KCA News & Media
Press Release
Press Release
| Poor Management of Rental Baby Carriages | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | 2007-08-08 | Hit | 1849 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 첨부파일 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Recently, 4 out of 1 rental baby carriages provided in multi-purpose facilities such as department stores and childcare facilities was found to be unsafe. This prompted the Korea Consumer Protection Board (KCPB) to examine the status of safety management of rental baby carriages in department stores, amusement park facilities, museums and highway rest areas located in 5 major cities.
■ 4 out of 1 rental baby carriages broken or damaged
After examining the safety management of rental baby carriages provided in 33 multi-purpose facilities, 25.3% (183 baby carriages) were either broken or damaged which may lead to accidents and injuries. To be more specific, 11.9% (86 baby carriages) were found to have broken or damaged ‘stopper devices’, 4.4% (32 baby carriages) had broken or damaged ‘belts’ and 4.3% (31 baby carriages) had broken or damaged ‘double-locking devices’.
In particular, ‘locking devices’ can easily lead to injuries due to baby carriages folding from outer shock or force. Therefore, baby carriages that are made after September 2004 must have a double-lock in order to prevent accidents. However, the recent survey found that 79 baby carriages (10.9%) had a single-lock device. As can be seen, urgent measures are needed to prevent further accidents and injuries.
[Table 1] Types of Breaks & Damages Found in Rental Baby Carriages
Unit: Number of Baby Carriages/Total Number Inspected
■ 66.7% of facilities that lend baby carriages disregard age limit
KCPB also examined whether multi-purpose facilities notify safety rules and guidelines when lending baby carriages. 48.5% (16 facilities) did not provide the information. Whether facilities abide by the age limit (1-3 years old) in using baby carriages, KCPB found that 66.7% (22 facilities) disregarded the age limit and allowed children over 3 years old to ride in baby carriages. This has led to frequent accidents and injuries.
■ 45.2% of accidents involve head and facial injuries
KCPB collected a total of 42 injury cases involving rental baby carriages through its Consumer Injury Surveillance System (CISS) from January 2000 to February 2006. 64.3% of accidents mostly occurred in department stores and 45.2% of accidents involved head and facial injuries.
In surveying the reason for these types of accidents and injuries, 50% related to ‘falls’ followed by ‘defective parts’ (23.8%) and ‘suffering injuries on stairwells and escalators (11.9%).’
Based on the above findings, KCPB will make a proposal to the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) to tighten safety inspection standards to improve the durability of major parts (e.g. stopper devices and belts) used in baby carriages. It also plans to circulate ‘Safety Guidelines of Rental Baby Carriages’ jointly made with relevant businesses to prevent further accidents and injuries in the future.
Source: Consumer Safety Center |
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