Home exercise equipment safety tips after Peloton treadmill death

HOUSTON - The CEO of Peloton is pushing back as the Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning consumers not to use their treadmills. This comes after reports that one child was killed, and nearly 40 others were injured on the treadmills.

With more people buying and using home exercise equipment during the pandemic, consumers are advised to take safety precautions. 

The CPSC is urging consumers to stop using Peloton Tread+ treadmills, saying children and pets can be pulled under the treadmill.  

The Commission released a video of a two-year-old boy and his ball being sucked underneath a moving treadmill. 

"He's pinned under there and it's a 450 pound machine that swings out on top of him. Fortunately, that little boy got away ok, but that reality is not always the case," said CPSC spokesman Joseph Martyak.

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Not the case, he says, for another child who died, another who suffered a brain injury, and nearly 40 more who've also been hurt.   

"There have been multiple incidents of children and a pet being sucked underneath a treadmill. It's been 93 incidents of this happening, either children, a pet, or objects, that are pulled underneat the treadmill," said Martyak.

But Peloton is pushing back on the CPSC's warning, writing in a statement:

"There is no reason to stop using the Tread+, as long as all warnings and safety instructions are followed. Children under 16 should never use the Tread+, and Members should keep children, pets, and objects away from the Tread+ at all times."  

Sales of many types of home exercise equipment soared during the pandemic. Injuries on home equipment are not uncommon. Since the year 2000, 82 recalls have been issued for different types of trampolines, treadmills, elliptical machines, resistance bands, and weight benches.  

CPSC reports more than 22,500 injuries were treated in U.S. emergency rooms from different types of treadmills in 2019.   

"I want to point out frequently those are because of sudden acceleration, where it suddenly starts going  faster and throws the user off balance. This particular fact pattern, hazard pattern, with this model from Peloton is something we haven't seen to date," said Martyak.  

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You can sign up to receive recall alerts on exercise equipment or any product on the CPSC website.  You can also check for recalls on specific products on SaferProducts.gov. 

To help protect children and pets from exercise equipment injuries, experts suggest keeping them in separate rooms with a locked door or a babygate, unplugging them and removing the safety key when not in use, and put that key out of children's reach.