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By: Jason Giacchino
Email: offthepegs @ atvsource.com
July 2009 - Off The Pegs
A World of Contradiction
If you need proof that we live in a world filled
with contradiction, look no farther than to our
own sport and the simultaneous orders coming
from the federal government of late. The economy
has analysts rightfully concerned and the
remedy, naturally, is to spur spending to get
things on the fast track to correction.
“Stimulate business growth by circulating your
dollars,” is the theme from one side. Indeed it
makes sense, domestic businesses require profits
to stay alive and to pay their employees (who
then take and spend those proceeds to keep
additional businesses afloat) and so the cycle
goes . . . Unfortunately, amidst orders to
increase spending, the ATV market has been
stymied by the CPSC’s youth ATV ban that many
were hoping would have been overturned in a
recent re-evaluation.
Vague wording, nonspecific implementation, and
lack of feasible alternatives have basically
left the manufacturers unsure of what to do
about the law at this point. Enthusiasts and
non-enthusiasts alike have banded together (both
physically and through online petitions) to
express protest only to have their argument fall
upon deaf ears. In the mean time sales of new
equipment marketed to riders under the age of 12
have been halted, parts and service have been
put on ice, and for much of the country this is
prime riding season.
Perhaps I’m being a bit cynical in the apparent
seriousness of the ban, but wouldn’t simply
re-labeling all of a given company’s models as
sold for adult-use only get around the legal
nonsense? After all, it’s pretty unlikely the
vehicle in question is being sold to the
youngster anyway and, if after having been made
aware of the facts and potential dangers of
lead-exposure, a parent deems it safe enough to
allow their kid to ride, then the government did
its part. I find it difficult to imagine
anything more frustrating than laws designed to
protect us from ourselves.
I was surprised in my research of this heated
topic to discover that some companies like DRR
have been able to continue selling their
youth-oriented ATVs as if the February10 fiasco
had never taken place. Apparently, this
crackdown hasn’t exactly sunk up upon the
industry like many (including me) believed. DRR
had the presence of mind to begin taking
advantage of CPSC meetings that were being held
over the past three years. In these sessions,
the CPSC presented manufacturers with data and
facts on how their investigation and
determination of a product’s lead-content would
go down. In the quad-business in particular, one
of the criteria targeted whether children’s
fingers could easily access the components that
contained dangerous levels of lead. Valve stems,
battery terminals, and metal cables were among
the hot spots evaluated.
In an effort to stay in compliance with the
CPSC’s criteria, DRR used this information to
either cover up the areas or, when that wasn’t
an option, to swap out the component in question
for one made of a different (see lead-free)
material. As such, the company’s 50, 70, and
90cc mini-models are still being loaded onto
trucks and trailers for immediate use by eager
children nationwide. Of course, even in a
scenario as solid as the one BRR and a few other
companies created for themselves, it’s still a
gray area as to whether or not cycle shops will
be allowed to repair these units, or for that
matter have access to parts specific to minis
regardless of the OEM’s initial compliance (as
the law doesn’t differentiate between brands).
The bottom line is simply that until a healthy
dose of common-sense (since the voice of the
people is apparently not enough) sweeps across
the powers that be and overturns the lead-ban’s
influence over quads, the riding season is
quickly passing. More alarming still is that
this whole disaster couldn’t come at a worse
time. The poor economic conditions of late have
put a hurting on many ATV dealerships/repair
shops even before all of this controversy
started. For many, the CPSC’s inflexible
decision has given no alternative in terms of
staying afloat. Family-owned dealers with
decades of history are being forced to close
their doors permanently in record-high numbers.
If that trend continues, it’ll be especially
difficult to adhere to the government’s other
concern: Getting consumers to feel good about
spending again. Of course, potential mini-ATV
buyers could always use the money saved once
their local shop goes under to go out and
purchase something else to stimulate domestic
business. Like a new car, for example--until
they realize that dealership’s gone, too.
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