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Scooters and kickboards toys or not toys? Scooters and kickboards are these products toys or not toys? Do they need a CE marking and/or GS mark or not? Both question describe exactly the major subjects during the technical workshop at VEDES. Yearly the Toy Traders of Europe organises a technical workshop for the buyers and suppliers of VEDES. The technical experts of the LGA (Landesgewerbeanstalt Bayern) and the trade supervisory board of Nuremberg explained the regulations and legislation’s for toys and hard-lines. The major topic of the workshop was definitely the scooter and kickboard. To get a better picture of the situation and to be able to answer the above questions, it would be wise to look at the development(s) of the scooter and kickboard. In the beginning the aluminium folding scooters and kickboards where designed for adults and intended to move quickly from point A to B. In the middle of last year the situation quickly changed. More and more children where playing with the scooter and kickboard, prices where falling, scooters where available everywhere (Toy Shops, Petrol Stations, Supermarkets, etc...) and more important several serious child accidents happened. In December 2000 the German Authority for Market Surveillance (Gewerbeaufsichtsamt) clearly stated that scooters and kickboards are toys and should comply with the European Toy Directive 88/378/EEC because the Toy Directive says: “toys, being any product or material designed or clearly intended for use in play by children less than 14 years of age”. There is an exception for scooters and kickboards of which it is obvious that this product is clearly intended for adults. (criteria: package, clearly designed as sporting product, no advertisement with children, no play fun for children, high selling price. Note: these points should not been counted separately!) After 1.1.2001 scooters and kickboards should bear a CE marking (accompanied with a letter of conformity and EC-Type examination report). To justify the CE marking and to comply with the European Toy Directive 88/378/EEC, scooters and kickboards definitely need some modifications to improve the users safety. Many of the current available scooters and kickboards have dangerous folding and sliding mechanisms, sharp points, sharp edges, unsafe locking device and no or insufficient warning statements. Additional to the CE marking, scooters and kickboards can have a GS mark but this is voluntary and should be seen separately. Pictures of the dangerous parts and a explanation of the testing program can be found at the LGA web-page: http://www.lga.de
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