United States CPSC Issues Safety Warning
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission logo.
CPSC Issues Warning
Approaching very close to the worst case scenario for Future Motion (the designer and manufacturer of Onewheel), the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has warned Americans to stop buying and riding Onewheel devices. They claim to have received “at least four reported deaths between 2019 and 2021 and multiple reports of serious injuries after the product failed to balance the rider or suddenly stopped while in motion.” The warning states that these deaths were the result of head trauma. In a separate statement, the CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka pleaded, “Immediately stop using all Onewheel electric skateboards—they are not worth dying for.” According to the government agency, Future Motion has refused to issue a recall and the CPSC says that they will continue to pursue one.
“Immediately stop using all Onewheel electric skateboards—they are not worth dying for.”
Future Motion has responded with their own statement, claiming that the CPSC warning is “unjustified and alarmist”. They argue that there is inherent risk in any board sport and that wearing safety gear is critical. They also point to previous CPSC stances regarding board sports and micromobility products, claiming that the agency is being unfairly critical.
What Happens Now?
At this point, nothing. This is merely a warning and if you feel comfortable to continue riding (which in my opinion, you totally should), then you can. But as Future Motion has pointed out, you should always be wearing safety gear. Especially a helmet.
