Toys have become quite dangerous recently. After hoverboards were banned from nearly every major airline, Amazon has decided to quietly take down Swagway hoverboards from their website. The e-commerce website decided to take them down due to a safety risk, which can no longer be denied after several of fires caused by the gadgets took over headlines recently.
Amazon Takes Down Swagway Hoverboards, but Still Sells Other Hoverboards
There are some brands that can still be found on the website, such as Jetson, Razor Hovertrax and Hover X, but Swagway hoverboards can now only be purchased directly from the Swagway website. The links that go to Swagway products on Amazon is no longer functioning, and Swagway released a statement declaring that all buyers looking for hoverboards should go to the official website. Amazon hasn’t made an official statement as to why they removed only that hoverboard brand from the website, but they will likely release official word soon.
Hoverboards Have Been Banned in Most Major Airlines
Nearly all major airlines have banned hoverboards from being brought onboard due to the fire hazard. American Airlines, Delta and United have declared that hoverboards are banned as carry-on or checked luggage because of concerns that their batteries catch fire. Even Southwest Airlines issued an advisory that it would also ban the devices from being brought into their cabins.
JetBlue, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines also issued bans recently, and these are surfacing as US authorities and regulators are investigating reports of the motorized self-balancing boards sporadically catching fire or exploding. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has declared at least ten reports of fires caused by the device.
The boards, which cost $200-$1,500 on average have the potential to be one of the most popular holiday gifts, but many of them won’t be able to make any kind of travel by plane. Celebrities such as Justin Bieber and Kendall Jenner have posted footage of themselves on the gadgets, which has only aided to their sales. However, websites like Amazon and Overstock.com are taking measures to take some down due to safety concerns.
The cause of these fires is likely the boards’ lithium-ion batteries, which seem to be less safe than advertised. Delta released an official explanation for their decision to ban the devices. The airline reviewed several hoverboards and decided that their batteries were not only poorly labelled, but that manufacturers were not providing the airline with appropriate information regarding their size and power. Federal Aviation Administration Guidelines specify that lithium-ion batteries are allowed on board only if they don’t exceed 160-watt hours per battery.
Another Contender for Most Dangerous Toy of the Year is Mattel Hello Barbie Doll
Speaking of hazards to children, the Mattel Hello Barbie doll faced some serious pressure from the general public and authorities this year. Powered by ToyTalk, Mattel’s Hello Barbie Doll is Wi-Fi enabled and can even record the voices of children, and while it’s a cool and high tech toy, it is also easily accessible to hackers.
A hacker obtained several photos and chat logs of children from Vtech, which makes the electronics in the dolls, kick-starting a whole uproar in regards to what exactly Vtech is doing to protect children’s information and how it is protecting it. The company revealed that it had very little security on the information of the children and that it would do everything in their power to better protect children information for the future.
This once again proves that while technology is something people rely on, it’s not something we should be entirely trusting of. Hopefully further fixes and security tightening will keep both the hoverboard and the Hello Barbie at the top of wish lists for years to come.
