U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
8 HN mentions · mentioned in 3 months, 2021–2022
0:53 · 1.5M views · Apr 17, 2021
A short silent video from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission warning consumers to stop using the Peloton Tread+. It shows a child being pulled under the treadmill, and it preceded Peloton's recall.
HN cites it as evidence in debates over the treadmill's design flaw and parental responsibility, often with a warning that it is disturbing.
8 comments from Hacker News
I agree. The CPSC graphic video [0], graphically demonstrates the "safety failure" of a Pelton treadmill with two young children playing on an active treadmill unsupervised. While I certainly agree Pelton and other manufactures should attempt to mitigate the dangers of such a negligent situation, I was astonished that parents would allow this to happen. Imagine the same video, but replace the treadmill with a loaded bench press. Pelton highlights that there is a safety key required to operate the machine and that parents are instructed to store it in a secure location inaccessible to children. [1] No treadmill manufacturer can ever fully eliminate the dangers of an active treadmill to young children and pets, and therefore I think this safety key is the essential piece. I find this similar to locking power tools away from curious young hands. I don't want this to lead to additional regulation and compliance. Such regulation could even mislead consumers as to the danger of a treadmill. E.g., requiring some autodetection of a stuck belt to stop the motor. A foolproof mechanism would be not only expensive, but require regular inspection and maintenance to guarantee it performs this function. One could trust this mechanism while neglecting maintenance and therefore be further negligent in not securing the safety key away from children. [0] this video [1] [LINK]
Yes, a plastic guard creates opportunities for catching fingers and clothing, but (unsurprisingly) people think this is preferable to their child's head getting caught in the treadmill[1]. A child was killed by one of these things. It is absolutely a massive design flaw that this treadmill lacks a protective guard and/or an automatic cutoff that triggers when it sees an unexpected level of resistance. You know, like if a child's head gets caught in it. [1] this video
There are many treadmills out there. And those treadmills don't tell to pull people underneath them , like this device did. Let's not be facetious here, Peloton didn't get CPSC's attention because it is a treadmill -- it got that attention because it is an unsafe treadmill. As far as treadmills go, preventing being pulled underneath has been a solved problem. EDIT: compare and contrast: what Peloton does [1] vs. a $700 treadmill design [2]. [1] this video [2] [LINK]
Did you watch the video that was widely circulated in the news? A child is playing with a ball (around 12" in diameter), it gets sucked under and traps his hands, then the treadmill pulls his entire body under as the treadmill itself (which weighs 300-450lb) moves on top of him. In this case the child was lucky that the ball didn't burst so he was able to climb back out. this video
Most treadmills have a guard or plastic covering on the bottom that stops the tread from pulling something underneath it. From pictures, the peloton treadmill doesnt have this... so I would guess if anything gets between the back of the device and the floor, it'll pull it under the machine. Edit: confirmed (warning: video shows a child being injured): this video