Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Public hearingscheduled: CPSC calls for public comments By John Ulrich LONG BEACH, CA, MAY I I . T he Consumer Prod uct Sa fely Commission (CPSC) has ca lle d for public co m ment on ATV sa fely at a hearing sched u led for J ackson, Mississip p i on Ma y 30. In a n o tice published in th e Ma y 8 Federal Re gi ster, th e CPSC sai d, "T he Comm issio n requests members of th e public to part ici pat e in thi s hear in g. Th e Commission is parti cularl y interested in participat io n from recreational a n d occ upa tio na l ow ne rs a nd users o f ATVs; per sons wh o ha ve been in vo lved in acci de nts or wh o have been inj ured while riding a n ATV; sta te a nd loca l govern me nt o fficia ls or organiza tio ns involved with ATV sa fety and tra in in g or sta te legi slation; persons or orga niza tions in volved in th e test in g a nd eva lua tion of ATVs; a nd manu factu rers, distributors, importers and reta ilers of ATVs. The hearin g will specifica lly foc us on th e h aza rds assoc ia ted wi th ATVs a nd ways th e industry, the Commission , stat e a nd loca l governments or volun tary sta ndards organizations ca n address these hazards." The publis hed notice a lso broadened the scope of the CPSC in vesriga tion, whi ch has primaril y been a im ed a t th ree-w heeled ATVs so far. In the not ice, the C PSC said " T h e Comm ission's in qui ry a t this ti me is focused only on th ree and fo ur whee l ATV s." T he C PSC's sta nce th at ATVs a re in herent ly dangerous is clear in th e no tice, wh ich sa ys, "The Commissio n staff beli eves th at th e basic co nfigurati on of AT Vs, a nd th eir unique performa nce characteristics incl udi n g dyn am ic sta bili ty a nd hand ling , a ppear 10 p laya maj or ro le in accide nts in vo lvin g AT Vs. Man y serio us injuries a nd dea th s reported in in -depth invest igat ions co nd uc ted by th e Co mmission sta ff res u lted fro m loss o f co ntrol of th e AT V following a n a bru p t cha nge in th e eq uili bri u m of th e vehicle. A num ber of different factors, such as a cha nge in terra in , or a su dde n cha nge in direction ca n co ntrib u te to th e ch ange in eq ui libriu m . T h e su bseq uent loss of control follows a pattern in whi ch th e mach ine ove rturn s o r the rider is th ro wn off. In man y o f these accide nts , other factors suc h as drin ki ng, ridi ng with passengers, or operati ng th e ' vehicle illega lly o n p aved roa ds, ma y obscure the pattern of loss of co ntrol as th e cri tica l element in the in ciden t." T he notice goes o n 10 say th a t " T he Commissio n requests the public to provide it with informa tion o n ATVs a nd o n wh at ac tio n, if a ny, it sh o u ld tak e to adeq ua tely reduce or elimi na te h azards associa ted with AT Vs, The Commission is particularl y interes ted in th e views of perso ns w ho ow n o r use AT Vs in recreationa l and occ u pationa l ap p lica tions and who have spec ific ob servations abou t ATV handling cha rac teristics; . persons who belong 10 ATV clubs an d/ or ra cing associa tio ns . , ." Specifi c topics on which the hearin g will focu s include the ge ne ra l design of ATVs and h ow it in fluences injuries; an y cha nge 10 ge nera l or specific design th at would reduce or el imi nate inj u ries; th e abil it y o f children 10 co ntrol ATVs; meth ods for eva lua ting ATV pe rformance ; cu rrem ac tivities to trai n ad u lts and ch ildren to rid e ATVs; in form a tio n o n a cci de n t~ invo lvi ng AT\'s; volu ntary standards wh ich mi gh t red uce ATV -rela red injuri es; sta te a nd loca l la ws regard in g ATV use; d esign features whi ch " ta ke into account th e h azards o f overt u rn ing a nd loss o f co nt ro l;" and information o n market in g of ATVs, especiall y ATVs tar geted for chi ldren . Presentat ions a t th e hea ring wi ll be lim ited 10 five m in u tes; an ybody wh o wa n ts 10 mak e a present at ion m ust mak e a request no lat er tha n Ma y 24 a nd su bmi t a written su mm ary o f th eir pr esen tati on before Ma y 28; for m ore information co ntact Sheldon BUllS, ' Dep u ty Sec reta ry , CPSC, Wash ingto n, DC 20207, p ho ne 800/ 838-2772 or 30 1/492-8800. Peo pl e unable 10 a ttend the h earin g ca n su bmi t co m ments in wri ting, for the record; those comments must be received by th e C PSC no la ter th an May 30, a t th e abov e address. RISK By John Ulrich Fight now, or regret it later When ever th ere's so me th reat to m otorcvclingor rel ated activities fro m th e gover n ment or some ra dical env iro n menta l group, som ebod y po ps u p a na a dvoca tes reasoned dial og wi th a ll parties involved as th e way 10 handle th e situa tion. I kn o wwha t I' m talk in g a bo u t here: In th e ea rly 1970s, whe n the Sierra Cl ub sta rted rais ing h ell over off -road vehicle use, one of th e guys advocati ng reasoned dia log was me. It was n ' t a very popu lar stan ce, bu t it made sense 10 m e, and so me o f th e firs t stories I so ld 10 Cycle N ew s as a n l 8-year -ol d Ireelancer dea lt with m y th eories of ha ndlin g th reats to d irt ridi ng. It turned o ut th a t I was wro ng in a big wa y. It turned o ut th a t the Sierra C lu b, an d 10 a la rge degree, agents of th e federal govern me nt, were interested in ge ll ing every in ch th ey co u ld th rough negot iat ion an d th en go ing a hea d a nd ta king th e rest a ny way th ey co u ld . T he word co mpro mise, in terms o f accommod atin g th e legit. irn at e recrea tio na l inte rests o f o thers, sim p ly does n ot exist in th e vocabular y of env iro n me nta l extremists an d government o fficia ls who sha re th eir view, T here 's n o dea ling with th ese guys in a fri endly, rea sonable,logi ca l di scussion. If the re was, it wo u ld n 't have tak en a la wsu it to ge t th e Burea u of Land Management to issue perm its for th e re -instatement of the Barsto w-t o - Vegas race. It wo u ld n ' t nave ta ken lawyers. All it would h ave taken was so me co m p rom ise or d iscu ssion wi th th e BL M a nd the Sierra C lub. It rook a lawsu it. Discu ssio n didn 't work. Bein g ni ce guys di d n ' t work. So me times life is th at wa y; 'so metimes it tak es br ute force 10 ge t stuff do ne beca use no mail er h o w' rig ht you are, th e p eople yo u're in co n flict with don 't ca re, won 't listen or deal or be reaso na ble. And dealing with th e govern me nt is a lways that wa y, whe ther it's th e U ,5 , Navy wa nt ing to take prime riding lands for pract ice bo m b runs o r th e BLM want in g 10 close off public la nds or the Consumer Product Sa fety Commission's Stuart " Ban ' Em" Stat ler want ing 10 ban a n d recall a ll ATVs a n d ma ybe get a round to saving Am er ica from m otorcycles after we're ri d of th e three-wheeled threa t. I h ave been takin g home stacks o f Consumer Pro d uct Safety Commissio n documents and pouring through th em n igh t afte r night , a nd the pa ttern I see dis turbs me. I see St u art " Ban 'Em" Statler , (who, incidentally, is a la wyer), as a closed-m inded , deter mined advoca te of an immediat e end 10 AT Vs o n this p lan et , or a t least in Am erica . I read transcr ipts of CPSC meet in gs a nd see Sta tler talk abo u t a si ngle lawsu it a wardi ng money 10 a perso n who cra shed ; a n ig norant jury boug ht a law yer's ca se th at beca use a n ATV requires rid er inpu t 10 sta y on three wheels, it's da ngerous ; the cra she r ca sh ed in on th e ca se. As Statl er told it a t a C PSC h ea ring , th a t case is proof that ATVs a re in heren tly unstabl e a nd too dangerous, Wh a t I don 't see Sta tler talk about is four ot her, similar cases - prosecu ted a lo ng the same an gl e by product lia bility lawyers - in which four juries rejected th e crashe r's clai ms and awa rded no mone y and ass ig ned no bla m e to the ATVs invo lved . And wha t I see in the tra nscript is tha t whe n a n ATV ma n invi ted 10 th e h earing sta tes tha t four o the r cases ran co u n ter to the o ne case Sta tler ci ted, Sta tler ig nores him , I read th e tra nscrip ts, a nd find Sta tler a rg u ing wi th ATV men over th e top speed o f a kid 's ATV. Sta tle r rejects th e rela tively-low top-sp eed fig ures given by th e ATV m en in response to Stat ler 's questioni ng. Stat ler sta tes th at h e o wn s a sma ll trai lbik e and that it goes m uc h faster than the figure that AT V me n give, a n d th at si n ce its engin e is n' t an y la rger, th e ATV me n mu st not be tell ing th e truth . The ATV men try 10 exp lai n th a t the sma ll ATVs ha ve restrictors in th e exhausts , wi th singlespeed tra n sm issi ons, ce n trifugal cl u tches a nd fa t, power-sa p pi ng tires; Sta tler doesn' t bu y a ny of it. I ow n a fleet o f sma ll ATVs, my kid s ride th em , and I kn ow th e ATV men spoke th e tru th . Bu t trying to reason wi th a guy like Sta tler, judging fro m wha t I've rea d in th e tra nscr ipts and doc u me nts, is like try ing 10 tal k to a drunk wh o 's pun ch ing yo u in th e face agai n a n d agai n , j ust as fast as h e can pull back and h it. Sta tler has a lready labeled every body in vol ved in maki n g a nd selli ng ATVs as bein g immoral and un caring ; he's gone o n TV a nd cited CPSC acci de n t dat a th at, upon close exa m ina tion, incl udes non-applicabl e cras hes ; he's decid ed to sa ve us a ll Irorn-A'TVs, facts be damned . CPSC sta ffers have expressed an int erest in off-road motor cycles: C PSC m em os have co m pared m otorcycle inj u ry n umbers 10 ATV injury num bers. Government agencies never co ntra ct if burea ucrats li ke Statler ca n h elp it; th ey a lways exp a n d in size a n d o pera tio ns , It 's AT Vs today, m otorcycles tomorrow. If we don ' t stop the Feds h ere a n d now over ATVs, it'll be a fight o ver Hu skvs a nd KTMs a nd for-sa le road racers'and dirt tra ckers soon, Th ere's a wav to deal with Sta tler a nd co m pa ny, bu t it 's not by cooperatin g and rolling over and being ni ce guys . Th e wa y todeal with Statler is with bru te force, resista nce, refusa l 10 cooperate or support h is view th at an yth ing this si de of a bu llet-proof limo in a parkin g lot is way too da ngerous . The u lti ma te answer may turn out . 10 be a law su it , ni ce and co mp licated , supporte d by riders like th e one th at led to th e return of th e Bar stow -toVegas race, o n ly big enough and invo lved eno ug h to tie up th e CPSC until well after Statler 's term ex p ires a nd so me more reasonable peop le a re appoi n ted. The n ow -ongoing voluntar y sta ndards process in vo lving C PSC sta ffers a nd th e ATV manufacturer s can be del a yed for 18 months or two years by a pet it io n or co m p la int filed at the rig ht m oment - we' ll be ba ck to yo u o n the righ t moment - and the C PSCcan' t reca ll or ban ATVs while a voluntary sta nda rd is being formulat ed. But for n ow, · right n ow , th ere's so me thi ng th at ca n be done by any si ngle m otorcycli st o r AT V pi lot co ncerned about th is gove rn ment at tempt 10 tell us wha t is or is not good for us. T he key is p u blic input, inp u t forc ing the C PSC a nd its Congressiona l keepers to face th e fact th a t rider ed uca tion and the use of safety eq uipment is th e way to ha lt inj uries ca used by blatant mis -use of ATVs by ignora nt, drunk , or just-plai n-s tupid cra shers. ' The key is yo u a nd yo u r friends a nd yo u r fa mil y a nd yo ur co. workers gelling o u t paper a nd pe n a nd en velo pe s a nd stamps a nd writ in g letters o r simple not es o r even a single lin e telli ng th e feds th a t ATVs a nd motorcycles a ren 't li ke ha ir dryers a nd toasters, and th at we do n' t nee d 10 be saved bv the likes of th em. T h e key to ATV a nd mot orcycle sa fety is rid er ed uca tio n, n o t veh icle erradicatio n . Don 't be a n ice guy a nd lose, ' Write today, and win. • What to do! Political pressure can make a difference; for proof. look at mandatory helmet law s overturned in several states; look at the demise of President Jimmy Carter's proposal to end all off-road vehicle use in 1977 to save gasoline; look at the Department of Transportation's dropping of the 85 mph speedometer requirement and at the effect on the U .S . Navy's p lan to close prime rid ing areas in Ca lifornia ' s Im perial Valley. Apply your own politica l pressure in the form of letters. telegrams and phone calls now. Write to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 1 111 18th Washington, DC 20207 with copies to Congressman Doug Barnard, House of Representatives, Washington, DC 205'15 and to your local congressman or congresswoman (get his or her name from your local library or city hall). To call the CPSC; use the agency's toll free number, 800/638-2772. Or send a 20-word public opinion telegram to Congressman Barnard (or your congressman or congresswoman) for $4.45 by calling Western Union at 800/3256000. si.. ~ 00 . Q') ......

• Cover