As of Jan. 1, hoverboards are no longer permitted on any University of New Haven property due to safety risks identified by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Council and the National Association of Fire Marshals. All students, faculty and staff were notified of the new policy on Dec. 28 by Associate Vice President of Public Safety & Administrative Services Ronald Quagliani.
The decision to ban hoverboards, defined by the university as a lithium-ion powered self-balancing board, self-balancing scooters, electric skateboards or drifting boards, was made because of the number of fires and explosions that have been occurring globally. Due to the fires caused by faulty lithium batteries and wiring, airports and airlines, along with many other universities across the nation, have banned these self-balancing because of the danger they pose.
According to the university’s hoverboard policy, hoverboards are no longer allowed to be charged, operated or stored inside any building or on any property owned or controlled by UNH in order to minimize the risk associated with the scooters overheating, catching fire or exploding.
According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, there have been 12 incidents in the United States where the lithium-ion batteries in these hoverboards reportedly caught fire. In January, the CPSC updated that number to at least 40 reports of hoverboard fires in 19 states, according to C-Net.
The Office of Residential Life has been notified about the new policy, and will help enforce this new rule, according to Quagliani. Because having a hoverboard on campus is a violation of the student handbook and the school’s policy, ORL and campus police have the authority to issue warnings to students found with hoverboards, confiscate the boards and refer any students breaking the policy to the Dean’s office.
“Due to the dangers associated with these devices, I’m hopeful that students understand the risk and will not bring them to campus,” Quagliani said.
Some students on campus understand the associated risks and accept the new policy.
“I don’t think it’s such a bad idea as they have been known to be safety issues,” said senior Laura Kircher. “Between the tendency to catch on fire and the safety for those that ride them, I feel it is probably best not to have them. We also have narrow hallways, a lot of stairs and hills—that just seems like a huge risk right there.”
Mark Sylvester, the USGA Health and Safety Committee head, agrees with the university’s policy. “I definitely think this ban was a smart idea,” he said. “The school is doing their best to ensure the safety of the students here at UNH…it is the school’s responsibility to protect its students from potential hazards created by these hoverboards.”
According to USA Today, Amazon has stopped selling most models of hoverboards after a series of explosions, fires and injuries from boards made by various manufacturers.
Amazon is requesting companies manufacturing the popular devices to prove they are safe to use and has started to pull some hoverboards from its site.
“I think that if Amazon refuses to sell them because of their tendency to spontaneously combust, it makes sense to ban them from public places,” said senior marine biology major Katie Harrison.
Other students are happy to hear the hoverboards won’t be permitted on campus for other reasons.
“I don’t think this [ban] is a bad idea because the skateboarders almost always run me over…and [hoverboards] would just add another thing I would have to worry about being run over by,” said pre-med major Kayla Katt. “I feel like people wouldn’t just use them outside, but also inside the halls of buildings, which means I could get run over both outside and inside.”
President of the Class of 2017 Keelin Herbst agrees that the same issues some students face with skateboarders could arise if hoverboards were permitted on campus.
“The policy is pro-active, and I think it will benefit the campus community,” Herbst said.
“I understand why they’re [instilling a new policy] and that necessary precautions need to be taken, but I can’t say that I’m not disappointed that I won’t be able to see people falling over the place on campus,” said senior Kaitlin Mahar. Similarly, Harrison said she did enjoy watching people ride their hoverboards, and found it “mildly entertaining” whenever someone would stumble.
“The school is not creating this policy because [the hoverboards] are dangerous to ride; they are simply trying to minimize the other risks associated with these hoverboards,” Sylvester said. “I am glad the university is taking the initiative to make the campus safe.”
