A hoverboard that is identical to one that has just gone on sale at Harvey Norman has been banned in New York, the same hoverboard has also been banned in London despite the Mayor of London Boris Johnson describing the ban as “silly”.
The latest ban came after the New York Police Department’s 26th Precinct tweeted a warning to citizens last week stating that: “The electric #hoverboard is illegal as per NYC Admin. Code 19-176.2”.
The cited code refers to “motorized scooters”, defined as “any wheeled device that has handlebars”, and states that anyone found in violation could be liable for a fine up to $500.
New Yorkers as well as residents in the UK have said that the hoverboard which has stabilising gyroscopes should “not be banned” as they are no more dangerous than a bicycle.
The law on using hoverboard in the rest of the US is still unclear with NSW and Victorian authorities telling SmartHouse that they are “still investigating the matter”.
Earlier this year, the rapper Wiz Khalifa was handcuffed at LAX airport, after he refused to dismount from his hoverboard.
In the UK police have banned people from riding hoverboard on roads or pavements, stating that they can only be used on private property.
Under UK law, hoverboard must adhere to the same rules as Segway’s, which are classified as motor vehicles, and thus cannot be ridden on pavements, but are also unlicensed so cannot be ridden on roads, after a 2011 ruling.
“You can only ride an unregistered self-balancing scooter on land which is private property and with the landowner’s permission,” the Crown Prosecution Service said at the time.
“The Department for Transport would advise that appropriate safety clothing should be worn at all times.”
The word “hoverboard” was recently recognised in the Oxford English Dictionary, which defines it as “a board, resembling a skateboard without wheels, which hovers above the ground and may be ridden like a skateboard”.
The hoverboard at Harvey Norman is distributed by Melbourne based Company Kaiser Baas, it is selling for $798.
