People all over the world love to ride skateboards. There re at least 20 million skateboard enthusiasts around the world. About 16 million of them are in the United States. More and more people who like to ride on them are turning to automatic longboards. If you have bought one, there are things you can do to stay safe while riding. Here are a few safety tips:

  1. Never go out for a ride without a helmet. Whether you have an off road powered longboard or an electric powered skateboard, the first thing you need to do to stay safe happens before you even set foot on the board. Riding an automatic longboard carries with it the same risks as riding a scooter or a bicycle. One of the biggest risks you face on an automatic skateboard is a fall that includes a head injury. You need to protect your head at all times with a helmet.
  2. Keep your brakes in good working condition. No one would ever go for a drive in a car whose brakes were failing and the same principle holds true on an automatic longboard. It is true that the brakes on electric skateboards can go out at any time. One way to prevent problems with your brakes is to never go for a ride without making sure the batteries in the remote are totally charged up. If you find that you are riding and your brakes stop responding, this is not a reason to panic. What you need to do is not accelerate any further. The automatic longboard will start to slow down on its own, eventually. If you have something in your path, you have to call an audible and do whatever you think it safest at the time.
  3. Take care of your remote control. There are a lot of falls from remote control skateboards because the rider was not careful enough with their remote control. When you first get an automatic longboard, it makes sense that you may want to see how much it can do but it is always best to start out slow with your new toy. Many people do not realize that electric skateboard motors are very sensitive. You can destabilize it with a light touch. It can take time to learn how to work with the remote control to have a better and safer experience.
  4. Be careful with your speed. The most common cause of falls from electric skateboards is speed. Now, it may not be much fun to slog along on your automatic longboard as slowly as you can but you need to be careful not to go too fast. This is especially true if you are going along a road that has not been paved in a long time. Small issues like tiny potholes or bumps in the road have a much bigger impact when you are going really fast. The best thing to do is pay attention to the conditions on the road when you are determining your speed. This is important to keep you safe but also the other people with whom you share the road. People in cars or on bikes may also be affected by your actions.
  5. Rome was not built in a day. When you see people riding their automatic longboards, they may make it all look easy. They did not start out on day one riding like a baller. They had to practice and practice and practice some more to get it right. When you first start out using an electric skateboard, the best thing you can do is ed over to an empty parking lot and get in some practice there. This is not to prevent your friends and family from seeing you wipe out. This is to help you get to learn how your electric longboard handles and how to use it. If you spend some time practicing your technique, it will not be long before you are an expert at braking, the slalom, and accelerating.

There is a reason so many people like to ride regular and automatic longboards. They are fun! Injuries, however, are not fun. These tips can help you avoid injuries while riding a skateboard.