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Last time an article about Boosted Boards frontpaged HN, commenters raised very valid concerns about the legality of it. While it's still a niche thing it'll fl

by GuiA 12y ago

Last time an article about Boosted Boards frontpaged HN, commenters raised very valid concerns about the legality of it. While it's still a niche thing it'll fly under the radar, but if this thing becomes super popular, it's pretty certain a law will pass to end the fun. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4506979 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4506979 Other than that, as a longboarder who sadly can't longboard to work in downtown SF because of slight hills on my commute, I'd love to get one of those. If there are Boosted Boards employees/founders reading this: do you offer the possibility to come to your office and try one out? At a third or half the price it'd be a no brainer, but at $2000 I' m certainly not buying one without having tried it first.

knorby 12y ago
There was at least some effort to legalize them in California: http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2014/03/11/california-bill-would-pave-way-for-electric-skateboards/ http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2014/03/11/california-bill-would... Though the CA DMV seems to classify them as motor scooters: http://www.chp.ca.gov/html/motors.html http://www.chp.ca.gov/html/motors.html It doesn't seem like the law is a serious concern at any rate, although I didn't research other states. If the question is if you need a motorcycle license or not, it seems like the industry is in a good position.
bagels 12y ago
Skateboarding is illegal in San Francisco, and nearly every other US city. For example, San Francisco Transportation Code Sec. 7.2.13: Illegal to ride on the sidewalk, Illegal to ride on the roadway
skdoo 12y ago
Founder here. Yup, email us at community@ and we'll set you up with a test-ride. Regarding the legality issue, there are different laws about both electric and non-electric skateboards in different states and cities. They tend to be decades old and don't reflect modern technology. We're working with our legislative reps and other companies to change this, and that process is moving along.

by GuiA 12y ago

knorby 12y ago

There was at least some effort to legalize them in California: http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2014/03/11/california-bill-would-pave-way-for-electric-skateboards/ http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2014/03/11/california-bill-would... Though the CA DMV seems to classify them as motor scooters: http://www.chp.ca.gov/html/motors.html http://www.chp.ca.gov/html/motors.html It doesn't seem like the law is a serious concern at any rate, although I didn't research other states. If the question is if you need a motorcycle license or not, it seems like the industry is in a good position.

bagels 12y ago

Skateboarding is illegal in San Francisco, and nearly every other US city. For example, San Francisco Transportation Code Sec. 7.2.13: Illegal to ride on the sidewalk, Illegal to ride on the roadway

skdoo 12y ago

Founder here. Yup, email us at community@ and we'll set you up with a test-ride. Regarding the legality issue, there are different laws about both electric and non-electric skateboards in different states and cities. They tend to be decades old and don't reflect modern technology. We're working with our legislative reps and other companies to change this, and that process is moving along.