Kids’ scooters are children’s favorite sports and leisure tools, but in actual use, safety accidents caused by toy scooters are not uncommon. Not long ago, the Shanghai market supervision department specially organized a random inspection of the quality of children’s scooters made in China. The results of the spot check showed that children’s scooters, a product related to the safety of children, have outstanding quality problems, and nearly 30% of them are unqualified.
Nearly 30% of kids’ scooters made in China fail
The reporter learned that of the 25 batches of samples inspected by the Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Bureau this time, 12 batches were from physical stores, of which 2 batches were unqualified, and the unqualified rate was 16.7%. Of the 13 batches of samples from China’s e-commerce platforms, 5 batches were unqualified, and the unqualified rate was much higher than that of physical stores, reaching 38.4%. For all 7 batches of unqualified samples, the problems are mainly focused on the strength of the riser, the accessibility of the holes, gaps, mechanical devices, protruding parts, electrical accessories, and plastic bags or plastic films used in packaging or toys.
Risers do not meet the standard
The inspectors of the inspection agency said that, unlike other children’s sliding tools, most kids’ scooters have a stem tube that can be adjusted in length to meet the needs of children of different heights; after adjusting the length of the seat tube, the adjusted length is fixed via this kind of locking device. Then, whether this locking device can ensure that the standpipe is not damaged or suddenly collapsed during the use of the scooter is directly related to the physical safety of the child using it. The test item is called the strength of the stem. According to the requirements of Chinese standards, during the downward force resistance test, the locking device of the standpipe must remain stable and not collapse, break, damage, or fail. But when the inspector hung two weights weighing 25 kilograms on both sides of the handle of this sample for testing, an accident happened.
In this spot check, 2 batches of all 7 batches of unqualified samples were because the strength of the riser did not meet the standard requirements of China.
Scooter wheel and body clearance of 4 batches of samples are unqualified
In order to ensure that the user’s fingers are not pinched and injured, the Chinese national standard also requires the gap between the wheel and the scooter body.
The gap between the wheel and the scooter body should not be between 5 and 12 mm to ensure that children’s fingers either cannot reach in or can be freely taken out after reaching in. However, in this random inspection, 4 batches of samples were judged as unqualified products because the clearance between the rear wheel and the scooter body did not meet the requirements of China’s national standards.
In this spot check, there are still 6 batches of samples used for packaging or toys in plastic bags or plastic films that failed to pass the test. Some samples even failed in multiple test items.
China’s market regulators have asked sellers to stop selling the substandard scooters
In response to the problems found in this spot check, the Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Bureau has required manufacturers and sales companies to stop selling the substandard products and remove them in time.
At present, there are about 600 companies producing kids’ scooters in China, mainly in Zhejiang, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Hebei and Shandong.
Professionals said that the ever-increasing market capacity has promoted the development of China’s toy scooter industry to a certain extent. At present, more well-known brands have appeared in some regions. However, relative to the rapid development of market demand, the overall quality of kids’ scooters has improved, but it seems unsatisfactory.
Quality problems are mostly due to weak safety awareness of scooter manufacturers
According to professionals, the structure of kids’ scooters is relatively simple, basically consisting of four parts: pedals, wheels, stems, and handlebars, and the technical content is not high. The main problems are focused on the strength of the riser, the prominent parts, and the mechanical and physical properties of the holes, gaps, and the accessibility of mechanical devices. This shows that some Chinese manufacturers have a weak awareness of product quality and safety in order to the one-sided pursuit of profit.
In response to the problems found in the toy scooter spot-check, the Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Bureau has made relevant treatments.
Tips for buying Kids’ scooter
Although the kids’ scooter looks small, from the overall design, the quality of the parts to the installation and use, any defect in any part may bury a hidden safety hazard.
The regulatory department of China reminds that when consumers choose scooters, they must avoid choosing three no products and products that do not expressly implement standards. At the same time, try to avoid products that are significantly lower than the market price to avoid accidental harm to children.
Source: CCTV