Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Carriages and Strollers¹

INTRODUCTION

This consumer safety performance specification addresses carriage and stroller incidents that were identified by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

The CPSC identified injuries to children associated with the following: stability, brakes, restraint systems, latches and folding mechanisms, structural integrity, cords, wheel detachment, and deaths due to entrapment in openings of convertible carriage/strollers. In response to the incident-data compiled by the CPSC, this consumer safety performance specification attempts to minimize the previously listed problems. This specification does not cover carriages and strollers that are blatantly misused, although warnings and safety instructions are required to be prominently displayed on or with each carriage or stroller.

NOTE 1 — This consumer safety performance specification is not intended to address incidents and injuries resulting from the interaction of other persons with children in carriages or strollers or incidents resulting from unforeseeable abuse or misuse.

This consumer safety performance specification is written within the current state of the art of carriage and stroller technology. It is intended that this specification will be updated whenever substantive information becomes available which necessitates additional requirements or justifies the revision of existing requirements.

1. Scope

2. Referenced Documents

2.1 ASTM Standards:²

• D3359 Test Methods for Measuring Adhesion by Tape Test
• F406 Consumer Safety Specification for Non-Full-Size Baby Cribs/Play Yards
• F963 Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety
• F2680 Specification for Manually Operated Front Wheel Retention Systems for Bicycles

² For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or contact ASTM Customer Service at service@astm.org. For Annual Book of ASTM Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on the ASTM website.

2.2 Federal Standards:

• 16 CFR 1303 Ban of Lead-Containing Paint and Certain Consumer Products Bearing Lead-Containing Paint ³ 1
• 16 CFR 1500 Hazardous Substances Act Regulations³ including sections:
  • 1500.48 Mechanical Requirements for Determining a Sharp Point in Toys or Other Articles Intended for Use by Children Under Eight Years of Age
  • 1500.49 Technical Requirements for Determining a Sharp Metal or Glass Edge in Toys or Other Articles Intended for Use by Children Under Eight Years of Age
  • 1500.50-1500.52 Tests Methods for Simulating Use and Abuse of Toys and Other Articles Intended for Use by Children
• 16 CFR 1501 Method for Identifying Toys and Other Articles Intended for Use by Children Under Three Years of Age Which Present Choking, Aspiration, or Ingestion Hazards Because of Small Parts³
• 16 CFR 1508.07 (c)

³ Code of Federal Regulations, available from U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.

2.3 Other Standards:

• AS/NZS 2088 Prams and strollers—safety requirements ⁴
• EN 1888 Child care articles - Wheeled child conveyances - Safety requirements and test methods ⁵

⁴ Available from SAI Global, http://www.saiglobal.com.

⁵ Available from European Committee for Standardization (CEN), Avenue Marnix 17, B-1000, Brussels, Belgium, http://www.cen.eu.

3. Terminology

3.1 Definitions of Terms Specific to This Standard:

FIG. 1 Saddle Hinge Link

4. Calibration and Standardization

5. General Requirements

5.5 Latching Mechanisms:

Such strollers shall require only a single action on the part of the user to secure the stroller in the normal use position.

FIG. 2 Stroller With Hinged Link

FIG. 3 Opening Example.

5.7 Scissoring, Shearing, and Pinching:

NOTE 1 — The evaluation at any given location is performed with the understanding that the probes are allowed to enter the location from any angle/direction.

NOTE 2 — The evaluation at any given location is performed with the understanding that the probes are allowed to enter the location from any angle/direction.

FIG. 4 Stretcher/Locking Device

FIG. 5 Canopy Stop

NOTE 3 — The evaluation at any given location is performed with the understanding that the probes are allowed to enter the location from any angle/direction.

5.9 Labeling:

FIG. 6 Seat Back Recline Board

6. Performance Requirements

NOTE 4 — The forces that are to be applied to the sample in the test methods described in Section 7 of this specification are applied readily by means of a calibrated force gage, or in the case of static load and dynamic load test methods, by dead weights.

6.1 Parking Brake Requirements:

6.2 Static Load:

NOTE 5 — For the purpose of this specification, the unacceptable conditions that might be identified by the static load test methods shall be tip over, collapse of the product or a component of the product, sharp edges or points, and small parts.

NOTE 1 — ¾ in. (19 mm) by 6 in. (150 mm) by 6 in. (150 mm) board hinged to a ¾ in. (19 mm) by 6 in. (150 mm) by 9 in. (225 mm) board placed in the junction of the stroller seat.

FIG. 7 Restraint System Setup

FIG. 8 Thigh Depth, Seated

FIG. 9 Occupant Retention Probe

6.7 Impact Test:

8.0-in. (200-mm) hollow sphere

Material: ABS
Weight: 5 lb (2.3 kg)

FIG. 10 Head Probe

6.9 Wheel and Swivel Assemblies Detachment:

NOTE 1 — Not to scale.

FIG. 11 Torso Probe

7. Test Methods

7.1 Testing Guidelines:

1. 7.11.1–7.11.5
2. 7.11.6
3. 7.2 (the last test)

7.2 Latching Mechanisms for Prevention of Unintentional Folding:

NOTE 6 — Do not apply this force on latching or unlatching means itself.

7.3 Static Load Test Method:

FIG. 12 Weld Cap

7.4 Stability Test Method:

7.4.1 Stability with Occupant(s) in the Product:

NOTE 1 — Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Drawing No. SA-1001.

FIG. 13 CAMI Dummy, Mark II

7.4.2 Front Stability (Child Climbing in) for Stroller or Convertible Carriage/Stroller in Stroller Use Only:

NOTE 1 — Disk shall be made of aluminum with a smooth finish.

FIG. 14 1.5 in. Disk

7.5 Restraining System Integrity and Occupant Retention Test Methods:

7.5.1 Restraining System Integrity Test Method:

7.5.2 Restraining System Occupant Retention Test Method:

NOTE 1 — Dimension A: Width of webbing plus ⅛ in. (3 mm).

NOTE 2 — Dimension B: One half of Dimension A.

FIG. 15 Webbing Tension Pull Device

7.5.4 Restraining System Waist Restraint/Crotch Strap Test Method:

NOTE 1 — 5.37-in. (136-mm) diameter by 12-in. (304-mm) high, weighing 10 lb. (4.6 kg), rigid material with bottom.

NOTE 2 — The rationale for the 5.37 diameter was determined by taking the average of the waist diameter converted from the waist circumference, waist breadth, and hip circumference of a 5 % 6-month-old to a 95 % 15-month-old child. Most incidents of children falling from strollers are with children between 6 months and 15 months.

FIG. 16 Test Cylinder

FIG. 17 Test Cylinder in Stroller

FIG. 18 Point

7.5.5 Buckle Release Test Method:

FIG. 19 Pre-Impact Buckle Release Force Test Set-Up

7.5.5.1 Buckle Pre-load:

1. Single Latch Plate Buckles (Fig. 19a)—Place the buckle on a hard, flat horizontal surface shaped so that it does not impede the release when being tested. Preload the strap ends of the buckle with 2 lb (9N) in opposing directions away from the buckle.
2. Double Latch Plate Buckles (Fig. 19b)—Place the buckle on a hard, flat horizontal surface shaped so that it does not impede the release when being tested. Preload the strap ends of the buckle with 2 lb (9N) in opposing directions away from the buckle. Latch plates that are removed from the buckle in the same direction shall be loaded equally so that the total load is 2 lb (9 N) in the direction away from the buckle.

7.5.5.2 Buckle Release Force Application:

1. Hinged Button Buckles (Fig. 19c)—Preload the buckle using the appropriate method in 7.5.5.1. Apply a release force at the centerline of the button using a conical surface (Fig. 20) located 0.125 in. (3.17 mm) away from the movable edge directly opposite the fixed edge, and in the direction that produces maximum releasing effect.
2. Floating Button Buckles (Fig. 19d)—Preload the buckle using the appropriate method in 7.5.5.1. Apply a release force using a conical surface (Fig. 20) located at the center of the release mechanism in the direction that produces the maximum releasing effect.
3. For all other single action buckle release mechanisms, the force shall be applied on the centerline of the buckle lever or finger tab in the direction that produces the maximum releasing effect. Measure the force required to release the buckle. (Fig. 19 illustrates the loading for the different buckles and the point where the release force should be applied, and Fig. 20 illustrates the conical surface used to apply the release force to pushbutton release buckles.)

FIG. 20 Release Force Application Device—Push Button Release Buckles

7.5.5.3 Double Action Release Mechanisms:

1. Secure the buckle in a manner that does not contact any activation buttons. Fully activate and maintain one of the two mechanisms so that it is no longer fully engaged. While maintaining activation, apply a 2 lb (9 N) force to each strap end in opposite directions away from the buckle release button. See Fig. 21 as an example of double action release mechanism.
2. Repeat (1) for the other activation mechanism of the buckle which was not previously activated.