NYPD declares hoverboards illegal, exposing riders to $200 fine
BY DAN RIVOLI
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Updated: Friday, November 20, 2015, 8:03 AM
- A
- A
- A
Who knew gliding through the streets of New York could get you in trouble with the law?
But people zipping around town on hoverboards — those two-wheel, hands-free, motorized contraptions — are cruising for a costly ticket.
While they’ve become something of a fad and a hit with celebs, the NYPD has now declared them illegal, exposing riders to a $200 fine.
Even with more New Yorkers finding the hoverboards a quick and effortless way to maneuver through the streets — lean a touch forward and you’re sailing — a City Council member wants a law banning them from the road.
FRED LEE/ABC VIA GETTY IMAGESA City Council member wants to ban hoverboards from the road.
Talk about a killjoy.
People like Marcos Avila, 32, from Jackson Heights, decided to ditch bikes, subways and buses for the hoverboard when he first spotted them this spring. Now he’s worried he’ll have to return to travel as usual.
“It’s really going to disrupt my life,” Avila, 32, told the Daily News. “That was my go-to device.”
Hoverboards have been the rage in New York since the summer, whether as a novelty or new mode of transportation. But until the NYPD put the official whammy on them this week, there was a gray area on whether they’re street legal.
Now, the department is pulling out the legalese, saying the gizmos violate state vehicle and traffic laws. And Councilman Andy King (D-Bronx) wants them moved from the streets to the parks, saying, “I don’t want to treat it as a form of transportation.”
Avila, a videographer, said he got a heads-up on the new rules of the road while in Herald Square Wednesday when an officer issued him a warning.
Tim Haden, owner of Hoodriderz, an online retailer of motorized transportation devices based in lower Manhattan, said confusion persists.
CHRISTOPHER FURLONG/GETTY IMAGESHoverboards have been the rage in New York since the summer, whether as a novelty or new mode of transportation.
“We would like there to be a bit more clarity around it,” he said.
Haden, 39, rides a single-wheel self-balanced transporter and organizes group rides around Central Park. Used safely, he said, hoverboards don’t endanger pedestrians.
These funky-looking devices are a serious way to move through a crowded city, though they attract plenty of stares and sometimes a bit of envy, even from cops, Haden said.
“We get asked by police officers, ‘Where can I buy one of those? That looks cool,’” he said.
Hoverboards are the hot new way to cruise around the city, but the NYPD on Wednesday say that run afoul of the law.
@NYPD26PCT VIA TWITTERThe NYPD 26th Precinct tweeted that popular hoverboards are illegal in New York City.
- A hoverboard, or self-balanced scooter, is a motorized board with two wheels on the side and no handles that propels a rider who stands straight up and gently leans forward.
- Some designs feature a single wheel.
- Prices range from $400 to more than $1,000.
- Speeds can go up to 10 mph.
- Hoverboards and “personal transporters” are prohibited in the city under New York State traffic and vehicle law. Bummer.
COMMENTS
(15)POST A COMMENT[ Discussion Guidelines]
The NYPD is going after these devises but Drunking, drug addicted BUMS can freely break NYC law and terrorize people, make public spaces thier bathrooms. Thats why the city is more dangerous to live. Can the NYtimes stop saying crime is down. It is down only because the NYPD is not arresting people it did 2 years ago
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment-- or suggestions, particularly of topics and places you'd like to see covered