More than 500,000 hoverboards recalled after fires

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: CBS and Associated Press

CBS/AP/ July 6, 2016, 11:05 AM

More than 500,000 hoverboards recalled after fires

Last Updated Jul 6, 2016 11:17 AM EDT

NEW YORK -- More than 500,000 hoverboards are being recalled after reports that dozens of them have burst into flames. ... The Consumer Product Safety Commission said Wednesday that it has received 99 reports that the battery packs in the two-wheel motorized scooters caught on fire or exploded, causing burns or property damage.

The CPSC began looking into hoverboards late last year, with the agency at the time urging consumers to be cautious as it tried to determine what caused one of 2015's hottest holiday gift item to overheat.

Concerns that lithium ion batteries inside the hoverboards could spark a fire led to bans by several airlines and college campuses. ... The hoverboards being recalled were made by 10 companies, including Swagway and Keenford.
....

Consumers unclear as to whether their hoverboard is part of the recall can call the CPSC consumer hotline at [phone].

© 2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.


Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-than-500000-hoverboards-recalled-after-fires/

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Hoverboard Dangers Helping U.S. Set Safety Standards With China

CPSC planning to announce a “major action” on hoverboards early next month

By Alyssa Abkowitz
[e-mail]
@AlyssaAbkowitz

Updated June 22, 2016 9:10 a.m. ET

BEIJING—The quick surge in sales of hoverboards last holiday season—and the surprising propensity for some of them to catch fire—are helping U.S. regulators create a template for improving product safety in the future.

The chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Wednesday that lessons learned in the several months since the agency blocked the sale of many self-balancing scooters include the need for better information on product development and an early buy-in from Chinese manufacturers on building in safety standards.

Hoverboards “represented all of us getting caught off guard by a product that came out of nowhere…with a hazard pattern that was not anticipated,” commission chairman Elliot Kaye told reporters in Beijing, where he was discussing product safety with Chinese officials. Mr. Kaye said his agency plans to announce an unspecified “major action” on hoverboards early next month.

Mr. Kaye credited China’s product safety agency for responding promptly to the U.S. commission’s concerns that lithium-ion batteries in hoverboards were catching fire and tracking down some manufacturers of the products.

[MADem]

1. After the first ten you tube videos of spectacular fires, you'd think they'd

have taken action far sooner!

[truthisfreedom]

2. That was a lot to ask from such a small pack

Pushing a human around concentrates so much power in a small space. I don't think battery technology is up for hover boards.

[Kelvin Mace]

3. Actually, I think they burn with shame

at living a lie. They are NOT hoverboards.

[jmowreader]

5. They had to call them something...

...and the kids don't want to ride "self-propelled sideways skateboards."

[Kelvin Mace]

6. "Hipsterboards" works for me.

[bluedigger]

4. I hope they don't use this as another excuse to delay my flying car.