Hoverboards Banned On Transit System Of Major U.S. City
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NEW YORK (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Concerns about hoverboards continue with city officials across the country weighing in.
Earlier this month officials with the Frisco Independent School District banned hoverboards, now the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York City has banned them from the city transit system for safety reasons.
Transit officials announced Wednesday that riders will not be allowed to bring the two-wheeled motorized devices on buses, subway platforms and trains, the Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad and the Staten Island Railway.
Officials say the ban is being issued because the lithium battery devices are a fire risk. MTA board Vice Chairman Fernando Ferrer says, "Certainly, you don't want anything like that in a crowded subway car."
The MTA will launch an ad campaign reminding riders of the ban.
Back here in North Texas, doctors say they're seeing more and more hoverboard 'crash' patients. But Dr. Laurie Berger, with West Plano Pediatrics, says it's the older riders who are more likely to hurt themselves because they don't know what to expect. "The hoverboard, now this really appeals to teenagers, and it's teenagers who haven't really been on a skateboard or bicycle recently, and so they're going to take chances."
Injuries to wrists and knees are the most common hoverboard injuries.
Fort Worth-based American Airlines, along with United and Delta Air Lines, has banned hoverboards because of the potential fire danger from the lithium-ion batteries that power the devices.The two-wheel, skateboard-sized scooters that users stand on are banned from checked or carry-on luggage.
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