Amazon stops selling ‘hoverboards’ over safety concerns zorgen

Amazon has stopped selling a large number of ‘hoverboards’, a type of self-balancing skateboard with large wheels on the side. This is probably due to doubts about safety as a result of a number of recent incidents.

The Verge reports that the products of a number of hoverboard manufacturers have disappeared from Amazon’s website. This seems to have to do with doubts about the safety of the products concerned. For example, producer Swagway received a letter from Amazon asking to demonstrate that the hoverboards meet safety standards, a spokesperson said. Until then, Swagway’s products are unlikely to be sold.

Specifically, Amazon refers to safety standards for batteries and chargers. That’s probably because a number of hoverboards have recently caught fire, probably due to battery problems. The British government had 15,000 hoverboards confiscated for this reason. The US authorities are also investigating the security.

Some hoverboard models are still sold on Amazon’s website, so it’s not entirely clear what criteria the sale was based on. The online department store itself has not provided an explanation for the, probably temporary, sales stop.