Onewheel electric skateboards recalled in US after 4 deaths, NZ authorities respond

All models of Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards are under recall in the US. Photo / AP

All models of a popular electric skateboard are being recalled in the US after they were found to have been involved in multiple deaths and injuries in recent years - and authorities here are urging riders to report injuries as they work to identify risks to the public.

All models of Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards are under recall in the US after at least four deaths and multiple injuries were reported, federal regulators said last week.

The 300,000 now-recalled skateboards, manufactured by the California-based Future Motion, can stop balancing a rider if the boards’ limits are exceeded — which risks serious crashes, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

Future Motion has received dozens of incident reports involving these skateboards, the CPSC said Friday — including four deaths between 2019 and 2021 and serious injuries like paralysis, traumatic brain injury, fractures and ligament damage.

The deaths resulted from head trauma, the CPSC added. In at least three of the reports, the riders were not wearing helmets.

People who own an impacted Onewheel skateboard should stop using it immediately, regulators said. The US recall impacts all Onewheel electric skateboards — including Onewheel, Onewheel+, Onewheel+ XR, Onewheel Pint, Onewheel Pint X and Onewheel GT — sold online and through independent retailers from January 2014 through September of this year.

To address the crash hazard, a new safety alert feature called “haptic buzz” will be available through a firmware update for Onewheel GT, Pint X, Pint and XR boards in the coming weeks, Future Motion’s Onewheel team said. Riders can check their board’s eligibility and learn more about installing the update with Onewheel’s app on Future Motion’s website.

“You should not use Onewheels that are not updated or that are not eligible for the firmware update,” the Onewheel team wrote on its website, while also urging all riders to wear helmets and other protective gear. “Rider safety is our top priority and is critical to the long-term success of the sport.”

Simon Gallagher, the national manager of consumer services for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), told the Herald that OneWheel riders here should contact OneWheel directly if they had concerns but encouraged anyone who has suffered an injury to report it.

“It is a supplier’s responsibility to ensure their products are of acceptable quality and safe to use. Consumers should engage with the business directly if they have concerns about the safety of a product,” Gallagher said, noting that Kiwis have rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act.

“Product safety recall is a voluntary action, taken by a business to address safety risks identified with a batch of products they have supplied. If a product has caused an injury, we encourage consumers to report it. This data will help us to identify any systemic risks to the New Zealand public.

“MBIE is currently engaging with the business to clarify whether products supplied in New Zealand have been subject to a recall overseas.”

Prior to last week’s announcement, the CPSC warned US consumers to stop using Onewheel electric skateboards back in November — similarly pointing to the reports of death and serious injuries. At the time, the CPSC said, Future Motion “refused to agree to an acceptable recall of the product”.

In its online announcement, Future Motion’s Onewheel team said that recall update was “the culmination of months of work with the CPSC”.

The Associated Press reached out to Future Motion for further comment on Monday.

- Additional reporting, AP