Sure, hoverboards are all fun and games until your shiny new toy burns your house down and twists your leg 360 degrees.

At first, hoverboards seemed to be the hottest gift 2015, but many injuries later, it seems hoverboards might become the best thing to leave in the past.

Celebrities like Justin Bieber, Wiz Khalifa, Jamie Foxx, and Chris Brown have all been seen on the hoverboards, but not everyone has millions of dollars lying around for medical bills just in case hoverboard disaster strikes. We all know that there’s nothing like Hollywood to create chatter.

“Mommy! Mommy! Justin Bieber has one!”

Throughout the past few months, incidents like exploding hoverboards, board malfunctions, and injuries have been reported.

I tested a hoverboard a few weeks ago and it was not as easy as I expected. I found myself spinning around and around in circles, unable to step off without grabbing a wall or the nearest person.

Recently, according to ABC 7 News,  the Washington family in Brentwood, California, brought home a hoverboard for Christmas. The board began to spark and crackle after charging, so the family’s response was to plug it back in and allow it to charge. Later in the day, the hoverboard caught fire, giving a whole new definition to the hottest toy of 2015. Since then, at least 11 hoverboard fires have been reported.

One problem with the batteries has been fixed. The Swagway company has let the public know that “In light of recent concerns of poor quality batteries causing potential danger, we wanted to address those concerns and reassure our consumers that Swagway is committed to producing only top quality products and puts safety above anything else.” The company also says that with every Swagway sold, there is potential danger, much like any other electronic device, but they are hoping that the problem with hoverboards catching fire has been fixed with a simple battery change.

But wait… have you calibrated your hoverboard? Have you been professionally trained prior to use!?

Should you get training? 

There are many classes you can take to practice hoverboard coordination skills, since they are new and different. If it saves you a twisted ankle, it may be worth it.

Now that hoverboards have created controversy when it comes to fires, they have also gained attention when injuries and deaths occured due to mis-use and amateur acts on the boards. Many people aren’t used to the feeling of hoverboards, meaning they can easily injure themselves if they have a lack of balance, coordination, or skill.

Another big problem is poor calibration, which is the act of programming your board to your personalized weight and measurements. If you don’t calibrate the board,  you are bound to come face to face with some problems… and the ground. If you step off the front, you should expect to get run over by the board as well as have your other leg twisted.

In a recent Lancer Media poll, 38% of students who have tried a hoverboard say that they have scrapes and bruises because of their hoverboard, and senior Austin Wilkes is one of them.

“Hoverboarding is actually really hard for me and now my hoverboard sits in my basement… broken,” said Wilkes, who demonstrates the difficulty of balancing below.

With some practice, hoverboarding can be mastered, as demonstrated by senior Jake France.

Recently, a few cities, malls, and airlines have banned hoverboards, leading the United States Government to investigate the issue and consider complete ban, according to ABC News.

According to The Telegraph, “New York has become the latest city to ban self-balancing scooters, known as “hoverboards”, warning that anyone caught riding them in public places could face a fine of up to $500.”

Hoverboards aren’t evil/bad gifts, but you definitely shouldn’t purchase one without researching the potential risks and important safety concerns.