Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

MOTORCYCLE INDUSTRY lIANGES Hired As Nation a l Warranty Supervisor for U .S. Suzuki, Ken Thibau lt , formerl y service manager for Kawasaki Rocky Mountain Distri bu ting in Gering, Ne braska. Appointed As a sales representative for the Pol i-T ra iler di vision of Fibre-Tech, In c., Ron Le wis. Engaged Fou r-t im e AMA 250cc Motocross Na tional C ha m p io n Gary J on es a nd Ren e Tay lor; wed din g sche d u led for Ma y. J on es, wh o won hi s titl es o n H ondas an d CanAm s in th e early 1970s, now sets u p a nd maintains o ff-road race cars for su pe reross p rom ot er Mike G oo dwin . (Co n tin ued to page-l2 ) Says kids aren't competent to ride three-wheelers CPSC blasts ATV manufacturers By John Ulrich WASHI N GTO N , D.C., AP R. 3 Consumer Product Safety Commission m ember Stuart Statler blasted manufacturers o f AT Vs as bein g callous, uncaring and immoral to co ntin ue p rod uc tio n of three-wheeled AT Vs, which Statler views as bein g in he ren tly unsafe . " For the life o f me, I can' t im agine any conscientious manufact urer , confront ed with such mounting evid ence as we have alr eady gathered , not taking immed iat e ac tion to halt cu rren t product ion a nd sa le o f thi s vehicle unti l a safer design is forthcoming ," Statler said in hi s o pe n ing stat em ents at a CPSC hearin g, referring to threewheeler s. " ... to wa it an y longer while th e bod y co u nt o f u ns us pec ting kids skyrocke ts, strikes me as being ca llous a nd uncaring. An d it 's wrong , too. It 's wro ng from a moral sta ndpoi nt, whe n these manufacturers ca n ac t no w to avert fu rt he r loss of life; a nd it will un doubtedl y prove wrong an d cos tly in term s o f th e liabil ity that th ese firms wi ll in cur in su bseq ue nt civi l suits o n th e part of the very victi ms (or th eir estates) th at the y choose to ignore. " T hey know wh o 's using th em" Sta tler co n ti n ued in hi s a ttack o n three-wheeled ATVs. " T hey kn o w wh o 's ge tti ng maimed and cr us hed and kill ed . It 's mai nly yo u ng kids man y of the m five, si x, seven , eigh t, n in e yearso f age, 10, II , a nd 12 who don 't ha ve the faintest inkl in g of th e risk in vo lved , who can 't ap p recia te th at ri sk ; many o f th em don' t have th e p hys ica l agi li ty to cope wi th mach in es o f thi s sort , or don't ha ve the mental ca paci ty o r coo rdina tion or mat urity to master th e delicate balan cing th at ridin g th em dem ands. T hese firm s k n o w th ere 's a problem - and right n ow they're it." Sta tler, wh o has advoca ted a ban and recall of a llthree-whecled ATVs, has rejected industry contentions that ma ny · AT V injuries a re rela ted 10 mis-use of ATVs a nd non-use of protective gear such as helmets,even though CPSC investigations o f cra she s su pport that view. A sa m p le of six AT V cras hes inv ol ving chi ldren, or dered fro m the CPSC staff by Statler. showed th a t five victi ms were ridi ng wit ho u t adu lt supervision; four weren' t wearin g helmets; th ree cases in volved ch ildren rid in g do ubl e o n ATVs; o ne invol ved a chi ld rid ing on a pa ved road; o ne involved a chi ld wh o drowned when h is u ncle drove a n AT V off a bridge int o a ri ver; a nd o ne invo lved a coll ision wi th a fence when a youngster tried to ride through a closed [a rm gate. In several cases ch ildren were riding fu ll-size ATVs ins tead of small er size ATVs designed for use by ch ildren un der consta nt adu lt supervision. CPSC Director Of Media Relations Lou Brock: CPSC staff "real stupid people" By John Ulrich and Rex Reese WASHINGTON , D.C. , APR. IS Consumer Product Safety Commission Director of Media Relations Lou Brock toda y described CPSC staffers as being " rea l stupid people." In a series o f teleph one in ter views from h is Wash ingto n of fice, Brock used a sarcastic, rude tone of voice in tal ki n g to a Cycle News reporter and objected to informa tion request co ntacts the reporter had wi th Priscill a Martin ez of th e CPSC infonnation o ffice, who recentl y described CPSCAT V-injury nu m bers as bein g " a guesstima te." Martin ez referred a reporter's request for background informa tion o n CPSC Co mmi ssioners 10 Bro ck ; wh en a reporter ca lled th e CPSC' s Media Relations Department a nd id entified h imself, Brock opened the co nversa tio n by demandin g " Wha t do you want?" in a n a ngry tone. T old th at th e reporter wa s referred to hi s o ffice by Martin ez, Brock sa id, hi s vo ice seethin g with contempt a n d a n ger, " Le t me ge t your number, a nd I'll get back to you in a minute." Wh en Brock ca lled back several minutes later , he was angry an d rude to th e Cycle News receptionist: co nnected to th e reporter , Brock sai d, his to ne dri pping with sarcas m, " No w, ho w ca n I h elp you?" T he reporter sa id " As I sai d befor e, I was d iscussin g with Ms. Martinez a bo u t requesting some biographical in formation o n the Commission ers. She sa id th at she would transfer me over 10 Medi a Relations for th a t." " Who is she?" demanded Brock . " Sh e works in the Office of the Secre ta ry," the reporter replied . . " Wh y a re you talking 10 her a bo u t th is?" de ma nded Brock . " It seemed like a reasonable request to me." a nswered the reporter. " Well, " said Brock , st ill very angry, " th ere are some rea l stupid people who work around here. O ka y, wha t ca n I do for you? " " We wo u ld like some bac kgro und in formation o n the Commissioners, wh o they are. th eir ed ucatio ns, qua lificat ions." sa id th e reporte r. " Yo u mean every thi ng tha t' s in the ir biog raphies?" dem anding Brock, cu tt ing o ff th e reporter. " Yes," said the reporter. " O kay. Wh at's your address?" asked Bro ck. G iven the add ress , Bro ck then said, sti ll sarcas tic, "We'll 'get the informat ion ou t to yo u as soo n as possibl e." "T ha n k yo u." said the reporter. " S ure, pa l," said Brock , still very a ng ry. " Yo u're welco me." . O n government double standards Wh en ever a ny body sta rts talking about some sort of vehicl e being inherently unsafe, th e ' topic of motorcycles ca n' t be far beh ind. Espe cia lly wh en th e somebodies in question work for th e federa l go vernment, a nd h ave go t to go o n find in g a n d so lving "proble ms" to j us tify th eir existe nce. T he la test ne ws o u t o f Washi ngto n, D.C. is that AT Vs a re inherently un saf e in th e opinion of theCons u rner Product Safety Commission, wh ich unfortunatel y ' ha s an enormo us am ou nt of power to protect people fro m " unsafe" p roducts. T he thing I can't understand is ho w agencies lik e th e C PSC decid e 'wha t p roducts to a ttack. and why it is th at so me products in vol ved in co nsu mer inj u ries are inheren tly un saf e while o thers a re si m p ly bein g mi sused. It 's an importa nt q ues tion beca use a n un safe product needs to be fixed or eli m ina ted in govern me nt eyes, wh ile a mis-u sed p roduct needs to be used co rrect ly, s uc h use enco u raged throug h user ed uca tio n. Which brings us back to ATVs, th o se wondrou s fat -tired d evi ces which have brought prosperity back to a n a iling motorcycle industry a nd h ave int ro d uced co u nt less peo ple to mot oriz ed recreation. I have in front o f me a chart (rep ro duced somew here o n this page) of estima ted injuries a nd deaths associa ted with various sports in 1983, the mo st recen t year we were a ble to co m pi le co mpa rative figures for. I a lso have in front of me two stories pu blis hed in th e On tario (Ca lifornia ) Dail y Report, bot h credi ted 10 the Associa ted Press wire service, o ne p u blis hed April 7 a nd deal in g wi th inj u ries relat ed to boat in g in th e U.S., th e ot her p ub lis hed April6a nd dea ling wi th the CPSC's view o f ATVs. Look in g a t th e cha rt , we see tha t estim a ted emergency-room-trea ted inju ries rela ted to ATV use in 1983 numbered 27,554, compared to 42,939 inj u ries associated with skiing a nd 29 13 inj u ries associa ted wit h boa ting . We a lso see th at 42 people a re kn o wn to ha ve died in ATV-rela ted in cid ents in 1983, co m pa red to 23 skiers and 1241 boa ters. T he thi ng I have a prob lem wi th is when governme nt officials talk about boating acci dents, th ey ta lk about ignora nt boa ters a nd the need for ed ucation. T he Dail y Report sto ry I referred to earlier cred its L t. Bria n Ford of . th e Coast Guard Boat in g Safe ty Division in Lo ng Bea ch , Ca lifornia as sayi ng th at an inexperienced sai lor doesn ' t realize there's a big d ifference betwee n ha nd li ng a boat and ha nd ling a car; Ford goes on to say that alcoho l is a factor in more than 50% of all boating accidents. " When you co m bine la ck of experien ce a nd kn owledge of the water with alco hol, then that's the vast majori ty o f accidents and fata li ties ," Ford sai d. T he cure for a ll th is wa ter-bo rne traged y? " Take a basic boating sa fety co urse. Then have yo u r boat fu ll y prepar ed ; ha ve preservers a nd fire ex ti ng uis he rs," Ford told AP. Now we get to th e story a bo u t th e go vernm ent dealin g with ATVs. T he re isn't a word a bo u t mi s-u se or ig nora nt riders. Nothing a bo u t p ro posed safe ty and ed uca tio n progr am s, nary a mention of drunk rid ers o r riders n o t using basic safety eq u ipment like helm ets. " There's nothing but quote aft er quot e a nd CPSC statist ic after CPSC statisti c talking abo u t in heren t sta bility an d sa fety problem s an d the need fo r possibl y recallin g a nd ban n in g all three-wheeled ATVs. Wh ere's the fairness in all th is? Wh y is it th at boa ts, implica ted in 124I death s in 1983, are off th e h ook in favo r o f sai lor ed ucation an d ATVs, implica ted in 42 deaths in 1983, are in herently dangerous? It can' t be because ATVs are eas ier to tip ove r or h arder to stay a boa rd, because Coast Guard figures - accord ing to AP sho w' th at 37% o f boa ting acci dents ' in volve capsi zin g an d a nothe r 24% involve peopl e falli ng overboa rd. Will we ever hear Stua rt Statler, th e CPSC Com miss io ner who seems to . ha ve mad e theou tla wingof ATVs hi s pe rso na l crusade, tell the p ress that th e cu re for the ATV safety problem is to " Take a basic AT V riding safety co u rse. Then be fu lly prepared, wear a helmet a nd other safety equipment."? Will we hear outspoken, clearlyp rejudiced Commissioner Statler say "When you com bine lack of experi en ce and kn o wledge o f ridin g with alcohol , then th a t' s the vast maj ority o f acci dents and fata lities. "? Probably no t. And we won't see any investi gations of skis a nd skiing or a ny talk of recalls o f boa ts an d skis o r any sugges tio n th at skis sho u ld come wi th o u triggers or ro llcages to inc rease sta bili ty a nd safety. T he best we ca n ho pe for is to sto p th e CPSC from im posi ng i ts ow n form of unfair tyranny on ATVs and perhaps motorcycles a fter th a t - by flooding Wa sh ington, D.C. with letters dem anding that th e Ieds sto p tryin g to o utlaw a n entire class o f vehicle 10 solve proble ms wit h ignora n t fools ge tt ing drunk a nd rid in g withou t safety equi p me nt a nd rack ing themsel ves up.. " Any veh icle is o n ly as safe as its driver or rider. a nd the cure for ig nora nt mis- use is education, not eradication . • 1 9 8 3 injury an d death estimates (co m p iled from N ational Safety Council . Nat ional Inj ury In f o rm ation Cl eari ng House. and Consu m er Prod uct Safety Commission f ig ures) Sport Inju ri es D eat hs 2 7.5 5 4 42 ATVs Skiing 4 2.93 9 23 Boating 291 3 1241 Football 422.121 4 Baseball 474.261 0 Basketball 457.034 0 3

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