During the pandemic many people set up gym equipment at home. People with treadmills need to be aware of the dangers these machines pose for both animals and children who aren't careful.
Peloton announced Wednesday voluntary recalls of both its treadmill machines over safety concerns.
The recall affects about 125,000 Tread+ machines and roughly 1,050 Tread products in the U.S.
This decision comes after the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued an urgent warning for parents to stop using the Peloton treadmills after 70 injury reports where at least 39 of those incidents involved children who were injured, including a 3-year-old who suffered a significant brain injury and another case where a child died.
"Incidents have happened where the adult is on the treadmill using it and perhaps when they start nobody is around, there's no pet around, but the point is as the adult is using it and is focused on the touch screen video, or maybe has headphones in they don't have the awareness of some child or pet coming into the room and coming near the machine and then quickly being pulled under," said Joe Martyak of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
According to the CPSC, in many of these cases children becoming entrapped, pinned, and pulled under the rear roller of the product.
"This is a 455-lb machine, so if you watch the video that we put out it shows a 2-year-old who had a ball in his hands quickly pulled underneath it and fortunately the 2-year-old was ok because of the ball being a cushion, but imagine a 2-year-old underneath a machine that keeps the child pinned there under 455-lbs," said Martyak.
Robert S. Adler, Acting Chairman of the CPSC released the following statement:
"I am pleased that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Peloton have come to an agreement to protect users of the Peloton Tread+ and Tread products. The agreement, which the Commission voted this morning to accept, requires Peloton to immediately stop selling and distributing both the Tread+ and Tread products in the United States and refund the full purchase price to consumers who wish to return their treadmills. The agreement between CPSC and Peloton is the result of weeks of intense negotiation and effort, culminating in a cooperative agreement that I believe serves the best interests of Peloton and of consumers. I would like to thank the CPSC technical staff who have worked tirelessly to protect consumers and to warn the public. Today we have taken steps to prevent further harm from these two products."
The announcement marked a major reversal of Peloton’s initial reaction and comes after weeks of discussions with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Peloton CEO John Foley issued the following statement:
The decision to recall both products was the right thing to do for Peloton’s Members and their families. I want to be clear, Peloton made a mistake in our initial response to the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s request that we recall the Tread+. We should have engaged more productively with them from the outset. For that, I apologize. Today’s announcement reflects our recognition that, by working closely with the CPSC, we can increase safety awareness for our Members. We believe strongly in the future of at-home connected fitness and are committed to work with the CPSC to set new industry safety standards for treadmills. We have a desire and a responsibility to be an industry leader in product safety.”
Some of the data on treadmill dangers reveals the safety concerns go beyond the Peloton machines.
In 2019 there were 22,500 treadmill-related injuries treated at U.S. emergency rooms, about 2,000 of those were children under the age of 8. From 2018 to 2020 there were 17 treadmill related deaths, the youngest was just 5 years old.
If you have a treadmill in your home the CPSC suggests you secure your machine, remove safety keys, and try your best to keep the machine away from animals and children who could be hurt.
If you need more information on the Peloton treadmill recall: https://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2021/CPSC-and-Peloton-Announce-Recall-of-Tread-Plus-Treadmills-After-One-Child-Death-and-70-Incidents-Recall-of-Tread-Treadmills-Due-to-Risk-of-Injury
Consumers can contact Peloton toll-free at (844) 410-0141 from 9 a.m. ET to 7 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. ET to 6:30 p.m. ET on weekends or online at www.onepeloton.com and click on Product Recalls at the bottom of the page for more information.
