the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, With the start of the summer season around the corner, U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) today led efforts to better inform and protect the public from dangerous, potentially lethal, flying beach umbrellas. Last summer, a beach umbrella that took off with a gust of wind impaled a tourist on the beach in Seaside Heights, N.J. In 2016, a woman in Virginia Beach was killed by a beach umbrella that got caught in the wind and struck her in the torso.
“As you know, beach umbrellas provide beachgoers the benefits of shade on hot and sunny days at the shore. Yet, a burst of wind can make these summer accessories harmful to those around them,” the senators wrote to Consumer Product Safety Commission Chair Elliot Kaye. “Over the last several years, reports of horrific injuries resulting from beach umbrellas have splashed across the media.”
The letter was also cosigned by Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.).
Between 2008-2017, over 31,000 people were treated at hospitals for umbrella-related injuries, according to data on theConsumer Product Safety Commission’s own website. However, the publicly available data falls short of providing consumers with recommended safety standards to prevent beach umbrella-related injuries or information on specific products that have caused serious injuries.
The senators are requesting more information from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, including what safety standards are in place, problems with specific beach umbrella products, and what it is doing to ensure the public is properly educated of the risks and dangers of beach umbrellas to prevent injuries.
How about lowering the taxes in New Jersey . Next these two with put a tax on beach umbrellas
We need to see that shot of Booby on the beach in P Rico again
Just hide behind ex-governor Christie and you will be perfectly safe.
So I’m supposed to just sit around and get skin cancer???
No umbrella….no trips to the shore, no helping the local economy. Hello Long Island.
As a Jersey Shore lifeguard with 2 decades of experience, I’ve seen at least a dozen injuries from metal umbrella posts that that fly like spears, when blown into beachgoers on windy days or with wind gusts. The answer to the problem is simple and inexpensive. You buy a metal spiral-like helical device that you turn into the sand. Your umbrella goes into the device and is secured with a thumb screw. The device has ‘handles that make it easier to ‘screw’ deeper into the sand, has no pointed end to it and costs about $7
what are the stats on fatal umbrella stabbings?