The First Skate Park In Africa, By Yann Gross

The use of skateboards solely as a form of transportation is often associated with the longboard. Depending on local laws, using skateboards as a form of transportation outside residential areas may or may not be legal. Backers cite portability, exercise, and environmental friendliness as some of the benefits of skateboarding as an alternative to automobiles.
Skateboards, along with other small-wheeled transportation such as in-line skates and scooters, suffer a safety caveat where riders may easily be thrown from small cracks and outcroppings in pavement, especially where the cracks run perpendicular to the direction of travel. However, high average travel speeds help mitigate this; injuries are more likely to be minor, although very uncommon, head injuries still pose a major health risk.