‘It’s a very dangerous weapon’: New advice on beach umbrellas released
MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - If you’re heading to the beach this Memorial Day weekend, there’s a new way you should consider securing your umbrella.
The American Society of Testing and Materials released a new safety standard for beach umbrellas to ensure they are secure in the sand and do not fly away and hurt others.
ASTM released the recommendation in April after finding that standard-sized umbrellas should be secured with 75 pounds of resistance in order not to blow away in winds up to 30 MPH.
The organization recommends weighing your umbrella down with an anchor or looking for the warning labels that show the umbrella meets the new standard and has gone through proper testing.
However, the new standard, ASTM F3681-24, is strongly recommended but not required.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that umbrella-related incidents send 3,000 people to the hospital each year.
BeachBUB umbrellas were created specifically with all of these safety aspects in mind.
BeachBUB’s commercial sales representative, Jody Petty, spent all week handing them out in the Grand Strand and educating beachgoers on the importance of umbrella safety.
“The fact of the matter is if it strikes someone it’s a very dangerous weapon going down the beach,” Petty said. “So if you have an umbrella that can withstand winds and you don’t have to worry about it becoming a weapon, everybody’s going to have a more enjoyable time on the beach.”
Petty gifted beachgoer Kathleen O’Brien with one of the BeachBUB umbrellas, and she said the new standard is something she’d like to see people follow.
“Yesterday, the wind was blowing about 17 to 20 MPH, and the umbrellas over here were completely sideways,” O’Brien said. “I was nervous because we were right in the line of fire.”
Several U.S. senators started pushing for a new safety standard years ago when a woman from Virginia died from a beach-swept umbrella.
A similar tragedy happened in Garden City back in 2022 when a 63-year-old woman was killed by an umbrella picked up by a gust of wind.
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