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ATVA PRAISES CPSC REJECTION
OF ANTI-ATV PROPOSAL
 PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- The All-Terrain Vehicle
Association (ATVA) is praising the federal
Consumer Product Safety Commission's rejection
of a request by anti-ATV groups to ban the sale
of full-size ATVs for use by children under 16.
On July 12, the three-member commission
formally rejected a petition for the ban filed
by Consumer Federation of America, Bluewater
Network, and the Natural Trails and Waters
Coalition. The ATVA had opposed the petition.
The commission also voted to accept proposals
from its staff on new safety rules for ATVs.
Those proposed rules will now go out for public
comment.
"This is great news," said ATVA Director Doug
Morris. "The recommendation to the CPSC board by
its ATV Safety Review team validates what we've
been saying all along: that the guidelines must
be changed so that as many kids as possible can
get ATV safety training. And that will go a long
way to reduce youth injuries."
The decisions by the safety panel constitute
a major victory for the ATVA in its efforts to
convince federal safety experts that young
riders should be allowed to ride ATVs that are
the proper size for the child's body size.
In testimony to the commission over the past
several years, the ATVA argued that current CPSC
age guidelines limiting children under 16 to
small ATVs prevented or discouraged youth from
getting ATV-riding training.
That's because free training is offered by
manufacturers to buyers of new ATVs, but only
for family members who are of the "proper" age
for the purchased ATV. In other words, if you
buy an adult-size 300cc ATV, only those 16 and
older are eligible for training. A child can be
5-foot-10, 180 pounds and be just weeks shy of
16 years old, but can't take the free training
because children under 16 are limited to ATVs
with engine displacements of 90cc or less.
In late May, the CPSC staff made
recommendations to the full board to improve ATV
safety nationwide, which are the proposed rules
the panel accepted, including rewriting the
restrictive age guidelines "so that children
under the age of 16 can ride and be trained on
ATVs which are more likely to fit them
physically and which conform to their
developmental capabilities."
The staff report notes that formal training
may reduce an ATV rider's risk of injury by
half.
About the ATVA
The All-Terrain Vehicle Association (ATVA) is
dedicated to increasing members' enjoyment of
riding and owning ATVs by serving as a source of
authoritative information about where and how to
ride, products, events, and racing, and by
protecting and promoting the rights of all ATV
riders. The ATVA is part of the American
Motorcyclist Association (AMA), the world's most
powerful voice for motorcyclists. For more
information, visit the ATVA website at
www.ATVAonline.com, or call 1-866-ATVA-JOIN.
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