Kerry Steinhofer, Copy Editor
The Asbury University Safety Committee recently made the decision to no longer permit hoverboards on campus due to recent instances where the devices burst into flames. A campus wide email sent out Tuesday afternoon stated, “All hoverboards and similar devices are banned on campus, effective immediately.”
Along with the devices not being allowed to be in use on campus, they are also to be kept off-campus. “I would stress to students to please contact Student Development for immediate assistance for storage if these devices cannot be taken home immediately to avoid the potential of property damage or injury,” said Director of Safety and Security David Hay.
Asbury isn’t the only university who has decided to ban these devices. According to the Huffington Post, over 20 universities in the U.S. have either banned or restricted the use of hoverboards.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued warnings about hoverboards and how there is an ongoing investigation about the explosions.
Not only are universities and businesses banning the device, airlines have banned them on flight due to safety concerns.
According to the campus wide email, on Dec. 14, 2015, Amazon stopped selling hoverboards. Even with the safety concern of these devices, hoverboards were still on several Christmas lists last year. CNBC reported nearly 5,000 hoverboards sold on Black Friday. Regardless of the continuation of explosions and banning, sales are still rising.
“Asbury University has not had any specific incidents to date,” said Hay. “The action was taken as precautionary.” As stated in the email, “The Asbury University Safety Committee is not willing to risk the safety of our students or of any member of our campus community by the continued use of these devices on campus.”
Hoverboards will remain banned on campus until further notice once more information is released about the safety of the devices. Until then, keep yourself and everyone around you safe by not allowing unwanted explosions and fires to occur.