CPSC’s Proposed Safety Regulations About to Enter Second Delay

In what is decidedly good news for the industry, it appears The Consumer Product Safety Commission is again delaying new safety rules for off-road vehicles.

This news comes following two requests from industry groups asking more research on a bunch of restrictions be conducted before considering putting these new rules into action. As such the Commission has decided to extend the public comment period now from April 8 to June 19 of 2015.

This is the second time these proposed rules for all-terrain vehicles, first proposed on Nov 19, have been delayed. These comments were originally due February 2.

So what’s up with the additional time supplied by the delay you ask? The Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association asked for more time to review documents provided by the CPSC before making any such decisions. In short the Association wants to review the reproducibility and repeatability of the tests the CPSC has provided in requesting additional safety standards.

Some of the rules may even be beneficial to the masses- safety standards not unlike those found in the automotive industry including lateral stability measures, a minimum level of rollover resistance and so on.

Others are downright ridiculous, such as factory installed speed controls/ limitations. One of the proposals requests manufacturers be required to limit the maximum speed of its off-road vehicles to no more than 15-miles-per-hour anytime both driver and passenger seat belts aren’t fastened.

We have reported on this before and appreciate all of the riders and readers out there who made their voices heard. The second delay period begins tomorrow (April 8th) and we encourage riders to remain vigilant about the cause. If you haven’t voiced your opinion yet, Polaris has made doing so a simple one-click affair for anyone and everyone. Simply click here.

We’re all for safety here at ATVC, but government imposed sanctioning on off-road vehicle speeds at the factory level is something we certainly oppose. We’ll continue posting the results of this situation as we receive word.