The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the International Communications Industries Association today asked the nation's school teachers to avoid having children move TV/audiovisual carts in classrooms because the carts can easily tip over and cause injury or death.
CPSC has reports of 4 deaths and 4 serious injuries in schools involving the tip-over of tall audiovisual carts (approximately 50 inches high). Seven of the eight carts were loaded with a TV set on the top shelf. One was loaded with a projector.
In most of the cases, a school teacher asked the young students (ranging in age from 7 to 11) to move a cart to another room. The cart overturned when it apparently hit a child's foot while being pulled or when the child stepped on the front of the cart for a ride. Typically, two children were moving the audiovisual cart, one child pulling from the front and the other child pushing from the back. The child in front was the one who was injured or killed.
To avoid injuries and deaths from TV or audiovisual cart tip-over, teachers and school administrators should follow these safety rules:
--Do not let children move an audiovisual cart. Only adults should move them.
--Do not allow anyone to step or ride on the audiovisual cart because this can cause it to overturn.
--Plan ahead when TV or other audiovisual equipment is needed so it can be moved by an adult before and after class.
For more information on the use of audiovisual carts, contact the International Communications Industries Association, 3150 Spring St., Fairfax, VA 22031-2399 (703) 273-7200.
If you want to report a product-related injury, call the toll-free CPSC hotline number at 800-638-CPSC. A teletypewriter number for the hearing impaired is (301) 595-7054.
Consumer Product SAFETY ALERT
FROM THE U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20207February 1987
WARNING: Tip-Over Hazard!
Teachers Should Not Let Children Move TV or Audiovisual Carts
* A LOADED AUDIOVISUAL CART CAN OVERTURN AND CAUSE DEATH OR SERIOUS INJURY FROM
UNSTABLE CONDITIONS LIKE QUICK STOPS AND RIDING ON THE CART.
About the U.S. CPSC
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risk of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product-related incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products has contributed to a decline in the rate of injuries associated with consumer products over the past 50 years.
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