Are hoverboards safe? After recent bad rap, Hong Kong users think so, and vendors do too

Fires caused by defective battery chargers, and seizures over parts, have led to a scare about self-balancing electric scooters, but Hongkonger who sources them in China says they’re safe as long as you choose sellers in direct contact with manufacturers that are reliable

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A young man rides a hoverboard along a Manhattan street towards the Empire State Building, in New York, despite a ban on their use on public roads in the city. Photo: AP

Published: 8:00pm, 17 Dec 2015Updated: 10:41pm, 17 Dec 2015

Hoverboards - self-balancing electric scooters, mostly made in China – have been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons recently.

Amid reports of batteries exploding while on charge and of substandard chargers, plugs and cables, British customs authorities have seize thousands; leading online retailer Amazon has told British buyers of defective models to throw them away, and another online retailer, Overstock, has ceased selling them on safety grounds and offered buyers refunds. This comes on top of restrictions on their public use in cities worldwide, including Hong Kong, on road safety grounds.

SEE ALSO: Airlines are banning hoverboards from flights after fires trigger safety concerns

So are all hoverboards unsafe, and will the surge in their popularity fizzle out amid a blizzard of negative publicity?

Vendors in the biggest overseas market, the United States, where they sell for as little as US$300, don’t see sales slowing, and a Hong Kong scooter fan who sources hoverboards for friends is confident of their safety.

A man riding a hoverboard at a Causeway Bay wet market.

Jay, as the Hongkonger asked to be called, considers hoverboards a great invention and a fun way for people to get around. But he warns it is dangerous to order any online without knowing about the supplier.

“The standard of these products on [popular online shopping site] Taobao varies a great deal. It really depends on the supplier,” says Jay, who sources one- and two-wheeled scooters in Shenzhen. “And they run on batteries that have high voltage so, yes, you don’t want to run tests on [a battery] at home by yourself.”