First Recorded Hoverboard Death.

[JohnCade]

Story here about a fifteen year old who lost control of his hoverboard and hit a bus.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/dec/11/hoverboard-death-in-london-believed-to-be-first-involving-swegway

 

[the_killjoy]

No brakes

 

[KirstinS]

No brakes

Awful , very sad and far far too young

But I'd like there not to be a knee jerk reaction

Skateboards don't have brakes either. And to be fair my brothers mate died when he hit a lorry aged 18 (it was that way round)

Also just awful.

But what actually killed him wasn't a lack of brakes. Or the skateboard.

It was poor decision making and risk assessment. (Instant mental judgement I mean - not form filling variety)

Looking back I don't know how I am alive- all the stupid "I'm invincible" decisions I made that age.

So I'm not casting stones, just an observation

 

[flecc]

Very sad news, and somehow all the worse on the approach to Christmas.

It's difficult to know where these can be used safely, skateboard/BMX parks probably aren't really suitable since these don't stunt in quite the same controllable way.

There's likely to be many more of them by the day after Christmas, so I really hope this is the last such sad outcome from their use.
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[the_killjoy]

I agree kirestin that most of us can look back and wonder how we survived, but the bottom line is that the young need to be protected from themselves.

 

[soundwave]

hover board with wheels ? lol

 

[Yamdude]

Terrible that this young lad has lost his life..... No doubt there will be calls to ban these boards now. But teenagers have always done stupid reckless things, at times or in places that they shouldn't, that have endangered themselves. Thinking you're invincible is part of being young.
Some of things i got up to at that age was extremely irresponsible and dangerous.

I've found it more worrying that some of these boards are exploding and bursting into flames.

 

[Kudoscycles]

There's an Irish guy doing the rounds of the London e-bike shops trying to sell electric scooters (e-skoot)....he is telling us all that they are EN 15194 legal and because they have no seat don't need type approval.
They are expensive at £850 and I don't like the idea of hover boards,Segways,scooters....we are electric bike dealers . But I struggled to prove that these scooters are illegal,I am sure they are.
KudosDave

 

[Croxden]

Have they got a throttle?

 

[flecc]

There's an Irish guy doing the rounds of the London e-bike shops trying to sell electric scooters (e-skoot)....he is telling us all that they are EN 15194 legal and because they have no seat don't need type approval.
They are expensive at £850 and I don't like the idea of hover boards,Segways,scooters....we are electric bike dealers . But I struggled to prove that these scooters are illegal,I am sure they are.
KudosDave

He's only partly right, EN15194 doesn't permit use, it only specifies suitability for acceptance. What he should be saying is that his seatless scooter is exempted from Type Approval Law 168/2013. That does not mean it's not a motor vehicle though, since a national government can consider it as one. Ours in the UK considers any vehicle with a motor as being a motor vehicle and only permits use of any type in public by separate acceptance in a variety of other laws such as road traffic acts, traffic lighting regulations and construction and use regulations.

There is no such acceptance for Segways for example, even though self-balancing vehicles are exempted from the type approval law.

But pedelecs, which are another type approval exemption, have approval through the EAPC regulations.

So your Irish chap needs a law saying his scooter type is accepted.
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[Kudoscycles]

Have they got a throttle?

Not sure....they skoot them to get going but they must have a throttle to maintain that power...e-skoot.com gives more details.
I hate the things so didn't pay much interest,all these hoverboards,Segways,scooters are a real nuisance on the pavement and very vulnerable to the rider on the road.
KudosDave

 

[SRS]

Lets not forget that you can get fat and die of a heart attack sat in front of a play station. Cotton wool is not the answer.
Whilst this incident along with any accidental death is always very sad this should be no reason to ban these things.
Obviously not a bright move using the thing near the road but hey, we used to ride our go carts down the middle of the road on the steepest of hills.
We all take our chances in life and luckily most get away with thing.