Stroller Safety Standards Approved by CPSC to Prevent Injuries, Deaths

Government safety officials have introduced new safety standards for baby strollers, which are designed to reduce the risk of injuries and even deaths that have been attributed to stroller designs.  

Following a unanimous vote, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) passed new stroller safety standards on March 4, which will add new requirements to how all strollers and carriages will be made, tested, and labeled. The new requirements will impact all strollers sold after September 2015.

The push for a stricter stroller safety design was prompted by more than 1,300 reports of problems involving strollers from January 1, 2008 through June 30, 2013, including 391 cases that resulted in injuries, 14 hospitalizations, and four deaths.

New mandatory standards will be developed by ASTM International, Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Carriages and Strollers, which will specifically address head entrapment hazards associated with adjustable grab bars, broken wheels, parking break failures, locking mechanism problems, restraint issues, structural integrity and stability, and hinge issues that have been known to cause pinching and amputations of fingers.

The rules affect any device classified as a stroller, which is defined as a wheeled vehicle used to transport children typically from infancy up to 36 months. This includes all carriages and strollers within the scope of the new standards that will also include travel systems such as car seats, tandem, multi-occupant, and jogging strollers.

A number of prior stroller recalls have been initiated by the U.S. CPSC due to concerns about design problems, which may allow an infant’s body to fall through an opening between the grab bars and seat bottom, potentially becoming trapped at the head if they are not harnessed properly.

Other problems with stroller designs have created situations where infants and caregivers may suffer finger amputations. In January 2014, 224,000 baby strollers were recalled by Britax after the manufacturer received eight reports of the strollers snapping down on customer’s hands including one report of a partial finger amputation and multiple reports of finger lacerations.