I posted to their webform: https://www.cpsc.gov/About-CPSC/Contact-Information/Contact-Specific-Offices-and-Public-Information/Information-Center
I am extremely dismayed by your recent statement release 23-046 on November 16th, 2022 entitled "Future Motion Refuses to Recall Deadly Onewheel Skateboard" which is factually inaccurate. Future Motion's onewheel devices contain no such ejection capability. A rider who runs into a wall, curb, tree, or other obstacle which stops the forward motion of the board will, it is true, continue their forward motion without the board; however, these listed failures are neither purposeful nor the result of negligent programming. And, the board is hardly ejecting the rider.
All sports carry inherent risk, board sports such as Onewheels are no different. But, the boards do come with hazard warnings far more informative to other board sports (e.g. Skateboards, snowboards, wakeboards, surfboards). The manufacturer of these devices also goes to great lengths to stress proper safety gear (especially helmets). Your notice mentions 4 known fatalities which, while tragic, were the consequence of riders not following Future Motion's recommended safety precautions; precautions so basic that they are required by law in 22 states + DC for children riding bicycles.
In the US, 3.5 people die on average every single day on bicycles. That is ~1,500 bicycle deaths for every every Onewheel death over the last 5 years. While I recognize there are plenty more bicycles than Onewheels, are there really that many more than 1,500 actively ridden bicycles for every actively ridden Onewheel in the US? I remain unconvinced that the death risk of riding a Onewheel is materially greater than that of a bicycle.
We all wish that the GT footpad recall had gone faster and smoother. I do not know if, in your release, you are directly referencing this recall as being unsatisfactory or if you are alluding to a greater wish for all Onewheels to be recalled. I fear from your title that it is the latter. However, that is mostly irrelevant because a full product recall is and was not necessary, and while consumers should continue to be informed about the dangers of single-wheeled personal electric vehicles (PEVs), they should be allowed to purchase and use them as they see fit.
Your attempt to persuade the American public from using Onewheels is entirely disingenuous if it is not combined with a statement of similar urgency and severity for Hoverboards, EUCs, Electric Bicycles, Electric Scooters, Electric Skateboards, Skateboards, Snowboards, Surfboards, Wakeboards, Motorcycles, and all Automobiles. Onewheels are as safe as any PEV can reasonably be, and the idea that the majority of Americans should not be able to enjoy these devices because a tiny percentage of riders fail to follow the well documented limitations which you are so annoyingly required to view before being able to connect your phone to the board is akin to saying all cars must be recalled because some people might drive them after consuming alcohol.
I have a very real gripe with Future Motion regarding my right to repair these devices. And, your statement makes it even harder for them to meet me half way. Their entire argument, capricious as it might be, revolves around their potential bad press from my own possible mistake in making a repair. With the CPSC providing such a statement, disassociated from reality and rational thought, you enforce these arguments within Future Motion, ultimately hurting the consumers you are pledged to protect.
By releasing this statement, you are telling all future potential complainants to keep quite, don't tell the CPSC about issues with your favorite products. They aren't here to help you get things fixed, they just want to take away your favorite thing. "Should I tell the CPSC about the issue with my car? I love my car, they might take it away." "Should I tell the CPSC about the issue with my electric baby rocker? What if they take it away, I might never sleep again." When we alerted you to concerns with Future Motion's products, we thought you were on our side, that you would help us fight the good fight. Apparently, we were wrong.
Furthermore, by releasing to the public such an absurd, baseless argument against the use of Onewheels and massively overstating the risk in a way obvious to even the most casual of observers, you are discrediting your entire agency. This is probably the most egregious error you have made as an organization this year. The CPSC is a critical safeguard for the public and must be trusted ultimately, beyond reproach. In making this claim, you have discredited each and every statement made by your organization this year. The American public has no reason to trust the credibility of anything the CPSC says heretofore.
I urge you to change course and focus on safety through risk education and mitigation, not through elimination. You would have to pry my Onewheels from my cold, dead hands; something about which, I acknowledge is a non-zero chance.
