This is my impression as well. Part of this problem is surely an operator error issue, combined with the inherent way these self balancing machines work. Sure, warnings and limiters can be added in software but this can never actually supersede the laws of physics. Where there’s a will to fuck up, someone will find it. And also, like, wear a fuckin’ helmet.
So, if you ride your Onewheel to the absolute top end of its motor’s maximum speed such that it has no reserve power left with which to balance you, well, you can potentially eat shit. But, try flying down a big hill on a regular bicycle and needing to come to a stop, so you grab both brake levers as hard as you can. Guess what happens if you do that? So, where’s my recall on every single bicycle ever manufactured in the world, ever, due to the “design flaw” of having to obey physics? (Yes, I am aware fancypants mountain bikes with hydraulic brakes can now be had with ABS, if you feel like paying for it. This, perhaps, serves even more to drive home my point that no one has seen fit to recall or ban the bikes that don’t have this feature, despite it now existing.)
Part of this maybe a flaw in the product design, but another part of it is our perspective of the “acceptable” risks inherent in a particular design shifting dramatically over time, in inconsistent ways.