Bye Bye Baby Finger: Maclaren Recalls Fingertip Guillotine Stroller

2009_11_maclar.jpg
Godfather 3 star Sofia Coppola pushes a Maclaren Triumph stroller.
The fashionable UK stroller company Maclaren is going to recall all the strollers they've sold since 1999, now that a dozen children have lost fingertips in the carriage hinge. The recall, which is expected to be officially announced tomorrow, affects some 1 million strollers. But for those parents who'd rather part with a child's finger than their beloved Maclaren, the company is also planning to send owners protective covers for the dangerous hinges.

"That's terrible. They waited until how many people got hurt until they did something?" Maclaren Triumph owner Betsy Brody fumed to the Daily News. That would be one dozen, Betsy. But at least the company is finally doing something about it, unlike Crocs, which continues to deny any responsibility for children who get their Croc-clad feet mangled by escalators.

And who could forget that earlier this year Martha Stewart got shamed for attaching her name to a line of lawn chairs that cost some people the tips of their fingers? It's a scary world out there for fingers and toes, which is why we never leave the house without Wonder Guards.

Email This Entry


Comments (11) [rss]

shame on you. sofia tried so hard to distance herself from that shit movie, and people like you keep bringing up Godfather 3. outrage!

I currently have four finger tips that have been cut, pierced and caught and am ordering some wonder guards right now. Fortunately for my newborn, she isn't yet big enough for the Maclaren baby guillotine grandma bought her.

Pushed both my kids around in these strollers-never had a problem. Sad to learn that some kids were hurt. Perhaps the $30 strollers you see in Target are better after all...

Ditto that. Never had an issue w/our Maclaren. Fortunately our stroller days are behind us.

...and yeah, the new luxury strollers are definitely like Volkswagens.

Maclarens aren't luxury strollers. They were the first practical easy-fold strollers and have enormous market share as a result--especially in New York, where one has to fold a stroller to get onto a city bus. Almost every New Yorker with a child knows this. Your relentlessly cynical tone is beginning to affect your ability to provide useful information.

Agreed. "Fashionable" would be bugaboo or uppa.

Luxury strollers? On the west side they're like Volkswagons.

They're fashionable because they turn your children into seasoned Yakuzas.

the poors have a maclaren now.
just don't overload them and they'll last.
they're made in china now.

don't get me wrong - if this happened to my kid, i'd go nuts. but does an issue that affected .025% of their product merit a total recall?

Yes, because in their market, they cannot afford to appear to be unconcerned about baby safety, especially if all they have to do is mail out a few little pieces that fix the problem.

Post a comment (Comment Policy)

Tips

Get your daily dose of New York first thing in the morning from our weekday newsletter, now in beta.

About Gothamist

Gothamist is a website about New York. More

Editor: Jen Chung
Publisher: Jake Dobkin

Newsmap

newsmap.jpg

Contribute

Latest Tip:

The Evolution of the Hipster: from 2000 to 2009
[more]

Latest Photo:

Subscribe

Use an RSS reader to stay up to date with the latest news and posts from Gothamist.

All Our RSS

Follow us