No UK recall for Maclaren buggies
Updated on 10 November 2009
Trading standards officials today reassured parents there was no need to recall buggies made by Maclaren even though the British-owned company has done so in the US.
The pushchair manufacturer announced yesterday that a million buggies in America were being recalled for adjustments, after reports that 12 children had their fingertips cut off when they were caught in hinges.
The injuries occurred over a period of 10 years from 1999, in America The firm has recalled all single and double umbrella pushchairs and warned people to stop using them.
Maclaren USA Inc, a Connecticutbased arm of the UK company, is to provide a hinge-cover repair kit designed to fit all affected models.
Recall actually means something different in the US - it means corrective action - so US buyers have been issued with a cover to protect fingers. However, this cover isn't being offered in the UK.
Maclaren today pointed parents towards its safety video. A spokesman for the company said the foldable pram presents the same risk as a car door.
They said that customers should continue to use their existing Maclaren buggies, which are "safe when opened and closed correctly".
"As further reassurance we have updated our operating instructions and placed a warning label on the buggy to ensure that customers take care and keep children away from the buggy when it is being folded or unfolded."
Maclaren may be worried about how this publicity will affect consumers. This pushchair has been popular since the 60s, when it was first designed, and parents More4 News met, did not seem too worried.
All foldable pushchairs seem to present some sort of risk. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said that in 2002, 80 children had to go to A&E because their fingers had been trapped in a buggy. But those figures refer to all buggies, not just Maclaren's.
