Hoverboard owners will face new regulations in 2016 that will result in a hefty penalty if violated.

Beginning on January 1st, the new law will carry with it the following regulations:

  • You must be at least 16-years-old to ride in public
  •  You must wear a helmet when operating a hoverboard
  •  You can only ride on streets where the speed limit is under 35 mph
  •  You must not be under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol

Violators could be hit with a $250 fine.

Under the existing ordinance, it’s a crime to operate a hoverboard on any sidewalk, roadway or any other part of a highway or bikeway, bicycle path or trail, equestrian trail or hiking or recreational trail.
The legislation gives local authorities power to adopt specific ordinances prohibiting or restricting riders from using hoverboards on highways, roadways or sidewalks.

Recognized in Assembly Bill No. 604 (AB 604) as “electrically motorized boards,” hoverboards are considered by many as one of the popular holiday gifts this season. They’ve also been the center of numerous viral videos that have graced social media in recent days.

Last week, we reported on the recent threat that hoverboards presented as a potential fire hazard. But since Christmas day, it seems like gravity is now a top threat against hoverboard users.

Take Mike Tyson, who recently uploaded a video sharing his personal wipeout to social media, which quickly began trending on Twitter; or baseball player Dan Uggla, whose wife Instagrammed a video of his fall off the smartboard while he was listening to Justin Bieber. South Florida congressman Carlos Curbelo tweeted a photo of himself with his arm in a sling after his visit to the emergency room the day after Christmas.

Since Monday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 70 emergency room visits due to hoverboards. The injuries were predominantly from falls and collisions.

Image credit: Soar Boards