Step 2 Recalls 2.5 Million Ride-On Toy Buggies for Dangerous Design Flaw

On May 12, 2010, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Health Canada, and Step2 Company LLC announced a safety recall of approximately 2.5 million ride-on buggy toys, citing a risk of serious injury to children if a defective pin on the handle of the buggy comes loose and allows the handle to detach from the buggy. If the handle detaches from the buggy, the buggy can roll away and pose a serious danger to children riding in the toy.

According to the CPSC, there have been 28 reports of the handles detaching when the pins loosened, with two incidents requiring emergency medical treatment and 26 reports of minor scrapes and scratches to children.

The recall affects the following models of Step2 ride-on toys that have a yellow knob on the handle of the buggy:

• Push Around Buggy (model numbers 715700, 792300, 7923TA, 7923OR, 796600, and 7966TA)
• Whisper Ride Buggy (model numbers 768400, 882900, and 885700)

Sold in various retail stores nationwide from August 1999 through March 2010, the buggies were available in orange, red, blue, pink, and green and cost between $29 and $59. Consumers are advised to stop using the recalled buggies immediately and contact Step2 at 866-860-1887 for a free repair kit.

Buggies with a handle attached by a bolt and screw are not affected by the safety recall, the company’s website said. Only models with a pin and yellow plastic knob have been recalled.

In April 2010, Step2 Company announced a Basic Rhythms Drum toy recall that affected 21,000 toys, due to a choking hazard for young children. Step2 owns Infantino LLC, the company that issued a recall of more than 1 million baby slings in March of this year, after the CPSC discovered that the Infantino baby slings had caused at least three deaths in 2009.