Hoverboards and Self-Balancing Boards

FAMILY · GLOBAL

Hoverboards and Self-Balancing Boards

Where they may be used, safety standards, fire risk and protecting children

Hoverboards are popular presents and carry two separate issues — where they can be used and how they are charged.

They are not legal on public roads or pavements

In the UK, self-balancing boards are classed as motor vehicles and cannot be used on public roads, and pavement use is prohibited for motor vehicles. That leaves private land with the owner's permission.

Parks and shopping centres are usually private land with their own rules, so check rather than assume.

Safety standards

Look for a recognised safety marking and a compliant plug, and buy from an established retailer. Trading standards have seized large numbers of unsafe imported boards at UK borders over the years.

A board with a non-UK plug and an adapter is a warning sign rather than a minor inconvenience.

Fire risk

Lithium battery fires in these products are well documented and develop extremely fast. Charge on a hard surface, in sight, while awake, never overnight and never in a hallway or anywhere that blocks the way out.

Use only the supplied charger, stop using anything that swells, smells or gets unusually hot, and never leave a board charging in a bedroom.

Protecting a child

A helmet, plus wrist guards, knee and elbow pads. Wrists take most of the injuries, because people put their hands out when they fall.

Learn on a flat open surface with someone spotting, and keep speed settings low at first.

Buying as a gift

Check the age guidance and the weight range, since a board outside its range handles badly. Buy from a retailer who will take a return, and check the charger is a UK plug rather than an adapter.

Register the product with the manufacturer, which is how you hear about a recall.

Storage

Somewhere cool and dry, charged to around half if it will be unused for months, and never in a hallway or under stairs.

Alternatives

Scooters, skateboards and bikes are legal in parks and on pavements where permitted, and teach balance without a battery in the house.

Learning to ride one

Step on with one foot at a time, stand upright and look ahead rather than down, and let the board balance you. Most falls happen while getting on and off.

Start on a flat, open, soft surface with someone alongside, and keep the first sessions short.

Where it can be ridden

A private garden, a driveway, or private land with permission. Parks and car parks are usually private with their own rules, so ask rather than assume.

Disposal

Never bin a lithium battery — take it to a proper recycling point.

WHERE TO BUY

Ready to shop iHoverboard? Use the link below to visit the official store.

→ Shop iHoverboard — official site

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