New safety regulations for cribs prohibit pull-down rails

New safety regulations for cribs prohibit pull-down rails. The United States has not updated safety standards for cribs in 30 years. Recently, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (C…

>New safety regulations for cribs disables pull-down rails. The United States has not updated safety standards for cribs in 30 years. Recently, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced and implemented new crib safety standards despite the opposition of retailers and manufacturers. According to a report on the Consumer Affairs website, cribs produced or sold after June 28 this year must meet the new standards, but cribs in child care centers, rental shops and hotels can be replaced until December 28, 2012. According to CPSC data, at least 32 infant suffocation deaths have been related to drop-down rail cribs. Drop-down rail cribs often use low-cost plastic parts or have assembly problems that cause gaps between the rails and mattresses, causing babies to get stuck or suffocated. "I am very pleased that the new regulations force the production and sale of traditional and dangerous drop-down rail cribs and greatly improve the overall strength of cribs," said CPSC Chairman Tenenbaum. The new regulation, which was opposed by manufacturers and retailers, especially small shops, voted 3-2 to stop the production and sale of traditional drop-down cribs and adopt stronger slats. This strict regulation was enacted under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. It is intended to enable children to have safer cribs and prevent the possibility of death due to malfunction or defects of detachable cribs. Tenenbaum said that the committee's delay in updating child care centers, rental stores and hotels is necessary to reduce the economic impact and prevent a shortage of new cribs. She estimated that replacing all cribs would create a need for approximately 935,000 cribs and cost nearly $467 million.