To ensure the safety of USC students, a university-wide email was sent out last week stating that “[hoverboards] are prohibited in all University of South Carolina Residence Halls.” This mandatory new rule became effective Jan. 1.
According to WSPA News, USC spokesman Jeff Stensland says that the ban restates a current ban on all motorized vehicles in residence halls. After seeing many of the videos showing various hoverboard accidents, the decision was reportedly made strictly for the safety of all students.
Stensland also recently told ABC News Columbia that the University is considering banning the hoverboards from campus entirely. This would be to prevent collisions and serious injuries for both hoverboard users and other students.
The University of South Carolina is not the only campus to ban hoverboards, however. According to USA Today, more than 30 college campuses across the nation have banned hoverboards. Other hoverboard-free college campuses include American University, University of Connecticut, Georgia State University and Ohio State.
“We wanted to get information out specifically on hoverboards since they’ve been a popular holiday gift item this year,” Stensland said to The State. “The best advice for returning students living on campus is to leave them at home.”
During the 2015 Christmas season, hoverboards made headlines across the country as both a popular gift item and a dangerous device. During the past few months, viral videos of hoverboard-related injuries have spread around social media like wildfire.
In fact, USA Today reports that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced in December the investigation of 28 fires in 19 states caused by hoverboards, and that there have been at least “70 ER-related injuries” from the boards.