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Friday, June 10, 2016

New Legislation Targets Deadly Furniture Tip-Overs

Each year, some 25,000 Americans — mostly children — are injured or killed from furniture and other household appliances that tip over or fall because they are not properly secured. A new piece of legislation aims to reduce these potentially deadly incidents by establishing sturdier minimum standards.

The STURDY Act (short for the Stop Tip-overs of Unstable, Risky Dressers on Youth Act) was introduced in the Senate today by PA Senator Bob Casey.

If passed, it would direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to adopt a stronger, mandatory stability standard for clothing storage units (chests, bureaus, dressers, etc). Many of these products are tall with narrow bases, and while they may stand still when undisturbed, they can sometimes be pulled or knocked over with minimal force.

For example, IKEA’s Malm line of furniture has been tied to three tip-over deaths in recent years. The company has instituted and expanded a “repair program” that involves attaching the Malm units to the wall with anchors.

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why don't we teach our children right , it's our responsible . tip over my butt. This is a waste of legislation time. Just have the kids set in the corner till it's time to sleep. WTF.

Anonymous said...

I need my safe space to be in front of my chest of drawers so I can sue somebody for when I stupidly open all the drawers which ALWAYS makes it tip over.

Then I can sue for that because I was stupid.

God, I love this country.

We never had this in Syria!