|
AMA
Release
The All-Terrain Vehicle Association (ATVA) has earned
a major victory in its effort to convince federal safety experts that
young riders should be allowed to ride ATVs that are the proper size for
the child's body.
In testimony to the Consumer Product Safety 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.
In late May, the CPSC staff made recommendations to the
full board to improve ATV safety nationwide, 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. Besides suggesting changes in the CPSC's age
guidelines, the staff recommends that all ATV buyers be given free safety
training and information, and that smaller machines for use by riders
under 16 should have automatic transmissions and speed limiters. ATVs for
children ages 6 to 11 would have speed limits of 10 mph, while machines
for children 12 to 15 would be limited to 15 mph. The staff also
recommends that ATVs sold in the United States should conform to uniform
mechanical requirements for such things as brakes, suspension, controls
and lighting.
This proposed rule-making is the result of a petition
submitted to the CPSC by the Consumer Federation of America and other
groups that called for the CPSC to ban the sale of full-size ATVs for use
by children under the age of 16.
That potential ban has been opposed by the American
Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and ATVA who testified in a commission
hearing on the issue. Rather than a blanket ban on the sale of ATVs for
use by kids, the ATVA supports a more thoughtful approach that includes
greater parental involvement. |
|