Grand Canyon University bans hoverboards on campus citing safety concerns
Jan 22, 2016, 9:00 AM
(AP Photo/Stephen Brashear, File)
PHOENIX — Good news for those tired of seeing the so-called “hoverboards”: Grand Canyon University has banned the gadget from its campus.
Grand Canyon University spokesman Bob Romantic said officials decided to ban the toys due to several safety concerns.
“We have decided to ban the hoverboards on campus due to safety concerns, in particular fire hazards,” Romantic wrote in an e-mail. “Students have until spring break to return them to their homes.”
Grand Canyon isn’t the first university in the state to ban hoverboards from campus: University of Arizona banned the toy from on-campus housing on Thursday, according to student newspaper The Daily Wildcat.
More than 30 universities around the country have taken to banning the gadgets as well, citing warnings from federal authorities that some of the self-balancing gadgets have caught on fire.
This YouTube video from user BuleBritish shows just how easily the toys can catch on fire. The man had just got his new hoverboard when he decided to take it for a spin.
Starting at 1:51, the hoverboard can be seen beginning to smoke, before completely catching on fire.
Airline companies Delta, American, United and JetBlue all banned hoverboards from checked or carry-on luggage last December due to the potential fire danger.
A hoverboard is being blamed for sparking a Santa Rosa, California, house fire on Tuesday, killing two dogs.
Officials said the fire broke out Tuesday in a girl’s bedroom where the hoverboard was being charged. Santa Rosa Fire Battalion Chief Mark Basque estimates the blaze caused $200,000 to $250,000 in damage.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.