the United States Postal Service and even Amazon and other vendors have also banned hoverboards on flights, through shipping and completely ended or suspended sales on them. Additionally, many other United States college and university campuses, including the University of New Hampshire, Boston College and Georgia State University, to name a few, have decided to ban hoverboards or put restrictions on them. Furthermore, some states and cities, including New York, have even changed their laws to prohibit or restrict the use of hoverboards. 

With all the possible dangers and restrictions on hoverboards, I think it is safe to say that our campus, much less the world, is better off without them.