CPSC Approves New Federal Safety Standard for Carriages and Strollers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – To prevent deaths and injuries to infants and children, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has approved a new federal mandatory standard intended to improve the safety of infant’s and children’s carriages and strollers. The Commission voted unanimously in favor of the standard (3 to 0) on Tuesday, March 4, 2014.

A stroller is a wheeled vehicle used to transport children, usually from infancy to 36 months old. Children are transported generally sitting up or in a semi-reclined position by a person pushing on a handle attached to the stroller. Carriages are wheeled vehicles made to transport an infant, usually in a position lying down. Carriages and strollers within the scope of the new standard include full-size 2D strollers that fold in front-to-back (or back-to-front) and 3D strollers that fold in front-to-back (or back-to-front), as well as side-to-side directions, travel systems (including car seats), tandem, side-by-side, multi-occupant and jogging strollers.

The new federal standard incorporates by reference the most recent voluntary standard developed by ASTM International (ASTM F833-13b), Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Carriages and Strollers, with a modification to address head entrapment hazards associated with multi-positional/adjustable grab bars.

In addition, the new safety standard addresses hazards associated with strollers reported to the agency, including:

• Hinge issues that have resulted in pinched, cut, or amputated fingers or arms;
• Broken and detached wheels;
• Parking brake failures;
• Locking mechanism problems;
• Restraint issues, such as a child unbuckling the restraint and restraint breakage or detachment;
• Structural integrity; and
• Stability.

CPSC has received about 1,300 incident reports related to strollers reported from January 1, 2008 through June 30, 2013. Four of those incidents involved a fatality.

The effective date for the mandatory carriage and stroller standard is 18 months after the final rule is published in the Federal Register.

The Commission is required by The Danny Keysar Child Product Safety Notification Act, Section 104(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), to issue consumer product safety standards for durable infant or toddler products. In the past 5 years, the Commission has approved new federal safety standards for children’s products, including full-size cribs, non-full-size cribs, play yards, baby walkers, baby bath seats, children’s portable bed rails, toddler beds, infant swings, bassinets and cradles, hand-held infant carriers and bedside sleepers.