Colleges tell students to leave their hoverboards at home

It may have been a popular holiday gift, but one local campus is banning hoverboards.

Students found with the two-wheeled devices in residence halls will be asked to remove them, Hood said. United Kingdom issued on Wednesday a campus-wide temporary ban for the self-balancing skateboards, claiming they can pose a fire hazard. Even if they haven’t taken action yet, most universities and colleges are talking about potential bans behind the scenes, Theiler said.

Denver International Airport also doesn’t allow the devices and many airlines aren’t allowing them on board.

Before Christmas, WakeMed had treated only three hoverboard-related injuries in roughly the month before Christmas.

“If that may inconvenience a couple dozen students, then that’s what it’s going to have to be”, he said.

Please adhere to this prohibition as you return for the spring term by keeping any electronic hoverboard devices away from campus.

“In an effort toward safety, we are issuing an immediate ban”.

“Hoverboards have not been an issue on campus at this point”, he said.

“I’m not aware of any previous product out there that has caused alarm in the sense that these have”, she said.

In an email to students, the school said the devices present a number of safety risks, citing recent fires. “It’s looking like, across the USA, colleges are taking a stance”. Numerous other campuses and organizations have also banned these devices.

Batteries within these devices have been reported to burst into flames – especially while being charged – resulting in a metal fire that can burn with intense heat.

The ban will remain in effect until more information and better safety standards for all models of the equipment are in place to protect United Kingdom students, faculty, staff, patients and visitors from the potential threat of fire.

Students are set to return to campus for classes on January 13. They will provide an update when policy is implemented.