DOHA: Following complaints against the growing use of “space-boards" by people, especially youngsters, at public places, some leading malls in Qatar, including Ezdan, Villaggio, Landmark and Dar Al Salaam, have reportedly banned the use of these electronic gadgets at their premises.
These malls have installed signs that warn customers that these motorized space-boards are now banned from being used.
“We are facing problems because children were hitting other people and bumping in to them” Zahid Iqbal, the operations manager at Dar Al Salaam mall was quoted as saying by an online news portal (dohanews.co). “We found children were going very fast on these boards, bumping in to people and were going down travelators on them.”
Other malls, however, plan to open parkour playgrounds where users of the board can stay in a dedicated area where they won’t be able to cause a distraction for other shoppers in the mall, according to the news portal.
The two-wheeled space-boards began growing in popularity several months ago, when these electric scooters debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.
These devices are battery-powered and navigated by pressure from the user’s feet and weight distribution.
The Peninsula
