April 2007
What not to buy: Old-fashioned accordion-style safety gates
Avoid old-fashioned, accordion-style wooden gates with large "V"s at the top and diamond shape spaces between the slats; they
can trap heads and necks. You may run across them at tag sales, thrift stores, and at other second-hand markets.
If you have this type of gate, replace it with another model (see our safety gate Ratings, available to ). Although there are newer accordion-style gates on the market that meet current American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) safety standards--which include smaller openings to reduce the risk of trapping heads and necks--if the gate doesn't have a top crossbar, there still will be protrusions at the top of the gate that might snag clothing or necklaces, which concern us. Overall, we recommend avoiding those newer models also.
If you have this type of gate, replace it with another model (see our safety gate Ratings, available to ). Although there are newer accordion-style gates on the market that meet current American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) safety standards--which include smaller openings to reduce the risk of trapping heads and necks--if the gate doesn't have a top crossbar, there still will be protrusions at the top of the gate that might snag clothing or necklaces, which concern us. Overall, we recommend avoiding those newer models also.
