Midday Business Report: ATV rules to change

By PAUL WENSKE

The Kansas City Star


The government’s top regulator of consumer product safety said it will issue new rules pertaining to sales and marketing of popular all-terrain vehicles.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission officials said they are beginning the first step by inviting ideas and comments from the public, consumer groups and industry representatives.

The proposal for new ATV safety rules comes in the wake of a report by the product safety agency last June that drew attention to rising injuries and deaths among juvenile riders.

In calling for a review of current rules and proposed new ones, CPSC Chairman Hal Stratton noted that the rate of ATV injuries has actually decreased, in comparison to the increase in people riding ATVs.

Still, he said, “we are still witnessing noticeably higher levels of injuries and deaths among ATV users.” Consumer groups say the most vulnerable riders are youths under 16.

CPSC officials said that some of the proposals include:

¦ Developing mandatory performance standards pertaining to braking and speed that are now voluntary in the industry.

¦ Requiring training before a consumer can purchase an ATV.

¦ Restricting sales of ATVs to ensure adult models are not sold to teen-agers under 16.

¦ Requiring manufacturers to make more age-appropriate ATV models to limit access to powerful adult models.

The push for tougher regulation comes at a time when ATVs are more popular than ever.

Fifteen million Americans ride ATVs, according to industry data. But most states, including Missouri and Kansas, have few laws regulating their use.

The CPSC estimated that ATV-related deaths rose to at least 621 in 2002, the last year for which complete data is available. About one-third of the dead and injured since 1982 have been children younger than 16.

Industry groups support strong regulations but differ in how to apply them. But they say laws that regulate sales won’t stop parents from buying inappropriate ATVs for their children. They prefer state laws.

Some consumer groups are leery of the new proposals. Concerned Families for ATV Safety said that some of the ideas are not new and fall short of protecting children.

It also said it wants the federal safety agency to set a firm time frame to complete its assessment and make recommendations. For more information go to www.cpsc.gov.

 

I would centainly like to see more models available for the pre and early teen riders. My 12 year old son is just to big for his old 90, but not quite heavy or strong enough to step up to the 250EX and Recon.

The no longer made Suzuki 160 (the newer/lighter one without the racks, not the heavier old utility) is something that comes to mind in this category. But as a parent, one might be reluctant to shell out the money for an intermediate bike they will probably outgrow in just a year or two???

 

the reason the injuries are rising is because tons more people are riding now...I remember seeing the numbers and the increse in people riding to the increse in injuries/deaths was way off...far more people with not as many injuries or death as there should be, I don't know if you guys understand what i'm trying to say...lol...i don't know the right words

 

I think you are trying to say that the ratio of injuries compared to the total number of riders, is way down.

The learning curve for new riders is pretty steep! I find new riders are most vulnerable during the first year of riding, then the level of safety increases dramatically after that. If folks would just take advantage of the full range of saftey gear that is available out there, we would all be way better off. And, one can do some other very simple things like run with your lights on and use an orange safety flag.

 

yes the ratio...thank you

 

The ratio between number of injuries/deaths to number of riders on snow mobiles is astronomical compared to ATV's, but you don't see people crying to make them safer or slower. Why is that? The manufacturer should not be held liable for the stupidity of parents. If the demand is for high power ATV's then they should be able to produce them. If a 12 year old kid gets killed riding a 600cc quad the parents are to blame and should be held accountable but nobody has the ***** to go after a grieving parent. It's easier to go after the manufacturer of the quad.

 

I think there are also hidden issues here, that have nothing at all to do with safety! Our environMENTALlist opposition would like to shut us down, and will exploit any issue at all to achieve that goal. This "safety" thing is just a smoke screen............

In fact, I imagine that the environmentalists break out the champaigne every time they hear about an ATV related death!

 

"Lieing with statistics, 101"- The CSPC says 621 people last year died in ATV accidents, something must be done. The govt. and other special interest groups use statistics in this way all the time to try to achieve thier objectives. It is a number that the press dutifully reports as a problem when in reality, it is not. In any human activity or even inactivity, people die. Either 2 or 2-1/2 million each year. Death numbers due to causes are of course, publicized. Exactly the same number as ATV'ers died last year in bicycle accidents. At least in my state, they are completly unregulated. They only recently required cheesey helmets, they are unlisenced and the operators are completley untrained and they are allowed to ride on public roads with no safety equipment, mixing-it-up with traffic doing up the 50 MPH! They also have unregistered vehicles and pay no taxes/fees. Slightly more people than ATV'ers die every year in swimming pool deaths. Again, no call to fill them all in. Oh, here's the best- 500 people per year die in bed due to "suffocation/strangulation." I assume that this is due to bedding-issues and not some auto-erotica fun.

The point of all of this is that a raw number about something means nothing unless it is related to something else. My wife pointed-out this article to me and was insulted when I laughed at her. Should I not go to work in construction every day? Far more people die doing that. Should I not walk up and down steps in my dailey activities? Twice as many people died doing that last year. Should I not sleep with blankets on at night?-talk about living dangerously. Sorry about the long posts but this kind of thing is one of my pet peeves. People die, it is a fact of life. We can take precautions like trying to ride safer and wearing helmets but all human activites can be fatal and you can't outlaw death.

 

Here is a public comment for the government nanny busybodies. Mind your own damn business, quit suckling on the taxpayer's shriveled teat and go out in the private sector and get a real job.


Oh and Blackadder, excellent post.

 

I'm just tired of hearing about "ANOTHER ATV ACCIDENT" in bold print and then if you read the rest of the article in small print you find out the rider was either not wearing a helmet, drunk, or both. If it was a car accident, you'd read "DRUNK DRIVER KILLED" not an automobile accident.
It just irks me that 1% of the riders give the entire industry a bad name. If met more dirt bikers that I wanted to run over than quad riders, yet there not picked on. It has to be an issue of environmental or one of economics. I would say economics because greed is behind most decisions.