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Hello, McFly: Get that damn hoverboard off the T
By adamg on Tue, 05/24/2016 - 3:20pm
The MBTA announced today it's banning hoverboards on T property - all trains, buses, boats and stations - effective immediately.
The T says the things are just too much of a risk and menace, mainly because of their tendency to burst into flames, but also because riders can easily fall off them, tumbling to the ground - or onto train tracks:
Due to a string of recent injuries, fires and explosions associated with hoverboards nationwide, the MBTA conducted an assessment of the devices and determined that they are a safety risk. As a result, they are banned from MBTA property. The assessment incorporated findings, recommendations, and corrective actions that are in line with other transit systems throughout the country.
Hoverboards can catch fire. Failures in the Lithium-ion battery that powers such devices are the root cause of the self-combusting fires. Battery failures are caused by issues ranging from external abuse to cell manufacturing. Currently, there are no safety standards regulating the design and manufacturing of these devices in the United States. MBTA rules do not allow articles of an inflammable or explosive nature to be carried into any station or into or upon any passenger vehicle.
A potential fire ignited by a hoverboard can expose customers to smoke and toxic gas, which can result in injury or death. They also increase the risk of personal injury to riders due to falls, collisions, as well as the possibility of falling into the train pit.
Expect to have the no-hoverboard message drilled into your brain in the coming weeks via MBTA signboards, placards and, of course, social media.
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Comments
If they play recorded announcements at every B-Line stop...
...I will burst into flames.
Saving people some time
The story behind Inflammable vs flamable
Spagbowl
Anyone?
McFly!
McFly!
No Hoverboards!
Good Idea I hope it works better than:
No Loitering
No Smoking
No Trespassing
No Spitting
No Parking
No Urinating
No Fare Jumping
No Man spreading
No Skateboarding
No sleeping
vapers, you're next
vapers, you're next
Agreed
I wish they would.. tired of these. And I'm a former smoker!
Just wait
Someone on a MBTA Facebook said this
"just wait until someone says it's an mobility aid and the T will cave on hover boards ban"
Sad part is she's right. The T will cave and not bother because they don't wan't a lawsuit over this.
Just wait..
Please don't be any more ridiculous than you absolutely must
Someone's an idiot if they think that all you have to do is "say it's a mobility aid", with no supporting evidence -- just some dimbulb with a hoverboard (or not, even), a mouth to run, and nothing better to do -- and the T will say "Oh, ok."
(hint: if that was all it took, the T, and Boston in general, would be one crapton more accessible than they are)
No
Nope, you're wrong.
I'll sum it up for you.
You cannot question anyone with a disability.
You cannot ask them not to use the aid.
You cannot even ASK them about their disability.
You cannot ask for proper documentation for use of said mobility aid or to prove a disability.
Basically, you cannot challenge them in any way shape or form. Pretty much you have to leave them alone and/or treat them like any other non-disabled person.
This applies to direct contact people, such as T drivers and inspectors. It is not up to the MBTA to make a determination if someone is disabled or needs a mobility aid.
If you try to say ANYTHING, you've pretty much opened yourself up for a lawsuit. Of course, the caveat to this is, once it goes to court you have to prove your disability to the court. Most of the 'fakers' will drop their lawsuit (or wont bother trying) once they realized they have to do this.
So yeah, the MBTA would have to allow it whether the person is really disabled or not. It's really not their place to say yes or no. So they just allow it.
How do I know this?
1. First off, I'm disabled and I fall under the ADA rules. I've been well informed of my rights as a disabled person over the years.
2. Secondly I worked 4 very long years for a company who provided services for disabled people. They make you sit thru a week long training course about ADA when you start because you need to know how to interact with clients.
3. About 3 years ago I was riding a MBTA bus and a new bus driver left his drivers handbook on the bus in a passenger seat. There's a huge section in that book that talks about how to interact with disabled people. Everything I said above is in the book.
Now, I personally think it's absolutely silly that this could be allowed. But I understand ADA laws, and know why it's that way. You also have to understand, ADA does not specifically say which devices are allowed and are not, because each person can use an item differently for accessibility. A hoverboard may be right for some people but not others, and who's to judge that it's appropriate or not? No one, except you and your doctor, and no one else.
Like I said, I don't agree with it, but I understand why ADA could be used in that manner.
Having various things on the MBTA to help disabled people to get
around is one thing. These hover boards, however, definitely don't sound like they're the type of thing that help people with mobility problems get around, especially on the MBTA. Those hover boards sound pretty dangerous to me, especially on a crowded MBTA train during rush-hour.
Cybah wasn't discussing mobility aids
provided by the MBTA (bridge plates, elevators, etc.). He was discussing private mobility aids used by others. And his point was that, no matter your opinion as to whether you consider a hoverboard to be a mobility aid or not, under ADA regulations, MBTA employees cannot legally question a person's claim that they are using a hoverboard in such a manner.
That I understand, roadman, but as i pointed out earlier,
hover boards don't sound at all like mobility aids, and they sound like they should be banned from the T, especially if they've been known to catch on fire, on occasion.
My error. Misunderstood the title of your post
perhaps because you indicated "Having" instead of "Allowing." And I agree with you and others that classifying a hoverboard as a "mobility aid" is a bit of a stretch.
Everything cybah said is 100% spot-on
Although my job does not constitute a "direct contact" position (like a bus driver or train operator), my employer still requires me to attend customer service training, which heavily focuses on ADA issues, every few years (my last "refresher" course was just over a year ago).
Why are they called
Why are they called hoverboards? They're on wheels, non?
"It's not really hovering -
"It's not really hovering - it's just a cool name."
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/iiul66/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-the...
I don't call them hoverboards
The clearly don't hover. If I ever want to refer to one, I'm not sure what I'll say, but it won't be hoverboard.
MBTA rules do not allow
Really. So they ban not just smoking on the T but also smokers even carrying their lighters on the T?
Carrying lighters on the T may be one thing, but
flicking them on the T is a whole other matter. Smoking is banned on the T for legitimate reasons: It's dirty, smelly and stuffy, and it endangers people, particularly during rush-hours, when the subway trains are the most crowded.