Major Scooter Recall Announced

Thursday, December 7th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Nearly 100,000 scooters are being recalled because of handlebar problems that caused riders to lose control, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Thursday.

About 90,000 Kent Kickin' Mini Scooters are being recalled because the handles can come out of the steering column. About 7,500 Racer X20 scooters from Kash 'N Gold Ltd. are being recalled because a joint between the handlebars can break.

Consumers were urged to stop riding the recalled scooters.

They can call Kent International at 800-451-5368 to receive a free replacement handlebar for the Kent model. The Racer X20 scooters can be returned to the store where they were purchased for a refund or a new scooter with a metal joint. Kash 'N Gold can be reached at 800-354-8785.

Six injuries have been attributed to the problems prompting the recall and the Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 30,000 people have gone to emergency rooms this year for other injuries from accidents involving all brands of scooters.

The Kent scooters are made of chrome-plated steel and carry a ``made in China'' label on the lower steering column. They sold in Toys R Us stores nationwide for about $60 from May through September.

The X20s, also Chinese-made, are of lightweight aluminum and are mostly silver-colored with blue,green, red, orange or clear wheels. They were sold in August and September for $70 to $100 at Discovery and Mervyn's stores and the Discovery Web site.

The federal agency advised riders to wear helmets, kneepads and elbow pads.