--- description: "Consumers risk serious injury or death if their self-balancing scooters ignite and burn." title: Hoverboards Are Unsafe, U.S. Government Agency Says image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte19778d3ea85273d/69887e658e060163b7464afc/hoverboard-fire-safety-unsafe.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Hoverboards Are Unsafe, U.S. Government Agency Says by [Marcia Breen / NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## Marcia Breen / NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 19, 2016 10:10 PM CUT  Michael Tran uses his hoverboard on the Venice Beach Boardwalk on December 10, 2015. Michael Tran uses his hoverboard on the Venice Beach Boardwalk on December 10, 2015.Frederic J. Brown—AFP/Getty Images by [Marcia Breen / NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## Marcia Breen / NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 19, 2016 10:10 PM CUT They were one of the hottest-selling items of the holiday season, but Friday the head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission says no hoverboard currently on the market can be considered safe. Never mind that the things don’t actually hover. The CPSC is putting hoverboard manufacturers, importers and retailers on notice: meet safety standards or face recall or seizure at ports. “Consumers risk serious injury or death if their self-balancing scooters ignite and burn,” the government agency said in [an official letter](http://www.cpsc.gov/Global/Business-and-Manufacturing/Business-Education/SelfbalancingScooterLetter.pdf?epslanguage=en "undefined") it sent out issuing a new set of safety standards for the gliding gadgets… [_Read the rest of this story from our partners at NBC News_](http://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/u-s-government-agency-declares-hoverboards-unsafe-n521881?cid=par-time%5F20160219 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4231223/government-hoverboards-unsafe/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4231223/government-hoverboards-unsafe/"},"headline":"Hoverboards Are Unsafe, U.S. Government Agency Says","datePublished":"2016-02-19T22:10:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:07:27.462Z","description":"\"Consumers risk serious injury or death if their self-balancing scooters ignite and burn\"","url":"https://time.com/4231223/government-hoverboards-unsafe/","keywords":["Tech","Gadgets","Technology","safety"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte19778d3ea85273d/69887e658e060163b7464afc/hoverboard-fire-safety-unsafe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Marcia Breen / NBC News"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte19778d3ea85273d/69887e658e060163b7464afc/hoverboard-fire-safety-unsafe.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-LIFESTYLE-TRANSPORT-TECHNOLOGY","caption":"Michael Tran uses his hoverboard on the Venice Beach Boardwalk on December 10, 2015.","creditText":"Frederic J. 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