All Onewheel self-balancing electrical skateboards have been recalled worldwide after a minimum of 4 deaths and a number of other accidents had been reported amongst individuals driving them.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recalled 300,000 skateboards bought in America, warning they’ll cease balancing a rider if the boards’ limits are exceeded, risking critical crashes.
Future Motion, the US-based producer of Onewheel, has obtained dozens of incident stories involving the boards, the CPSC mentioned.
They embrace 4 deaths between 2019 and 2021 and critical accidents akin to “traumatic brain injury, concussion, paralysis, upper-body fractures, lower-body fractures and ligament damage”.
The CPSC mentioned the deaths resulted from head trauma, and in a minimum of three of the circumstances the riders weren’t carrying helmets.
Future Motion mentioned it strongly encourages “all riders to always wear a helmet and other protective gear while riding”.
The CPSC mentioned individuals who personal a Onewheel electrical skateboard ought to cease utilizing it instantly.
The watchdog and producer mentioned prospects might obtain a refund of $100 (£83) in-store credit score after disposing of the product.
The recall impacts the entire electrical boards – together with Onewheel, Onewheel+, Onewheel+ XR, Onewheel Pint, Onewheel Pint X and Onewheel GT – bought on-line and thru unbiased retailers from January 2014 to September this 12 months.
A brand new security alert function to handle the crash hazard referred to as “haptic buzz” can be obtainable via a firmware replace for Onewheel GT, Pint X, Pint and XR boards within the coming weeks, Future Motion’s Onewheel group mentioned.
Riders can test their board’s eligibility and be taught extra about putting in the replace with Onewheel’s app on Future Motion’s web site.
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“You should not use Onewheels that are not updated or that are not eligible for the firmware update,” the Onewheel group wrote on its web site, whereas additionally urging all riders to put on helmets and different protecting gear.
It added: “Rider safety is our top priority and is critical to the long-term success of the sport.”
The CPSC had warned customers to cease utilizing Onewheel electrical skateboards final November, pointing to stories of demise and critical accidents, however on the time the CPSC mentioned Future Motion “refused to agree to an acceptable recall of the product”.
In its announcement, Future Motion’s Onewheel group mentioned the recall replace was “the culmination of months of work with the CPSC”.
Sky News has contacted Future Motion for remark.
Source: information.sky.com”