Earlier in December, the UK government had been forced to confiscate over 15,000 hoverboards because they were considered “unsafe” and potential fire hazards.

“Many of the items detained and sent for testing have been found to have noncompliant plugs without fuses, which increases the risk of the device overheating, exploding or catching fire,” said UK’s National Trading Standards

When security tests were conducted on hoverboards as they were shipped from different manufacturers, about 88% of them were declared a safety threat for users. These self-balancing scooters have also [...]

In a very interesting twist of events, the Metropolitan Police (MPS) in the UK have declared riding of hoverboards in public illegal in accordance with a law issued in -brace yourself- 1835.

The law, which was passed 180 years ago and made taking a “horse, ass, sheep, mule, swine, or cattle” on pavement illegal, has now also added a two-wheeled Segways to the list.

Users can now ride hoverboards only on private property with the landowner’s permission. The MPS Specials account tweeted on Sunday, declaring the “the self-balancing scooters,” banned from public pavements and parks.

Own one of these or thinking about getting [...]