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WASHINGTON, D.C. - In advance of the July 4th holiday
weekend, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
is warning consumers about the possible dangers
associated with a new type of water recreation known as
"tube kiting."
CPSC is concerned about death and injury reports
associated with tube kiting. It is currently
investigating two versions of these products to
determine if there is a significant product hazard.
Tube kiting is a relatively new form of extreme water
sport which is fast growing in popularity, but also
extremely dangerous. CPSC is aware of at least two
deaths associated with tube kiting this year. A
33-year-old Texas man was killed in late April 2006
while tube kiting, and a 42-year-old man died from
injuries associated with tube kiting on June 26, 2006 in
Wisconsin.
CPSC is also aware of 12 serious injuries associated
with tube kiting. The injuries include a broken neck,
punctured lung, broken ribs, broken femur, chest and
back injuries, and facial injuries, such as jaw
fractures. A 14-year-old girl who was tube kiting lost
consciousness when it fell about 15 feet and struck the
water.
Tube kites are very large, sometimes round, inflatable
water devices that can be more than 10 feet in diameter.
The tube is hooked to the back of a boat by a tow rope,
and the tube rider pulls back on a rope as the boat
travels at speeds between 25 and 35 miles per hour. The
ride begins when the tube is lifted into the air
trailing the boat. Possible reasons for incidents and
injuries include: 1) rider's difficulty in controlling
the tube, 2) boat operator inexperience, and 3) how the
tube reacts in certain weather conditions. The
conditions of highest concern are wind gusts that can
cause the tube to spin out of control, or sudden slowing
or stopping by the boat operator, which can cause the
tube to nose dive into the water.
In some cases, the sudden stopping of the boat might
cause the tube rider to continue past the boat and hit
it or hit other boats or stationary objects, such as a
bridge.
The National Park Service has banned the inflatable
devices in at least one of its parks, Glen Canyon
National Recreation Area, which includes Lake Powell
where there have been at least four serious injuries.
Send the link for this page to a friend! The U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with
protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious
injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer
products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths,
injuries and property damage from consumer product
incidents cost the nation more than $700 billion
annually. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers
and families from products that pose a fire, electrical,
chemical, or mechanical hazard or can injure children.
The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer
products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette
lighters, and household chemicals - contributed
significantly to the 30 percent decline in the rate of
deaths and injuries associated with consumer products
over the past 30 years.
To report a dangerous product or a product-related
injury, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's
teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or visit CPSC's web
site at
www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. To join a CPSC email
subscription list, please go to
www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.asp. Consumers can obtain this
release and recall information at CPSC's Web site at
www.cpsc.gov.
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July
2006