Add San Francisco State University to the growing list of college campuses banning hoverboards from the list of wheeled items banned from campus grounds, including the dorms.

Students were informed of the no-hoverboard rule on Monday, the student newspaper, the Golden Gate Express first reported. The school cited the recent safety concerns raised by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Fire Protection Association in the wake of several injuries and fires sparked by hoverboards charging in sockets. As of Feb. 2, the safety commission said investigators were looking at 48 such hoverboard fires in 20 states.

SF State has had a “no wheels” ban for years, and just this week added hoverboards to the list of banned bicycles, skates, scooters and skateboards zipping around on campus. The new rule, however, means that hoverboards aren’t even allowed in the dorms at all, a housing representative explained. Those found with hoverboards will be cited, and the self-balancing scooters will be confiscated, she said, declining to give her name.

San Jose State University also has had longstanding ban on all motorized vehicles anywhere on campus, spokeswoman Pat Harris said Wednesday, and simply has included hoverboards in that list. Cal State East Bay spokeswoman Kimberly Hawkins said hoverboards are OK at the Hayward campus, but the school did send out safety guidelines.

As of January, more than 30 college campuses have said no to hoverboards. Outright bans also have been issued at schools such as American University and George Washington University, both in Washington, D.C. Other schools said they will forbid the scooters in dorm rooms or campus buildings, a policy adopted at colleges including Louisiana State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Arkansas.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.



