By: Rob Beals

Live Free and Ride

Putting the terms “ATV” and “U.S. Senate” in the same sentence will cause the average ATV enthusiast to shutter like Homer Simpson when his sisters-in-laws show up for dinner. Nothing good can come out of this.

Enter Senators Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Mark Dayton (D-MN). These Senators from opposing political parties joined together to sponsor an amendment to an appropriations bill “to protect ATV consumers.” WHAT!?!?!?

ATV enthusiasts have a well-founded skepticism about government action related to our beloved sport. Many of us are still smarting from the consent decree that banned 3-wheelers and scared the ATV industry into the dark ages of limited offerings between 1987 and 1999.

Thankfully, Senators Coleman and Dayton have a very important reason to be sensitive to the needs of our sport – actually two important reasons – Artic Cat and Polaris. Both ATV manufacturers find their homes in Minnesota.

So what is this amendment all about? The amendment will make the voluntary safety standards, implemented by a consortium of ATV manufacturers through the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA), mandatory for all imported or domestic ATVs sold in the United States.

After reading the previous paragraph, many readers probably had the same epiphany I had after I read the legislation. This legislation is targeting upstart import ATV manufacturers from China and Taiwan. After all, companies like Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha are active sponsors of the SVIA.

Is this a good thing for ATVers and the sport as a whole? Naturally, there are two sides to that particular argument.

Some will argue that any government intrusion into the free market and the sport of ATVing is not good. CAVEAT EMPTOR*, SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS**, Live Free or Die, Free Market, Supply and Demand! I know the arguments well. As a loyal disciple of economists such as George Gilder and Herbert Stein, I have been a firm believer in the free market for almost as long as I have been riding ATVs.

In this writer’s humble opinion, in this case, principles of the free market should yield ever so slightly to the welfare of the ATV sport as a whole.

Established ATV manufacturers who participate in the SVIA have made substantial investments, sacrifices, and compromises to improve the safety of our sport. By emphasizing responsible use, safety training, and proper riding gear, ATV dealers and manufacturers have helped make the sport safer for all of us. These efforts have also provided a defensible platform to hold government regulators and anti-ATV special interest groups at bay.

“Why so paranoid?” you ask. Just because I am paranoid doesn’t mean they are not out to get us.” When anti-ATV special interest groups quote statistics about ATV accidents and injuries, they won’t make a distinction about which accidents happened on a machine imported from a little known company in China or a machine built in South Carolina or Minnesota. They are also unlikely to make a distinction between responsible, educated riders and riders who don’t adhere to the same standards when they lobby Congress or file suit against the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

By holding new ATV importers to the same standards as established manufacturers, this bill will protect our sport from a wholesale erosion of safety standards and programs designed to keep new and young riders safe.

Don’t get me wrong; I welcome more competition in the ATV marketplace. Since 1999, competition has spurred the industry to produce an amazing array of ever better and more diverse offerings to scratch my riding itch. When it comes to the machines available today, we are living in an ATV renaissance period. This is due in large part to competition among long established ATV manufacturers and younger ATV builders entering the marketplace.

New importers are finding success and capturing market share. According to a leading industry trade publication, “Ehlert Powersports Business.” ATV import volumes from China and Taiwan have grown from 50,000 units in 2001 to 140,000 units in 2005.

By making SVIA the regulatory body for the ATV industry, Senators Coleman and Dayton demonstrate a benevolent wisdom that may not be evident at first blush. SVIA is not a government-controlled body. It has a greater interest and understanding of our sport than the Consumer Product Safety Commission or any other government agency. Unlike a government agency, it can adjust rules quickly for a changing marketplace or advancements in technology.

In a perfect world, we would each be individually judged and held responsible for our riding habits and safety records. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world. Our love of this sport binds us together in a struggle to protect our riding privileges. I am thankful that most ATV manufacturers are doing their part to help in this effort. Under this new law, new manufacturers coming into the marketplace will have to join us or miss out on the biggest ATV market on the planet. Live free and ride.

* “let the buyer beware”, ** “thus always to tyrants”