NY approves bill to ban drop-side cribs

Update: Governor Paterson signed the bill today, July 30.

The state of New York is coming closer to effectively removing drop-side cribs from stores and homes of its concerned residents. A bill banning the sale, import, manufacture, and distribution of drop-side cribs was approved by the state legislators at the end of last month. It now remains to be signed by Gov. David Paterson to go into effect.

The proposed bill reflects an understanding that the current crib industry standards are grossly inadequate, leading to at least 32 deaths in drop-side cribs. Drop-side cribs feature one movable side that can easily break or malfunction, injuring an unsuspecting child by detaching in a way that traps him/her between the mattress and the drop-side and leads to suffocation.

The numerous deadly hazards posed by drop-side cribs have prompted the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to recall over nine million cribs over the past three years. At least eight other states have already effectively banned this unsafe design through the Children's Product Safety Act or the Infant Crib Safety Act that bans the commercial use of cribs that don't meet current standards. The standards included a ban on drop-side designs the end of 2009.

"Banning the sale, distribution and manufacturing of drop-side cribs in this state will save our children’s lives and protect our very fundamental rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in the State I am proud to call home,” says Michelle Witte, whose son Tyler was killed in a drop-side crib. If you are a NY resident, please support the bill by contacting the governor at (518) 474-8390 or filling out the online form available here.

New York State considers ban on drop-side cribs

On Feb 3rd, New York State Senator Charles J. Fuschillo and his fellow co-sponsors, Senators Saland and Skelos, held a public forum on a proposed ban on drop-side cribs. Parents, pediatricians and child safety experts were all in attendance.

Thanks to the continued activism of Susan and Robert Cirigliano, who lost their child Bobby in a drop-side in 2004, three New York counties have already implemented a ban. If the bill is passed, New York would be the first state to directly prohibit the sale of drop-sides. Others states with the Children's Product Safety Act prohibit the sale of cribs that don't meet current voluntary safety standards, which in effect bans drop-side designs in those states.

"I think that what's happening in New York shows what parents throughout the whole country feel", said Nancy Cowles, Executive Director of Kids In Danger. "They're thinking 'enough is enough'. There have been too many recalls and too many deaths, and they're expecting immediate change."

Drop-sides, with one side that moves up and down for easy access, continue to claim the lives of children. In most cases, faulty hardware, poor design or misassembly lead to a failure of one corner of the crib side -- leading to an entrapment hazard. Their threat is undeniable: just in the last three years seven million have been recalled, responsible for at least a dozen deaths.

It seems, however, that finally serious actions are being taken. Besides the admirable efforts of New York, the ASTM (an industry standards body) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) have signaled that a nationwide ban might be in place by the end of the year.

If you are interested in seeing drop-side cribs banned in your state or the broader protections of the Children's Product Safety Act, contact KID.

For more information on crib safety, please visit the CPSC's Crib Info Center or Kids In Danger.