I have just received a confused.com newsletter by email. It has an article about these "vehicles" being unlawful for use on the highways or public pavements, and the police were to crack down on them.
I hadn't thought much about the problem until a few nights ago. On a local journey during the hours of darkness a youth, possibly in his mid-to-late-teens, was on the pavement to my left and, as I approached, he appeared to intend to cross a little ahead of me by using a dropped kerb. Not being sure of his intentions (stop and wait or simply cross?) I began to slow down, and probably a good thing I did. He did cross in front of me with very little margin of safety, and I braked still harder to ensure I would stop before reaching him. There was no incident, but it got me thinking:
How safe and/or controllable are these hoverboards (this was a two-wheeled unit)?
How fast can they travel and how quickly can they stop, and how much expertise is needed for maximum control?
Initially, I did think how useful this type of pedestrian transport could be, and wondered if the police were being over indulgent if they do crack down. But then I considered the safety situation - young (or even older) persons riding on them with little application of road sense or thoughts about what tragedies might arise out of carelessness.
Certainly, if I were a parent or guardian of someone under the age of 18, I would rigorously ban them from having such a machine and, if they were older, still try to influence them against owning such an item.
The manufacturers and sellers are interested in only one thing - making money. Another item where it is going to be down to members of society to try and keep the users safe and out of trouble.
I hadn't thought much about the problem until a few nights ago. On a local journey during the hours of darkness a youth, possibly in his mid-to-late-teens, was on the pavement to my left and, as I approached, he appeared to intend to cross a little ahead of me by using a dropped kerb. Not being sure of his intentions (stop and wait or simply cross?) I began to slow down, and probably a good thing I did. He did cross in front of me with very little margin of safety, and I braked still harder to ensure I would stop before reaching him. There was no incident, but it got me thinking:
How safe and/or controllable are these hoverboards (this was a two-wheeled unit)?
How fast can they travel and how quickly can they stop, and how much expertise is needed for maximum control?
Initially, I did think how useful this type of pedestrian transport could be, and wondered if the police were being over indulgent if they do crack down. But then I considered the safety situation - young (or even older) persons riding on them with little application of road sense or thoughts about what tragedies might arise out of carelessness.
Certainly, if I were a parent or guardian of someone under the age of 18, I would rigorously ban them from having such a machine and, if they were older, still try to influence them against owning such an item.
The manufacturers and sellers are interested in only one thing - making money. Another item where it is going to be down to members of society to try and keep the users safe and out of trouble.