Automatic garage door openers: hazard for children

A few simple tests can help evaluate the safety of automatic garage door openers. Since 1974, at least 85 children in the United States have died or sustained permanent brain damage due to automatic garage door openers. Tests using a wood block, a paper towel roll, and a child-sized doll found that 88% of 50 garage door openers reversed when encountering the wood block while only 40% reversed when encountering the doll. Children have activated the automatic mechanism in most reported injuries. In one report, however, an adult activated the mechanism and left before the child became entrapped.
ABSTRACT. Objectives. Despite significant advances in automatic garage door opener design, automatic garage door openers continue to severely injure or kill children. In this investigation, we sought to determine the [...]