Is it legal to ride a hoverboard on the street in New York?

New York City police have banned hoverboards from city streets, according toseveral news reports today.

Hoverboards, or Hero Boards, are two-wheeled, motorized, self-balancing scooters. You drive them by balancing on two feet like a sideways skateboard with no handlebars.

We asked what this New York City ban means for the rest of New York state, including Syracuse?

A DMV spokesman said hoverboards are legal in Syracuse, subject to state vehicle and traffic laws and any local restrictions the city has enacted.

A spokesman for the city of Syracuse is looking into any local restrictions.

State law puts hoverboards in the category of an "electric personal assistive mobility device."

There are all kinds of restrictions already in state law for that kind of device:

• They are banned in cities with more than 1 million people.


• They may be operated on highways with a posted speed limit of 30 miles per hour or less, including non-interstate public highways, private roads open to motor vehicle traffic and designated bicycle or in-line skate lanes.


• If you want to turn left, you have to use the crosswalk.


• Only one person per hovercraft.


• You have to wear reflective clothing and use a light in the dark.


• Drivers must be 16 or older.


• No riding in state parks or historic sites.


• You can only go 8 miles an hour on a sidewalk if your town allows hoverboards to be driven on sidewalks.


• If you're going to pass a pedestrian on the sidewalk, you have to make sure there is enough room and ring a bell that can be heard up to 100 feet away. (It has to be a bell, not a siren or whistle.)


• No clinging to vehicles.


• There is no fine for breaking those rules once. A second time comes with a fine of up to $50, state law says.