Julie Truong

1st period ISM

Are Electric Skateboards Safe?

April 5, 2019
Summary:

While electric skateboards are the new craze, this article reminds and informs readers about its
easily overlooked dangers. The article comes from a blog that aims to provide information about
modern transportation technology. The article advises users of the electric skateboard to be
aware of their surroundings, making sure to avoid cars and unsafe terrain. Another aspect of
skate location is the legality, because it can be illegal to skate in certain places. The article also
advises users to use the correct safety gear in order to avoid injury. The author of the article also
attached a YouTube video that showed readers how to safely fall. The author personally believes
that although it is important to be cautious, users of the electric skateboard should not rule out
testing tricks on it altogether. The closing thoughts of the article are that while electric boards
seem simple to ride, it is important to think about safety.

Project topic connection:

This article relates to my project because I am building my own electric skateboard and just like
any engineering project, I need to be aware of the risks my product could bring and how to
mitigate them. For example, the article discusses equipment needed to ensure a safe ride on the
electric skateboard, such as “a properly made skate specific helmet” because “skating demands a
helmet that isn’t just resistant to hard impact, it also needs to be lightweight and allow the user
easy natural visibility.” The article also highlights the environment that electric skateboarding
should take place. Since my mentorship takes place inside of NASA Johnson Space center, it’s
not a recommended skating location because inside the buildings, there is expensive working
equipment and outside, there are cars, bikes, and deer constantly moving around. The topic of
safe skateboarding environment, which the writer defines as “proper skating terrain”, applies to
my project because I need to be able to safely test my product. The article warns electric
skateboarders to be aware of cars because “Cars are the number one reason for serious injury and
don’t think that even a high-powered electric skateboard can match a vehicle for acceleration. It
can’t.” The article advises skaters to know their route in order to avoid “being stopped by a
heavy fallen tree or branch.” In the end, the article is relevant to my project because it proposes
safety aspects that I should take into consideration when testing my product.

Personal response:

I thought that the article was very informative as well as entertaining. This is because while
everything the writer said was backed up with credible evidence, the writer incorporated their
own voice throughout the passage to make the article not boring. I felt engaged and humored
reading the passage because the author’s diction is casual and funny. For example, after the
author advises their audience to wear sensible shoes with thick soles, he comments: “your ankles
and foot soles will thank you after a day!” The author also abruptly assures skaters that electric
skateboards can’t “match a vehicle for acceleration” through a very short, comedic sentence: “It
can’t.” After reading the passage, I wish the author would have made the topic of his article a
Julie Truong
1st period ISM

little less broad. I would ask the author what he think is the safest brand of electric skateboards is
and why. I would have liked for the author to provide and depth and technical analysis of a
single electric skateboard. An aspect that I really liked about the passage was the embedded
video that showed the audience techniques that massively reduce electric skateboarding injury

Omaha. “Are Electric Skateboards Safe?” Choose Wheels, 5 Apr. 2019,

www.choosewheels.com/electric-skateboards-safe/.