Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

"I never said that" Statler denies calling for recall By Jo hn Ulrich WASHINGTON, DC, MAY 21 Commissioner Stuart M. Statler of th e U .S. Consumer Product Safety Commission denied ,h e had ever called for a recall and ban o f ATVs whe n co nfro nted by thi s reporter after a con gr essio na l su bcommittee hearin g in Wilshington. " I have a problem , both as a citizen and as a n ed itor, with you sho wing up continually on television a nd in th e gen eral press advocating a ban a nd recall o f AT Vs: ' th is reporte r told Statler im med iat ely 'fo llowin g th e conclusion of a House Commerce, ' Consumer a nd Moneta ry Affairs Subcommittee hearing into th e CPSC's handling o f th e AT V safety si tua tion . " I never sa id th at, " Sta tler replied. " I haven ' t said we should recall a n d ban ATVs." Statler went on to tell this report er that he felt manu fact ur ers o f ATVs should immedia tel y cease p rod uction of ATVs a nd reca ll those al rea dy in th e hands o f cons u mers, a nd refund fu ll value to people who have purchased th em . . In a let ter, dated March 7, to sta te co ns u mer pro tection agencies, Statler wrote that CPS C " O ptio ns range . . . to halt in g futu re three-wheeled ATV product ion ; to possible reca lli ng a ll such vehicles previously sold." In a CPSC hearin g in Washing ton o n Apri l 3, Stat ler said " As o ne Commissioner, I am so distressed by th e dimensions of th is emerging risk based on what we already kn ow , that I bel ieve serio us co nsidera tion needs to be g iven in the months ahead to th e advisa bi lity of seeki ng a halt in future three-wheeled ATV p roduction and possibl y reca lli ng a ll suc h vehicles previousl y so ld." At that same hearing - a n d in a written stateme nt released to the press a t that hearin g - Statler went on to say, " For th e life o f me, I ca n ' t imagine any conscientious manufacturer , c onfr on t ed with su ch mounting eviden ce as we hav e already gathered, not taking im media te actio n to halt current production and sale of this veh icle un til a safer design is forthcom ing." Statler also appeared in the ABC television broadcast of the 20/20 show on April 25, and was shown on camera saying "The real question is why don 't these manufacturers, bas ically four foreign manufacturers, recognize the seriousn ess of th is problem and cease production im media tely, and possibly recall every one of those 1.8 million that are out on the market." Observers of th e exchan ge between Statler and this reporter suggested that Statler's denials, despite documents and videotapes contradicting those denials, call into question his recent statements to th e American Motorcyclist Assn. (AMA ) that the CPSC will not expand its crusade against ATVs to include off-ro ad motorcycles . Statler's comments to the AMA a lso contradicted ATV T ask Force Chairman Nick Marchica, who, in a telephone interview April 19, said when asked if th e C PSC is interested in mo torcycles, " No, excep t motorcycles which are not regi stered a nd licen sed for hi ghway use." AMA believes Statle r's claims: NoCPSCbike investigation? By John Ulrich WESTERVILLE, OH, MAY 10 The Am eri can Motorcyclist Association ha s issu ed a press release di scounting th e chan ces of th e Consumer Pro duct Safe ty Com mission (C PSC) expan d ing its o ngoi ng investiga tion of ATVs to in clude motorcycles a nd q uo ting C PSC Co mmissioner Stuart M. Statler as proof of that claim. Accor d ing to the p ress relea se, " . . . the AMA 's Govern me nt Relations Department a nd magazin e sta ff inte rviewed a to p ATV in du stry officia l a nd represen tat ives of th e CPSc. Additi on all y, the AMA drew on its o wn experiences with th is federa l age ncy a nd wit h AT V safety in sanctioned co mpeti tion . " So me of th e AMA's find ing in clude: " According to Co m miss ioner Stuart Statler, the C PS C investiga tion will no t go beyond AT Vs. The agency 'reviewed din bikes a nd m inibikes only by wa y of comparison: he com me nted ." T he press release went on to q uote Alan Isley o f the Specialt y Vehicle Institu te of America as saying " Mr. Statler takes a very dramatic approach , especia lly wit h the medi a, emphasizing a larming incidents a nd injury estimates to add im pact to hi s persona l views . T he commission as a who le is takin g objectiv e a nd respo n sibl e action." T he AMA release goes o n to state that th e Amer ica n All-Terrai n Vehicle Associ ation (AAT VA), wh ich is affi lia ted with th e AMA, " . . . in 1984 san ctioned 97 1 ATV competit io n events wi th nearly 20,000 participant s, expe rie nci ng o n ly 30 inj uries req uir in g treatment. The AMA and th e AATV A bel ieve th eir figures dem o ns tra te ATVs are not unrea son abl y dangerous wh en opera ted p ro perl y." Statler reje~ts enthusiasts' input By John Ulrich WASHINGTON, DC, MAY 2 1 Commissioner Stuart M. Statler of the U.S. Consumer Product Safet y Commission today rejected input from ATV owners and en th usiasts regarding h is repeated ca ll for a ban a nd recall on the veh icles, despite cha racteri zing th e input as thoug htfu l an d articu la te. Statler's rejectio n of th e input wh ich di sagreed with h is a pproach on th e ATV safety - ra n co ntra ry to th e CPSC's frequent"recent requests fo r input from AT V enthusiasts an d users, a nd contradicted agen cy sta tements th at a ll suc h input would be' ca ref u ll y consi dered . Observers a t the hearin g suggested that Statler 's refusa l to accep t points made by the letter wr it ers reflected Statler's con victi on that ATVsare inherently unsta ble even though th e agency has not yet com p leted a sta tistica lly-va lid study of accidents nor a complete engineer- in g a na lys is o f three-wheeled AT Vs. In a lett er da ted March 7 a nd sen t to in divid ua l sta te co nsu me r protection agency offi ces, Stat ler wrote " Yo u ca n help us deal with this risk by a lert ing yo ur cons tit uency to send me an y informati on a bo u t ATV ins ta bility , lea rn in g of a n in cident, suffering an injury, etc.: as well as any Personal o bservations, based on use, as to the ATV's configuration, loss o f co ntrol, hand ling characteristics, speed, or overa ll safety: I will sha re suc h in forma tion with m y fellow Commissioners a nd o u r staff. I sincerely appreciate your assistance." Ap parently Stat ler's interes t in inpu t on An r stability is lim ited to in pu t that supports hi s view th at ATVs should be ba n ned ari d reca lled. Testifyi ng before th e House Commerce, Co ns u mer a nd Monetary Affai rs Su bcom m ittee in a hea ring o n th e CPSC's reaction to risi ng co nc ern over ATV safetv. Sta tler said " I've received severa l' hundred letters mos t o f th em for m lett ers - inspired by user organiza tio ns a nd in d us try tra de p u blicat io ns. But o ther co ncerned users have taken th e time to thoughtfully a nd a rt icu la tely asse rt tha t the meteo ric rise in dea th a nd inj ury is no n he fau lt of th e vehicl e itse lf. As one lett er typicall y states: ' P u t the blam e wh ere it belon g s o n th e user, not the vehicle. Let's ta ke ca re of this problem by making the users better, no t by ba n ni ng ATVs.' " Avid ATV users a Iso stress tha t people engage in a ll sorts of recrea tional spo rts because th ey want to li ke ,flying, skiing, surfing , ska teboardi n g a nd th e rest - a nd tha t accidents occ u r in a ll o f th ese acti vities. " Statler co nt in ued. " T hey argue that many products and ac riviti es p rese nt hazards a nd everyone knows it, so why sh ou ld Big Brot her in Washington try to protect us. In sh ort , ma n y o f these users cont end that ATVs don 't kill ... people do. " Whe n it co mes to th ree-wheeled ATVs. I part ways with the thrust of th ese sentiments: ' Statler said . " At th e outset , let me acknowledge th a t in an y such activity (and ATV use is no exception ), people can be ca reless. With ATVs, they ma y ride withou t p roper tra in in g , or a bsent protective clot hi ng o r gea r: th ey ma y rid e after dri n king alcohol: they ma y rid e at n igh t or in tra ffic areas: the y ma y ride dou ble: or th ey ma y engage in o ther mi sgu ided practices that ob vious ly can lea d to their own u ndoing. Bu t m y prin cipal concern is this: Apart from a ny possibl e m isuse or a buse, th e very d esign of th ese vehicles ma y well ren der them in herently un stable a nd unreason ably da ngerous . .. a nd so many users a re wh olly unaware of thi s. "T he pl ain facr, " Statl er contin ued , "is that three-wheeled ATVs are n o t like mot orcycles. d irt bikes. trail bikes, or even bicyclesof a ny sort, w h ich everyone kn ows ca n fall over. ATVs look li ke they wo n' t, T hey look stable. Participa nts in stoc k ca r races, o r su rfi ng, o r skiing kn o w tha t they're ass u mi ng a risk a nd that 's pa rt o f the sport. But most ATV riders - and in th e case o f you ng kids, the ir parents - ha ve no conceptio n of th is. Because the vehicle looks sta ble, bu vers assu me it is. T hey ass ume it is safer tha n th e d irt bike or tra il bike - th at it won ' t tip ove r or flip over or ro ll o ver. Bu t th e facts don 't bear th at out. "T ha t's worthy of repeating," Sta tler said . " Clearly, not every ATV user recognizes a nd willingl y accepts the ris k in he re nt in riding a n AT V. Certa inl y ch ildren don 't - they can't. Ca n a five, seven , or n in e-year-old, or even a 10 or 12-year-old chi ld really a p precia te th at they may be risking th eir lives or inv iting li fe con fined to a wh eelchair if they somehow mess u p in performin g th e tr icky bal ancing acts th at are req u ired to ride th ese vehicl es? Hardl y. Do parents who let their sma ll ch ildre n ride th ree-wh eeled ATVs u ndersta nd and accept th e Iact that their precious son or daugh ter ca n ea sil y flip over in a n insta nt a nd be crushed, paralyzed or kill ed? No way . Yet beca use of the marketing by ATV co m panies explicit ly a imed at kids, and beca use of th e sta ble ap pearan ce of th e vehicle itself, youngsters and parents have been Iulled into bel ieving tha t the three-wheeled ATV cou ldn' t possibl y tip over . .. tha t it's just not lik e,th e traditional twowheel di rt bike tha t ca n't even sta n d on its own witho u t some support. " Co nti n ui ng in h is testimo ny, Sta tler told the S ubco m mi ttee " Based on the informa tion currentl y before us, the performance charac teristics o f threewheeled ATVs are suspect. We've received a nd continu e to assess information co ncern ing tipovers. flipovers, a nd ro llovers. We already kn ow that , to operate su ch a vehicle prop erly, th e rider must in duce ins tabi lity. " Let me ela bo ra te o n that cr itica l po int." Sta tler 'co n tin ued . " In a ttempting to turn a th ree-w heeled ATV, o ne of th e rea r wh eels must be raised fro m co ntac t wiih the grou nd or pa th . T he AT V is the n aw kward ly and precariously balanced on two whee ls. o ne front , o ne back . In doing that , the user m ust shift h is weigh t, but not h is bod y, in the directio n awa y from th e turn in or der to pe rmit the vehicle to tum. Otherwise, because typi ca lly there is no differential o n the two rear wheels, it is exceeding ly difficu lt to get the th ree-wheeler to steer. .T his moti on is unl ike any turn ing ma ne uve r fami liar to most of us who h ave'ridden bicvcles, trai l bi kes . min ibikes or motorcycles. It is precisel y th e opposite of wha t our n a tu ral instincts tell us and everything our experience with such other vehi cles has ta ugh t us. " S ure, ATV riders shou ld be adequately trai ned and ca u tio ned repeat! ed ly to wear proper safe ty gear. S ure, th ey shou ld o n ly ride accordi ng to reco mmended practices, a nd eschew ridi ng double a nd drivi ng and dri n king , a nd the lik e. Bu t those remi nders a lo ne d on't a d d ress th e ' H id den Ha zard ' in th ree-wh eeled ATV use. T hese veh icles in vol ve a risk to wh ich riders are exposed unknowingl y, un th inkingl y, un suspectingl y and th erefore un intentionall y. It is a risk th ey ca n ' t full y ap p recia te - especially if th ey're you n gs ters, but even if th ey're ad u lts, a n d even if th ey're properly trained, an d ed uca ted, gea red u p and' a ttired , Th is inherent in stab ili ty co u p led wit h a rela tivel y h igh center of gravity, a nd the a bsence in past models of any independen t sus pension - works to crea te far too many h azardous situatio ns wh ich a re exceedin g ly d ifficult for rid ers to avoid or even a ntici pa te." . Continuin g in h is testimony, Statl er said. " An d that is w here th e Consum er P roduct Sa fet y Commission comes in. Our mandate from Congress clearly is n ot to prot ect careless co nsu mers from their negli gence. Nor is it to create a ri sk-free soci ety. But regulatory action is needed to protect consu mers when they can 't adeq ua tely prot ect th em selves. We are cha rged with protecting th e publ ic from unreasonable ri sks o f in jury - espe cia lly ' H idden Hazards ' - whi ch people ca n' t per ceive or forsee or full y com p rehe nd." Concluding h is testimony, Statl er to ld th e Congressm en he ad voca tes a " . . . halt (to) cu rre nt product ion and sale of . . . three-wheeled ATVs until satisfied that a far safer design is in the offing." He went on to say, "These vehi cles may pose a su bstan tia l risk of injury to consumer s which will 41

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