The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has put out a warning for owners of the popular Peloton Tread+ exercise machine following “multiple incidents of small children and a pet being injured beneath the machines.”
The warning comes weeks after Peloton CEO John Foley said a child died in an accident related to the machine. “While we are aware of only a small handful of incidents involving the Tread+ where children have been hurt, each one is devastating to all of us at Peloton, and our hearts go out to the families involved,” he said in a statement.
As a result, the CPSC launched an investigation into the treadmill, one that the commission says remains ongoing. The commission reported that it is aware of 38 other non-fatal safety incidents involving the device.
In the commission’s view, the Peloton Tread+ “poses serious risks to children for abrasions, fractures, and death” resulting from “children becoming entrapped, pinned, and pulled under the rear roller of the product.”
The announcement included a video of a child seemingly pulled underneath the treadmill while playing behind the machine.
The CPSC is advising those with children at home to stop using the Peloton Tread+ treadmill immediately and says that the hazard the machine imposes “cannot be avoided simply by locking the device when not in use.”
“Peloton has not yet agreed to do a recall or a stop sale,” Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesperson Joe Martyak told NPR. He continued, “We hope that will change.”
Generally, product recalls are done on a voluntary basis by companies, in concert with government.
Peloton responded to the CPSC, saying the warning was “inaccurate and misleading.”
“Like all motorized exercise equipment, the Tread+ can pose hazards if the warnings and safety instructions are not followed,” the company said. In response to further questions from NPR about a possible recall, a spokesperson for the company said “a recall has never been warranted.”
The spokesman added that, “The Peloton Tread+ is safe when operated as directed and in accordance with the warnings and safety instructions.”.
Source: NPR
