Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126823
CPSC's ATV T a sk Force Engineer found over a yea r ago that ATVs are not inherentl y unstabl e. The mem o . dat ed Ma y 3, 1984 a nd written by Roy Deppa , recently named Chief En gineer for th e CPSC AT V Task Force. is titled " PSA # 1147. Review o f Informat ion Rela ting to Mech anical Charac teristics of All Terrai n Veh icles (ATVs)" a n d was sen t to El izabeth Haught o f th e CP SC Compl iance Activiti es Division. In h is me mo, Dep pa reviewed a repo rt wr itten by AR TECH Corp. analyzin g 44 inj ury inci de nt reports involvi ng ATVs as well as a C PSC " genera l d iscussion of so me as pects o f th e dyna m ics involved in th e perform ance o f ATVs." In hi s mem o . Deppa wro te ," T he review o f the In -Depth Investigation reports does not su ggest any defina ble design inad eq uacy or o ther rernediable characteristic, There ma y. upon ' furth er in vestig a tio n, be a need. or a t least a benefit, to be gained from sta n da rdiza tio n of the co ntro ls with those of motorcycles. "There a p pea rs to be a significant rol e pl ayed by the sta bility cha racteris tics o f th e AT V in th e in cide nts," Deppa wrote. " As di scu ssed in th e ' ESES paper , th e h andling characteristi cs o f th e ATV a re peculiar to the veh icle, a nd may require co ns ide ra ble pract ice to master for true a llterrain use. In di scussing th e. h an dl in g o f th e vehicle, it is diff icult to d iscr im in at e between ins ta bili tv as a deficien cy. a nd ex traordi nary ma neu verability as a n asset . The very cha racteris rics which ma ke a n ATV a n a ll ter rain vehicle. a nd are necessarv for its use as such, can make it ' trick'v' to ha nd le. Alt hough it ma y require'sign ificant practice to master the machi ne in ro ugh terrai n. a begi nner may readily ride the ATV in ge nt le terrain, d ue to th e sta tic sta bili ty of th e tricycle co n fig ura tion." Dep pa 's co m ments in hi s memo indica te t hat the C PS C has long had evidence co n trad ic tin g th e wid elyp ublicized comments made bv Commissioner Stua rt M. Sta tler tha't ATVs 'a re in herent lv u nsta ble and unsa fe a nd sho u ld b'e ba n ned a nd reca lled o n th at basis. Bu t th e p rese nce of s uc h informa tion in C PSC files d id not a nd does n ot now sway Sta tler fro m h is often-sta ted co nvict ion th at ATVs a re un sa fe a nd mus t be taken ou t of th e han ds of co nsumers. CPSC memo dated Ma 1 1984: Rider er r or b asic cause of ATV crashes By Jolin Ulrich LONG BEAC H, CA. MAY 20 A U.S . Co ns u me r Product Safety Com m ission Mem o da ted May I, 1984 co ncl uded th a t th e basic cause o f ATV accidents was rider error, n ot vehicle des ign. T he mem o. wr itten by CPSC Med ical Di rector Albert F. Esch, M.D.• to Nick Ma rchica , the n Pro gr am Man ager for the C PS C's inq uiry into ATV sa fety problems , responded to Ma rch ica 's request for informa tion o n th e ris k a ssocia ted with ATV use a nd m inimum age recommendat ion s for ATV ri de rs. " In respo nse to yo u r request I am p rov idi ng my opi nion on th e nature o f th e risk a nd a ge recommendati ons re la ting to Ali Terra in Vehi cl es (AT Vs)." Esch wrote in the mem o , (Co ntinued to page 2-1) '- ---.., ~ IC~P10NI ; [c.II,:e,] ~~ ~ 00 ~ AW ~ ~ V C ;:j -, 14TH ANNUAL ACAMEL PRO SERIES NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP JULY13and 14,1985 LAGUNA SECA RACEWAY . MONTEREY, CA EUROPEAN-STYLE RACING IN AMERICA The VERY best motorcycle rood rocing in the United States, on the track which the riders consider the closest they can get to a European circuit without the tra vel. And we reasonably expect. to bring ' America's best riders home from Europe to compete, as we 've done in the past. This weekend of ra cing ha s become the summer' s fun ha ppening I It is a wee kend not only to see, but to experience. Plan your vacotion tour now a nd ride some of Ca lifornia ' s spectacula r coa sta l ca nyo ns on your way l . THE BELL SUPERBIKE CLASSIC ON SATURDAY We have a better racing schedule for you this year. The second annual Bell Supei'bike Oassic will feature Saturday's racing and qualifying, wh~ will include Battle ofthe Twins, divided into two groups. A vintoge exhibition will also highlight Satur-' day's activity. The Champion Spark Plug 200 will continue as a pair of 100 .kilometer heats, with the Vetter High Mileage Contest Finals as the contrasting break. The popular Formula-2 final is scheduled as the lead-off main event on Sunday. Tickets Will be available at BASS, 'Tick etran, TlCketMaster, laguna Seca's regular outlets. Pa rticipating Yamaha dealers will have laguna T our '85 tickets. Questions/Information:.The Sparts Cor Racing Association of the Monterey Peninsula (SCRAMP) office ,is open weekdays from 9 a .m. to 5 p.m. Call us at (408) 373-18 11. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• TICKET ORDER ADVANCE PRICE NO . TOTAL Name Address Sunday Adm ission 513 2-Day Adm ission 520 Super Ticket Admission. Paddock 525 2-Day VIP Admission, Paddock Reserved Grand stand 540 Mail to: SCRAMP P. O . Box SCRAMP Montoroy, CA 93940 Children 6-12 yrs. Event Admission 5 5 Charge My Visa/MasterCard Camping Friday & Saturday 520 Cars 516 Bikes Camping Sa turday only 510 Cars 5 B Bikes City Sta te Zip 2-Day TOTAL # Exp iration Date Signature Nate: We Accept Visa or MasterCard Only. 5 Childron undor 6 yoar. of ago heo with parent. Nissan is the Official Car and Truck of Laguna Seca Raceway. 3