On July 24, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced a voluntary recall of 5,600 Contours Options LT Tandem Strollers, imported by Kolcraft Enterprises from China. The problem? The front wheel assembly on the stroller could break, posing a fall hazard to the child in the stroller. Also, the nuts holding the stroller’s basket also have detached posing a choking hazard to a child. While Kolcraft received six reports of front wheels breaking and a couple of reports on the basket detaching, no injuries had been reported to-date. The model number of the recalled Kolcraft stroller is ZT012 and parents can find that on a label on the rear leg of the stroller. The Contours Options LT Tandem Strollers are dual-seat strollers and were sold on line between February and July 2012 for approximately $250.
A much larger recall, however, was announced by the CPSC on July 25, 2012 of 223,000 Peg Perego Venezia and Pliko-P3 Strollers, made in Italy and imported to the US for sale. The reason for this stroller recall is two very young children have died from becoming entrapped in this stroller. In 2004, a 6-month old California child died after becoming trapped between the stroller’s seat and its tray. In 2006, a 7-month old child from New York died from similar circumstances.
A CNN report by Todd Sperry, noted the CPSC’s caution that “entrapment and strangulation can occur, especially to infants younger than 12 months of age, when a child is not harnessed.” A very young child can slide through the opening between the stroller’s tray and seat bottom, while their head and neck can become entrapped by the tray.[1][1] Model numbers and photos of this recalled brand stroller recall can be viewed by visiting the CPSC website: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml12/12232.html
While CPSC Spokesperson Patty Davis indicated this recall was part of a larger effort by the CPSC to address fatalities which occurred prior to new and better stroller standards being in place, we would issue a word of caution to parents and others. Used recalled infant strollers can be found for sale on a variety of websites despite the fact that it is illegal to sell recalled products—whether baby furniture or any other product. These strollers are in the thrift marketplace and sometimes unwittingly are given as hand-me-downs to unsuspecting new parents. Please check the CPSC website to learn whether the strollers you are using for your children have been recalled.
When will these manufacturers and distributors get this right? It is not as if they are designing a piece of equipment to be used in space flight.
[1][1] “Baby strollers recalled on new evidence of strangulation risks,” Sperry, Todd, July 25, 2012, CNN.com/ http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/24/us/strollers-recalled/index.html
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