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Bumbleride Stroller Recall Two Reports Of Minor Injuries

February 27, 2012 by · Comments Off on Bumbleride Stroller Recall Two Reports Of Minor Injuries 

Bumbleride Stroller Recall Two Reports Of Minor Injuries, The manufacturer of two strollers, the Bumbleride Indie and Bumbleride Indie Twin, and product safety officials announced a voluntary recall on Friday to address a problem with the front wheel that could cause the strollers to tip. It also issued a “consumer alert” about a multi-use bar that, when adjusted incorrectly, could cause an unharnessed child to strangle.

The action comes days after Consumer Reports informed the company and the Consumer Product Safety Commission that we judge both models “Don’t Buy: Safety Risk” because of our concerns about the adjustable, multi-use bar. Our tests showed the potential for an unharnessed child to be strangled by slipping under the bar, which spans the seat of the Indie and each of the Indie Twin’s seats.

Friday’s recall, however, focused on the strollers’ front wheel. A CPSC press release said, “The front wheel can break at the axle hub, causing the stroller to tip and posing a fall hazard.” There have been 36 incidents of the front wheel cracking, including two reports of the stroller tipping over, resulting in minor injuries, the CPSC said.

The Indie, about $500, and Indie Twin, roughly $700, are designed to be used with children up to 45 pounds and up to 43 inches tall. They can be used with various car seat models from other manufacturers.

The recall affects about 28,000 units sold in the United States and 2,700 sold in Canada, all with manufacture dates from January 2009 though January 2012. The strollers were made in Taiwan.

The CPSC says that consumers should immediately stop using the recalled strollers and visit Bumbleride’s site or contact the company at support@bumbleridecom or 800-530-3930 to receive a free front-wheel retrofit kit. The company is also discontinuing and stopping sale of those two models, according to Matthew Reichardt, chief executive officer of Bumbleride Inc. of San Diego, Calif.

UPDATE: Bumbleride Indie and Indie Twin strollers on the market now no longer have a wheel problem, Reichardt said in an interview Friday evening. Furthermore, they no longer come with a multi-use bar, he said.

He maintained that when used correctly, the multi-use bar is safe. But the company removed them from strollers for sale because “we can understand there could be confusion” about their safe use, he said.

The company will release a new bar in March as an optional accessory, Reichardt said. It also plans to offer an infant car seat adapter at that time. Consumer Reports will test these accessories when they become available.

Safety concern
On current Bumbleride Indie strollers, the bar is attached above the child’s legs, and can be set in three positions. In the highest position, it is intended as a grab bar or bumper bar for a child. In an intermediate position it acts as a support for an infant car seat. The third and lowest position is down against the seat for folding the stroller. When the bar is in the highest position, the strollers are safe to use and meet the voluntary ASTM-International safety standard requiring that if there is enough room for a child’s torso to fit between the bar and the seat there must be enough room for the child’s head to fit through, too.

But with the bar in the intermediate position, our tests showed a child’s torso could fit through the space between the bar and the stroller seat—but his head might not. That poses a strangulation hazard known as “submarining.” If a child is placed in the stroller unharnessed (something manufacturers including Bumbleride and child-safety advocates urge caregivers not to do, but which some do anyway) the child could slip down and be strangled by the bar. Federal data show that this type of strangulation was responsible for at least 10 infant deaths between 1995 and 2008, the latest dates for which complete data are available, though we do not know of any deaths or injuries associated with the Bumbleride Indie or Indie Twin strollers.

A small tag on the multi-use bar’s zip-on cover warns of this hazard. “Warning: When child is seated in stroller, only use bumper bar in upright position. Child can slide forward and strangle,” it says. And the strollers’ instruction manuals also state, “When used as a bumper bar, ensure that the multi-use bar is adjusted to position.” But Consumer Reports believes that some users may not read the instruction manual or notice the warning, and those who do can easily forget to adjust the bar—a foreseeable misuse.

“We reasoned that parents of babies, especially twins or children close enough in age for there to be a need of a double stroller, may be rushed and frazzled,” said Joan Muratore, Consumer Reports program leader child-product tests. “They might easily forget to move the grab bar back up from the potentially dangerous, intermediate position.”

To test this concern, we conducted a panel test with 20 staffers using Indie Twin strollers. Panelists (all current or recent stroller users, though not otherwise involved in our stroller test program) were given tasks that included putting a car seat with dummy into or out of the stroller, then putting the dummy in the stroller without the car seat. The manufacturer’s instruction manual was on hand. Yet few panelists read it and set the multi-use bar appropriately.

On February 1, the day after Consumer Reports contacted Bumbleride about the problem with the multi-use bar, the company posted a page on its website Using the Multi-use Bars Correctly. Accompanied by diagrams showing correct use of the bar, the page states: “It has come to our attention that there is a possibility for multi-use bars included with Indie and Indie Twin models (I-110, I-205, IT-111 and IT-305) to be used incorrectly, resulting in a potential strangulation hazard.”

Bumbleride Stroller Front Wheel Can Break

February 27, 2012 by · Comments Off on Bumbleride Stroller Front Wheel Can Break 

Bumbleride Stroller Front Wheel Can Break, The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: Bumbleride Indie & Indie Twin Strollers

Units: About 28,000 (an additional 2,700 were sold in Canada)

Importer: Bumbleride Inc., of San Diego, Calif.

Hazard: The front wheel can break at the axle hub, causing the stroller to tip and posing a fall hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: There have been 36 incidents of the front wheel cracking, including two reports of the stroller tipping over resulting in minor injuries.

Description: The recalled Bumbleride Indie strollers are model numbers I-107, I-110 and I-205 with a DOM (Date of Manufacture) from January 2009 through August 2011 sold in multiple colors. The DOM (Date of Manufacture) can be found on a white rectangular sticker affixed to the side of the seat frame. The recalled Bumbleride Indie Twin strollers are model numbers IT-108, IT-111, and IT-305 with a DOM (Date of Manufacture) from January 2009 through August 2011 sold in multiple colors. The DOM (Date of Manufacture) can be found on a white rectangular sticker affixed to the underside of the handle.

Sold at: Buy Buy Baby and other baby product stores nationwide, online at Bumbleride.com, and other online retailers between January 2009 and January 2012 for between $500 and $700.

Manufactured in: Taiwan

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled strollers and contact Bumbleride to receive a free front wheel retrofit kit.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, visit the firm’s website at www.support.bumbleride.com or contact Bumbleride at support@bumbleride.com or at (800) 530-3930 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. PT Monday through Friday.

Bumbleride Stroller Recall

February 27, 2012 by · Comments Off on Bumbleride Stroller Recall 

Bumbleride Stroller Recall, Bumbleride Inc. of San Diego is recalling about 28,000 strollers with wheels that can break and cause them to tip over, regulators said.

The firm has received 36 reports of incidents with front wheels cracking, including two reports of minor injuries sustained as the strollers tipped over, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a statement.

The recall involves Bumbleride Indie and Indie Twin Strollers. These include model numbers I-107, I-110 and I-205 with manufacturing dates from January 2009 through August 2011.

The recalled Bumbleride Indie Twin strollers are model numbers IT-108, IT-111, and IT-305 with manufacturing dates from January 2009 through August 2011.

The date of manufacture can be found on a white rectangular sticker affixed to the side of the seat frame or on the underside of the handle.

February 2012 Children’s Gear Recalls

February 27, 2012 by · Comments Off on February 2012 Children’s Gear Recalls 

February 2012 Children’s Gear Recalls, February 2012 children’s gear recalls – children’s gear, Bumbleride recalled about 30,000 of its Indie and Indie Twin strollers sold from January 2009 to January 2012 after reports of broken parts.
Babies can be difficult to buy for. Many of us want to celebrate this most special arrival with a gift of some kind, but there are few presents you can give to a baby which they will appreciate. It’s well known that babies will ignore the carefully crafted gift and instead enjoy the cardboard box or another otherwise boring item. Finding something which they like is one thing, but finding something which they can enjoy and which will last, well that’s another.

At this point many people give up and buy a present for the parents instead. Mothers who have been teetotal for nine months might appreciate a tipple, and there is a long list of presents which new parents will appreciate. Useful they may be, but nappies and prams don’t make the most exciting of gifts. The best way to give something which has meaning, which can be treasured and which is individually tailored to the occasion, is to opt for a personalised present. Whether it is jewellery or stationary engraved with special dates or messages, or a cuddly toy with somebody’s name on it, personalised baby presents have the effect of becoming treasured possessions will help the owner be reminded of this special time.
Health and Safety
One of the main things to consider when buying a present for a baby is to ensure that it will actually survive. Remember that anything which resides inside the cot is likely to be chewed, eaten, thrown around and potentially mistreated. Soft, robust toys which can withstand this much love make the best baby presents. Soft textures and bright colours are usually preferred by babies, who can carry on loving their soft toys right into their university days.
Alternatively you could consider gifting items which reside outside the cot, including mobiles which are always a popular choice. Mobiles are designed to give babies something interesting and colourful to watch while they wile away the hours in the cot, snoozing, feeding and cuddling their soft toys. Mobiles are ideal because babies can’t destroy them, as they are attached to the ceiling.
Keepsakes
Teddy bears and soft toys can become treasured keepsakes, being kept in special places for decades. There are other types of gifts which have this type of staying power, especially if they are customised with names, dates and places. It gives them a timeless quality and it means their origin will always be remembered.
There are loads of great customisable presents out there, including quality stationary, clothing, furniture or musical instruments. Engraving or otherwise personalising an item like this is a great way of ensuring it doesn’t end up as somebody else’s birthday or Christmas present. An engraved pen can travel with a child through school, while baby clothes could end up being worn by siblings, children or soft toys. You could even personalise a bottle of wine if you want it to be cherished for a long time.

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