The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning Peloton customers about the potential dangers of the company’s Tread+ treadmill, after several incidents were reported of children, objects and a pet being sucked under the machine.
In a video posted on Youtube by the CPSC, a little boy from northern Virginia is sucked under a Peloton Tread+ before he is eventually able to free himself as a girl looks on. The boy in the video was not hurt.
“The young girl [in the video] is 4 years old. The little boy is 2 years old. And you see in an instant how he is sucked underneath the treadmill with the ball that he’s holding onto. This is a treadmill that weighs over 400 pounds,” Joe Martyak, of the CPSC, said.
Peloton refutes the warning, saying the "company is troubled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission's (CPSC) unilateral press release about the Peloton Tread+ because it is inaccurate and misleading."
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The CPSC launched an investigation less than a month ago, after Peloton announced a child from an undisclosed area had died in connection with the Tread+ machine in March. Details about the death were not released.
The CPSC said there are reports of dozens of other incidents involving children, adults and a pet.
“We’re doing it because we’ve got 39 incidents of objects, a pet or worse, children, being sucked underneath this treadmill,” Martyak said.
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The warning is not a recall, but that may change, the CPSC said.
“We have wanted to recall the product and to recall it voluntarily you need the firm to agree. Well, up to this point they have not agreed to recall or to a stop sale, but we hope that will change,” Martyak said.
The agency said the machine poses a serious risk to children for cuts, fractures and deaths. At least one incident occurred while a parent was running on the treadmill, so simply locking the device when not in use is not enough.
The agency said users should stop using the treadmill if they have small kids or pets, store it in a locked room, unplug it and report incidents to the CPSC.
In a statement, Peloton said in part, “There is no reason to stop using the Tread+, as long as all warnings and safety instructions are followed… Not wanting to delay in notifying Members, on March 18, 2021, Peloton's co-founder and CEO John Foley sent an urgent reminder directly to Tread+ Members to follow the critical warnings and safety instructions that accompany the Tread+, which state that children, pets, and objects should be kept clear of the Tread+ at all times. Members were also reminded to remove the Safety Key and store it out of the reach of children when an adult is not using the Tread+.”
