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The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued an “urgent warning” to Peloton’s Tread+ owners after receiving multiple reports of dangerous incidents.
According to CNN, a Saturday news release by the government agency stated there had been 39 reported accidents involving the treadmill. Among these reports were “multiple reports of children becoming entrapped, pinned, and pulled under” the machine.
The agency urges those with small children and pets to immediately stop using the $4,295 device.
The treadmill was also involved in a child’s death back in March.
John Foley, Peloton’s CEO, sent a letter to Tread+ owners at the time, saying the warning comes after a “tragic accident involving a child and the Tread+, resulting in, unthinkably, a death.
CPSC released a video that showed a small child playing with a powered-on Peloton while the machine lifted off the ground. It was then the child became pinned underneath.
The company wasn’t happy with the agency’s choice to release the video, saying the agency’s warning was “inaccurate and misleading.” Peloton said there’s “no reason” to stop using the machine if safety instructions, such as correctly using its safety key, are followed. It also said that the Tread+ should be kept away from children under 16 years old and pets “at all times.
“The Tread+ includes safety warnings and instructions in several places, including in the user manual, in a safety card left on top of the Tread+ tray on delivery, and on the product itself,” Peloton said.
The agency will continue to look into “all known incidents” with the device.
Apparently, a recall has not been issued because the company hasn’t agreed to correct its action, repair, or replace the machine. Nor is it taking the product off the market.
Consumer Reports, the nonprofit consumer watchdog group, called Peloton’s actions “outrageous” and said the company was not putting safety first.
“You’d think that the CPSC could easily order a recall in a case like this, but it can’t, thanks to laws on the books that put corporate public relations ahead of children’s lives,” said William Wallace, manager of safety policy at Consumer Reports, in a statement. “This warning by the CPSC indicates that Peloton is not putting safety first, and there’s little the agency can do about it right now beyond alerting the public.”
