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After hundreds of crashes, this Britax stroller faced recall. Then Trump appointees stepped in.
After hundreds of crashes, this Britax jogging stroller faced recall. Then Trump appointees stepped in.
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After hundreds of crashes, this Britax jogging stroller faced recall. Then Trump appointees stepped in.
By Todd C. Frankel
Enterprise reporter on The Washington Post's Financial desk covering people and policy
April 2 at 7:13 PM
The crashes were brutal. With no warning, the front wheel on the three-wheeled BOB jogging strollers fell off, causing the carriages to careen and even flip over. Adults shattered bones. They tore ligaments. Children smashed their teeth. They gashed their faces. One child bled from his ear canal. ... Staff members at the Consumer Product Safety Commission collected 200 consumer-submitted reports from 2012 to 2018 of spontaneous failure of the stroller wheel, which is secured to a front fork by a quick-release lever, like on a bicycle. Nearly 100 adults and children were injured, according to the commission. The agency’s staff members investigated for months before deciding in 2017 that one of the most popular jogging strollers on the market was unsafe and needed to be recalled.
“The danger that was there was just so obvious,” said Marietta Robinson, a former Democratic commissioner who was still at the agency when the injury reports surfaced. “It was appalling.” ... But BOB’s maker, Britax Child Safety, refused the agency’s request in 2017 for a voluntary recall of nearly 500,000 strollers. The company said the strollers were safe when used as instructed and met industry standards for safety. ... The agency didn’t back down. It sued to force a recall in February 2018. Britax kept fighting. That was unusual. Companies normally want to avoid public clashes with safety regulators, according to past and current agency staff members. ... But the leadership of the safety agency was about to change. ... And that meant Britax might not have to recall the BOB after all.
The untold story of the Britax case shows how changes in the safety agency’s leadership under President Trump influenced the handling of a product that the commission believed had injured consumers. The case was even more striking because it unfolded as Republicans assumed day-to-day control of the agency, eventually earning a majority on the agency’s oversight commission for the first time in more than a decade.
According to a review of documents by The Washington Post and interviews with eight current and former senior agency officials, the agency’s Republican chairwoman kept Democratic commissioners in the dark about the stroller investigation and then helped end the case in court. Some spoke on the condition of anonymity because of agency rules against discussing cases. ... These events occurred with little notice amid other, higher-profile deregulatory moves by the Trump administration. But consumer advocates said changes at the Consumer Product Safety Commission could be a worrisome sign of regulators pulling back at an agency that oversees safety in 15,000 everyday products, from toys and dressers to lawn mowers and table saws.
....
Todd C. Frankel is an enterprise reporter on The Washington Post's Financial desk, covering people and policy. He joined The Washington Post in 2014 and previously worked as a reporter at newspapers in St. Louis; Everett, Wash.; and Charleston, W.Va. Follow https://twitter.com/tcfrankel
After hundreds of crashes, this Britax jogging stroller faced recall. Then Trump appointees stepped in.
By Todd C. Frankel
Enterprise reporter on The Washington Post's Financial desk covering people and policy
April 2 at 7:13 PM
The crashes were brutal. With no warning, the front wheel on the three-wheeled BOB jogging strollers fell off, causing the carriages to careen and even flip over. Adults shattered bones. They tore ligaments. Children smashed their teeth. They gashed their faces. One child bled from his ear canal. ... Staff members at the Consumer Product Safety Commission collected 200 consumer-submitted reports from 2012 to 2018 of spontaneous failure of the stroller wheel, which is secured to a front fork by a quick-release lever, like on a bicycle. Nearly 100 adults and children were injured, according to the commission. The agency’s staff members investigated for months before deciding in 2017 that one of the most popular jogging strollers on the market was unsafe and needed to be recalled.
“The danger that was there was just so obvious,” said Marietta Robinson, a former Democratic commissioner who was still at the agency when the injury reports surfaced. “It was appalling.” ... But BOB’s maker, Britax Child Safety, refused the agency’s request in 2017 for a voluntary recall of nearly 500,000 strollers. The company said the strollers were safe when used as instructed and met industry standards for safety. ... The agency didn’t back down. It sued to force a recall in February 2018. Britax kept fighting. That was unusual. Companies normally want to avoid public clashes with safety regulators, according to past and current agency staff members. ... But the leadership of the safety agency was about to change. ... And that meant Britax might not have to recall the BOB after all.
The untold story of the Britax case shows how changes in the safety agency’s leadership under President Trump influenced the handling of a product that the commission believed had injured consumers. The case was even more striking because it unfolded as Republicans assumed day-to-day control of the agency, eventually earning a majority on the agency’s oversight commission for the first time in more than a decade.
According to a review of documents by The Washington Post and interviews with eight current and former senior agency officials, the agency’s Republican chairwoman kept Democratic commissioners in the dark about the stroller investigation and then helped end the case in court. Some spoke on the condition of anonymity because of agency rules against discussing cases. ... These events occurred with little notice amid other, higher-profile deregulatory moves by the Trump administration. But consumer advocates said changes at the Consumer Product Safety Commission could be a worrisome sign of regulators pulling back at an agency that oversees safety in 15,000 everyday products, from toys and dressers to lawn mowers and table saws.
....
Todd C. Frankel is an enterprise reporter on The Washington Post's Financial desk, covering people and policy. He joined The Washington Post in 2014 and previously worked as a reporter at newspapers in St. Louis; Everett, Wash.; and Charleston, W.Va. Follow https://twitter.com/tcfrankel
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