I know, I know, boring, it's like getting a lecture from Grandpa Simpson... but safety is incredibly important.
First and foremost, fully understand the board, its functions and have appropriate safety gear before your first ride. Our user manuals have a great deal of information regarding the safe use of the board and its functions. It is a great idea to fully read and understand the user manual before use. Before each ride, test out the boards functions without riding it. Just have the board upside down on a surface or leaning against the wall and run through the various functions of the remote controller to see if the motors are as you expect. This ensures that the board is safe and ready to go.
WEAR A HELMET! We cannot recommend wearing a helmet enough. It doesn't matter how experienced you are. There are many stories on the internet of people with 10-30 years of experience on boards, just lapsing in concentration for a split second and severely injuring themselves. Learn from other people's mistakes and protect your noggin!
A wide stance will also help a lot with balance, acceleration and braking. Have your feet position as wide and natural as comfortably possible on the deck (without getting in the road of the wheels). Start out in a clear and free area:
- Avoid areas with high congestion from cars or pedestrians.
- Avoid areas with
- Avoid areas with high hill gradients that are not suitable for your board or your experience level.
- Avoid areas with large debris or numerous debris.
Riding down hills can be an exhilarating experience. It can also be very dangerous. Always keep safety in mind:
- Wear appropriate safety equipment (helmet, elbow, knee and wrist pads).
- Never ride down a hill that your experience level does not fit.
- Never ride down a hill that you cannot comfortably foot brake to a stop on.
Ask yourself the question, "If the brakes stopped working on this hill, can I stop the board and myself safely?" If the answer is "no," seriously reconsider riding down that hill.
Don't just take your own safety into account, think of the cars and other people in the area you are riding in. Ride defensively and try to anticipate dangerous situations early despite the people or objects around you. Use common sense when you are unsure and ask yourself, "will this hurt myself or others?" If the answer is "yes," reconsider your actions.
Generally, we do not recommend riding at night especially without some good equipment to help you and your board stand out and allow you to see while riding.
Avoid riding in locations you are not familiar with. Night time can make small details that you can normally avoid invisible, increasing the chance of an accident. Use high visibility clothing, high lumen helmet lights, backpack lights or board lights to help you see and to help others see you.
There are multiple ways to enjoy riding electric skateboards, the most important aspect is get out there, be safe and have fun. These are some of the safety riding tips that we recommend checking out. Let us know if we missed anything.
Thanks for reading.
- Black Hawk Team