Hoverboards are the absolute worst way to run from the police

By Trevor Mogg April 7, 2016

hoverboard — Ben Larcey/Creative Commons

Hoverboards as getaway vehicles? With a top speed of around 6 mph, they may not be the wisest choice for criminals trying to flee a cop in a car. However, if recent reports are anything to go by, it seems the self-balancing scooters are getting some serious attention among the criminal fraternity.

The latest incident took place this week in the Florida town of Clearwater when an officer stopped one Jerome Antoine Dennis on suspicion of marijuana possession.

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Apparently keen to get the heck out, Dennis jumped on his hoverboard and took off. Well, not literally, you understand, as these devices – in case you weren’t aware – don’t actually hover. Trundle, yes. Hover, most definitely not.

Reports suggest Dennis soon ditched the hoverboard and made a run for it, presumably after realizing the cop was fast gaining ground. On foot. Possibly walking.

Sadly for Dennis, even his own legs weren’t enough to help him escape the law, and the suspect was quickly apprehended.

No, this isn’t the first time someone’s used the popular two-wheeled transporter as a getaway vehicle. Just last month, we heard about a suspect in Dallas actually managing to escape the police by hopping aboard one of the machines and zooming off – OK, puttering – into the distance.

It seems that the man, who’d apparently been involved in a shooting incident, fled the scene before the cops turned up, so banish from your mind the amusing image of the officers engaged in a low-speed car chase with a guy on a hoverboard.

What crooks must really be waiting for is a fast-moving board that glides like the Slide, a board developed by Lexus that actually does hover, though admittedly it does have some severe limitations in terms of where you can use it.

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Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

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