Palomar College has really given the shaft to skateboarding students and rightfully so. But when people look at the hoverboarders, they throw a hissy fit over their ability to ride on campus without any clear consequence.
These hoverboards can be ridden around campus without any repercussion. That’s fine. They’re safer.
Skateboards go fast. It’s true, they can fly, especially downhill, when a skater can easily lose control due to speed wobbles or simply go at a speed where stopping isn’t feasible. I, as a longboard enthusiast, can easily reach speeds at or exceeding 20 miles an hour on flat land. Foot braking at this point is ineffective without a long enough runway and you’re not always going to be given that benefit.
And what if someone does fall? Broken bones are common, road rash even more so, but head injuries are lethal and a legitimate concern. Palomar doesn’t need any lawsuits due to students injuring themselves on school grounds.
If you find yourself disagreeing based on the merit of your ability on a skateboard there is a solid chance you are an idiot. Yes, there are alternate methods of braking such as sliding your board horizontally, but not everyone is capable of such a skill and the school has no business making exceptions for special snowflakes such as them.
So kudos to Palomar College for banning skateboarding on campus. It is clearly responsible to have banned them, however unpopular the bans.
For the unfamiliar, hoverboards are motorized, hands-free, Segway-looking machines that people stand on and apparently control with their minds. Sometimes marketed as “self-balancing scooters” and sarcastically known as fedoras of the feet.
Hoverboards often times have a low maximum speed around 8 to 10 miles an hour.
And seeing that these boards can travel backward, there is likely a braking or slowing mechanism in the event that someone can’t handle the speed.
And what if someone does consume fecal matter while riding a hoverboard? I can’t imagine a plummet from a 1 foot elevation harming anyone, especially when moving at a pace where someone can pass you on foot.
These hoverboards are outright safer and, as someone who skates almost daily, I can understand why these may be allowed while my steed of choice is not.
And if hoverboards are allowed on campus that’d be pretty cool. They’re certainly safe enough.
