The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning people to stop using Peloton‘s Tread+ treadmill, with this coming in response to at least 39 incidents in which the Tread+ has put children in danger — including one death. This news comes shortly after the CPSC also issued a recall notice for Verizon’s Ellipsis Jetpack mobile hotspot, which was found to overheat and become a fire hazard in certain situations.
Peloton has quickly become a go-to name in the home workout niche, with the company offering in-home bikes and treadmills that can be used with live and on-demand classes. The products have become especially popular in a world where many people are ditching gyms to exercise in their own homes, with the Tread+ being one of Peloton’s most impressive pieces of equipment. Unfortunately, there’s been a building level of concern around the Tread+’s design. In March, Peloton CEO John Foley announced that the company was aware of an incident in which a child had been killed by the Tread+, but went on to reassure customers that the product was safe to use. That news seemed to come and go, but about a month later, the CPSC has stepped in to put the Tread+ and Peloton in the hot seat.
Related: Tesla Model S & Model X Recall Requested Over Display Issue
CPSC issued an official product warning on April 17, 2021, telling people to stop buying and using the Peloton Tread+ following “multiple incidents of small children and a pet being injured beneath the machines.” CPSC announced that it’s now been informed of at least 39 incidents (including the one death Peloton previously addressed) resulting from the Tread+’s design. This was released alongside a video from CPSC, which shows one of those incidents in which a child was temporarily stuck underneath the Tread+. The video shows a girl walking on top of the Tread+ while a boy is playing with an exercise ball near the base of it, but within a few seconds, the boy’s arms become stuck under the moving belt. The boy remains still for a moment, but the Tread+’s belt starts moving again — temporarily dragging the child’s head and chest underneath the entire machine. The kid manages to free themself and walk away, but it proves how the gap between the Tread+’s belt and the floor can be potentially fatal.
Following the CPSC’s product warning, Peloton fired back to refute the claims being made against it. Peloton says the video released by the CPSC isn’t valid proof of the Tread+ being unsafe, with the company noting that the Safety Key for the Tread+ in the video wasn’t properly removed — something Peloton says it instructs all of its users to do. When the Safety Key is removed from the Tread+, it can’t be turned on and used. Peloton then says that users should be more mindful about how they use their Tread+ around children, such as scheduling workouts while their kids are napping, at night, or keeping children in another room while doing a workout on the Tread+.
In addition to that main press release, Foley also issued a follow-up letter. Foley says that Peloton has “fully cooperated with CPSC and responded to all of their requests.” However, Foley notes that Peloton refused to release personally identifiable information for some of the incidents because “members had specifically requested that we not provide that information to CPSC.” Foley then goes on to say that Peloton wasn’t trying to impede on CPSC’s investigation and that he’s “proud that we took a stand to protect these member’s privacy.”
All of this acts as a lead-up for Foley to say that Peloton doesn’t intend to stop selling the Tread+ despite CPSC’s request that the company does so. Foley doubles down on the message from Peloton’s official press release, saying that the Tread+ “is safe when our warnings and safety instructions are followed.” It’s unclear what’s going to happen next, but between the CPSC’s warning and many people on social media airing their anger at Peloton for how it’s handling the situation, this is a lot of bad PR for the exercise company.
Next: How A Peloton Smartwatch Could Change The Fitness Wearables Game
Source: CPSC (1), (2), Peloton (1), (2), (3)
Article Source and Credit screenrant.com https://screenrant.com/peloton-tread-plus-unsafe-children-pets-video-cpsc/ Buy Tickets for every event – Sports, Concerts, Festivals and more buytickets.com
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.