The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning on Saturday about the careers of Peloton Tread Plus, saying the machines pose a serious risk to children due to abrasions, fractures and death. In a March John blog post, John Foley, the company said he was aware that a child had died in an accident on the treadmill.
The agency says they are aware of 39 incidents involving the Tread Plus, including one death. “In light of multiple reports of children being trapped, pinned and pulled under the backseat of the product, CPSC is appealing to consumers with children at home to stop the product immediately,” the CPSC bulletin reads.
The CPSC posted a video showing what could happen in a Tread Plus accident involving a child. It shows a child being pulled unattended under the treadmill and almost crushed before he can escape (we do not include the video, however, because it is disturbing to watch).
The agency has issued a list of recommendations for Tread Plus users:
Stop using the Peloton Tread Plus if there are small children or pets at home. Incidents indicate that children can be seriously injured while using the Tread Plus by an adult, not just if an unattended child has access to the machine.
If consumers should continue to use the product, CPSC urges consumers to use the product only in a locked room, to prevent access to children and pets while using the treadmill. Keep all objects, including exercise balls and other equipment, away from the treadmill.
If not in use, unplug the Tread Plus and keep the safety key out of the reach of children and out of reach of children.
Aside from the incident where the child died, the CPSC received a report in February that a three-year-old boy sustained a “significant brain injury” in an incident with a treadmill of the Tread Plus. According to the report, the child had tread marks on his back that matched the slats of the treadmill, as well as neck and other injuries. Peloton commented on the report at the time, saying that the child from the incident “is expected to recover completely.”
Peloton said in a statement on Saturday that he refuted the “misleading, inaccurate bulletin” by the CPSC. According to Peloton, the company tried to make a joint announcement with the CPSC about the “danger of not following the warnings and safety instructions given” at the Tread Plus. According to the company, the agency “unfairly characterized the efforts of Peloton to cooperate and to correct inaccuracies in CPSC’s press release as an attempt to delay. It can not be further from the truth. ”
The company has Washington Post that he does not believe that a revocation of the Tread Plus is necessary.