Regulator issues warning over Peloton treadmill after child dies in the US

Safety regulators in the US have warned people with families and pets to stop using a treadmill made by Peloton after one child died and others were injured.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said children and at least one pet were pulled, pinned or entrapped under the rear roller of the Tread+ treadmill, leading to fractures, scrapes and the death of one child.

The safety commission said in a news release and in emails that it knows of 39 “incidents” with the treadmill, involving “dozens” of children.

It said the majority of the incidents resulted in injuries, including the one death.

The commission posted a video on its YouTube page of a child being pulled under the treadmill.

Peloton said in a news release that the warning from the safety commission was “inaccurate and misleading.”

It said there’s no reason to stop using the treadmill as long as children and pets are kept away from it at all times, it is turned off when not in use, and a safety key is removed.

But the safety commission said that in at least one episode, a child was pulled under the treadmill while a parent was running on it, suggesting it can be dangerous to children even while a parent is present.

If adults want to keep using the treadmill, the commission said, they should use it only in a locked room so children and pets can’t come near it.

When not in use, the treadmill should be unplugged and the safety key taken out and hidden away.

The commission also said to keep exercise balls and other objects away from it, because those have been pulled under the treadmill.

Peloton is best known for its stationary bikes, but it introduced the treadmill about three years ago.

It costs more than $4,000 (£2,891).

Sales of Peloton equipment have soared during the pandemic as gyms closed for months at a time.

The company brought in $1 billion (£722 million) in revenue in the last three months of 2020, more than double its revenue from the same period a year before.

In a statement, Peloton said: “There have been 23 incidents involving children, 15 involving objects, and one involving a pet. With the exception of the tragedy where the child died, we understand that in all other incidents where children were injured, they have fully recovered or are expected to do so.

“The CPSC was given all of this data confidentially, and they chose to instead publish a statement that is misleading as to the number of incidents involving children.

“We have not given specific details about these incidents because we respect the privacy of our Members, some of whom specifically asked us not to give details about their specific situations to the CPSC or otherwise.”