A new ASTM International specification establishes performance requirements for adult portable bed rails and related accessories.
 
“This is the first standard in the area of adult bed rails and related products that are used as accessories on common home-style beds,” says ASTM International member William Hyman of Texas A&M University. 
 
He says that the standard (soon to be published as F3186, Specification for Adult Portable Bed Rails and Related Products) begins to address design issues such as openings and attachments to beds in an effort to reduce the possibility of entrapment, strangulation, injury, and death. The standard was developed by ASTM International committee on consumer products (F15).
 
People who manufacture, recommend, or buy bed rails – including consumers – will find this standard useful in designing and selecting products that do not present an unreasonable danger to themselves or their loved ones, according to Hyman.
 
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Media Inquiries: Dan Bergels, tel +1.610.832.9602; dbergels@astm.org 

Committee Contact: Len Morrissey, tel +1.610.832.9719; lmorrissey@astm.org