IN
THE
WIND
P28
INDUSTRY LEADERS ATTEND
CARB WORKSHOP
O
n July 19 in Sacramento
and July 20 in El Monte,
California, the California Air
Resources Board (CARB) held
workshops welcoming indus-
try leaders and participants
to "Racing Vehicle Definition
Workshops." Both meetings,
particularly the El Monte work-
shop, saw a healthy turnout
from motorcycle industry,
including representatives from
Kawasaki, KTM, Kawasaki,
Beta USA and more, including
aftermarket companies and
racing organizations. The con-
cern of the off-road motorcycle
community is that the current
red and green sticker program
in California is in the crosshairs
of the board, which could spell
extremely bad news for not only
trail riders and off-roaders, but
motocross markets.
CARB published a Red Stick-
er OHV Workshop document
following a two-year "study" of
California off-road motorcycle
consumers, concluding that the
red-sticker program was not
being utilized for its intended
purposes. The agency conclud-
ed its report by recommending
"sundowning of the red sticker
program."
Cycle News reported on the
CARB document in issue 19.
The red-sticker issue was a
topic of discussion at the meet-
ing, but the overall theme was
finding a clearer definition of
"competition" and putting a stop
to the "misuse of the racing
exemption."
According the CARB repre-
sentatives Jeremiah Bearden
(Air Resources Engineer) and
James Goldstene (Vehicle Pro-
gram Specialist), the board is
all for motorized recreation and
racing events, but want their
rules to be understand and fol-
lowed. According to them, "We
want to preserve the competi-
tion exemption, but it needs to
be clarified."
As it pertains to off-road mo-
torcycles, the board maintains
that the competition exemption
is being over-applied and mis-
used. Their Red Sticker OHV
survey concluded that a full 74%
of people who own red-sticker
vehicles have never competed,
to which they concluded "the
usage is not representative of
legitimate racing."
The majority of CARB's
opening presentation, however,
appeared squarely focused
on four-wheel vehicles, mainly
trucks, crawlers and diesel
vehicles. (Only one slide men-
tioned the red-sticker program.)
CARB representatives stressed
their unyielding demand for
compliance of its rules and
regulations, reinforcing their
strict liability clause that along
with end users, "CARB may
hold anyone in supply chain
responsible when race vehicles
or parts are used illegally."
They also announced that AB
1685 has increased maximum
penalties for vehicle violations
from up to $500 per part found
on your vehicle to a stagger-
ing $37,500. Yes, you're now
looking at a five-figure fine. Per.
Part.
In the same breath, CARB
assured the crowd of two- and
four-wheel off-road enthusiasts
that they were not out to collect
fines and make money—merely
emphasizing that their rules
must be followed, stating that
"negligence does not absolve
you of responsibility."
Many counterpoints were
then brought forward by the at-
tending members of the work-
shop in a two-hour discussion.
Several contended that the
fining of "anyone in the supply
chain of an 'illegal' aftermarket
part," is unreasonable, compar-
ing it to asking Smith & Wesson
to account for every bullet they
sell. The point was also made
that CARB's red sticker OHV
survey was based on a very
skewed sample of the riding
