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Riders take a beating from 'hoverboards'

Posted at 7:26 PM, Dec 27, 2015
and last updated 2015-12-27 19:26:35-05

Self-balancing boards — better known to the world as "hoverboards" — had every element to be the hot Holiday toy of 2015: Technology, celebrity endorsements and a (relatively) affordable price tag.

But one quick Twitter search proves that hovering isn't as easy as it looks.

Social media was filled with hoverboard wipe-outs over weekend, as overeager kids bit off more than they could chew with their Christmas presents.

 

 

 

Parents quickly learned that they should leave hovering to the kids.

 

 

 

 

#hoverboardfail

A video posted by Ben Salango (@bensalango) on

Even baseball player Dan Uggla and congressman Carlos Curbelo (R-Fl.) weren't immune to taking a spill.

 

 

 

The videos even spawned a Twitter account, @HoverboardFails, which posted its first Tweet on Christmas Day.

 

 

States are quickly drafting legislation that will require riders to wear helmets and stay off sidewalks where they could hit other pedestrians. Swagway's director of marketing Nicolas Villalobos also told Scripps that his company recommends children have adult supervision while riding.

Also, definitely don't try a handstand on a hoverboard. 

 

Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.