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~ St~t;;;;;;nd~;;;~nds ~ BV Paul Carruthers DALL AS, T X, J UNE 17 The second U .S. Co ns u mer Products Safety ...... Commission public hearing on ATV safety ~ showed that, although 't h e struggle is far ~ from over, the pendulum has clearly swung ::l ~ 22 away from CPSC Commissioner Stuart Statler's repeated calls for a ban and recall of ATVs and towards th e ATV industry. Ov er 35 peo ple testi fied to th e overa ll sa fety o f th e ATV while o n ly six went o n reco rd as ac t ua lly co n demning th e use of ATVs. T he hearing began w ith th e opening sta teme nts o f Commission Cha irman Terre nce Scanlon , Comm issioner Ca ro l G . Daw son a n d Co m m issioner Sta tle r. Scanlon sta ted in hi s o peni ng rem arks th at "As yo u m ay kn ow, th e CP SC has been lookin g into - rh e design , pe rforma nce, handling and use of th ese vehicles ever sincea sharp increase in injuries a nd death s a ssocia ted with ATV usage became evident last yea r. However , we hav e not reach ed a ny co ncl us io ns as to wha t is ca u sing a ll th ese acc ide nts o r wha t m ight be don e to p re vent them. In fac t, th at is what tod ay's hearing is a ll a bou t. We want to hear, fir st-h and, fro m th ose of you wh o have an interest in ATVs, wh ether th ey are, i n fa ct, 'da n gero us a nd , if so , wh at you th ink shou ld be done to m ak e th em less so ." Sca nlon la ter ad ded, "At this point, we still do n ot kn ow eno ug h a bo u t ATVs to decid e wha t is most a p propria te, a nd we certa in lv do not have eno ug h da ta to j ustifya ban o f ATV ~a les o r a reca ll o f th ose ATVs a lready III use. In her o pe ni ng rem ar ks, Daw son co n ti n ue d to show h er posi tive atti tude to wa rds th e ATV iss ue . " I rea li ze tha t man y o f yo u here tod a y arc owner s a nd ride rs o f ATVs an d ad voca tes of th eir safe u se. You enjoy th e p leas ure th ey prov ide, and you don 't want to see th em banned . You bel ieve th at mu ch of go vern me nt regulation is excess ive a nd ca n't understand wh y Wash in g ton seems to be trying to tell yo u wh at to do . Let me say, I compl et el y agree w ith yo u. I bel ieve in th e pr inci p le o f a tte mpti ng to red uce federa l regulat ion of o urdaily lives." Statler m issed th e fir st C PSC meeting in j ackson, Mississippi o n May 30. In h is ti me o ff, however, Statler has not grown a ny more co mpassiona te towa rds th e AT V a nd o pe ne d wit h "Todav's hearin g will dea l wi th the esca la ti ng number o f dea ths and serio us inj u ries associa ted wit h Ail -T erra in Veh icl es (ATVs ). Th is is a sa fety problem of immense proportions no w u n fol d in g across the co untry . Over th e la st th ree- p iu s years, mor e tha n 125,000 Ame ricans have been in jured in accidents in vo lving ATVs, a nd another 161 ki lled. For 1985 a lo ne , it's h ighl y likel y th at more tha n 100 American s will be kill ed u sing AT Vs and anothe r 100,000 ser iously inj ured. And so Statler's demands of th ese traged ies in vo lve yo u ngsters - so fa r, 45% o f fatalities have been kids under 16 yea rs of age; and 24%, kids under 12. p roperl y, a rider must ind uce instabil it y," Sta tler said. "To turn a th ree wheeler , o ne of th e rear wh eels must break trac tio n with th e gro u nd, ca us ing the vehicle to be p recarious ly balanced o n two wh eel s, o ne fro nt , one back . In doing th at , th e user must shift hi s wei ght, but not hi s body, in th e directi on a way from th e tu rn in order to pe rm it th e vehi cle to turn . T h is maneuver is en tire ly o p posite wh at o u r in st in ct s tell us an d everything o u r ex pe rie nce with o ther veh icles has taught us." Statler has a habit o f repeating th e phrases in his stat em ent th at he feels a re o f importance. H e repeat ed hi s statements of " in sta bility" a nd " o ne of two rear wh eels must break tracti on," while sitt in g sm ugly a good 30 feet from th e three-wheel er o n display in front o f him. Sta tler went o n to say " It's bewild eri n g to me, in view o f the staggering toll o f tragedy, wh y an y co nscientiou s firm wouldn 't tak e ac tio n n ow - not months o r years from now when a sa fety sta n da rd may finally see th e light of day - to halt cu rren t production an d sa le of its AT Vs unt il sa tisfied that a far safer desi gn is in the offing. At a minimum a pa rt from a ny cu rrent training a nd ed uca tio n efforts, m anufa cturers , I beli eve, shou ld contact a ll ex isti ng AT V o wn ers, a p p rise th em o f the spira ling incident ra te, spe ll o ut th e risks invo lved (especia lly to yo ungsters ), a nd detail ex p lici t sa fety p recautions emphasi zin g in n o uncerta in terms that th ese veh icles are n ot recommended for chi ldren under 14." Sta tler's sta ted reco m me nda tio ns for a sa fer th ree-wh eeler incl uded "a lim ited -sl ip di fferentia l on the rear a xle to en ha nce turn in g sta bility; sma ller rea r wh eels o r reconfi gurin g th e veh icle 's frame to low er its center of g ra vity; increased front an d rear sus pe ns io n to hel p p reve nt vehi cle sp ills upon hitting u ncerta in uneven terrai n or an o bject in its path ; fixed devices to lim it h igh -speed usc w it h o ut o the r wise co mpromisi ng veh icle power o r performa nce: sma ller sea ts to di scoura ge ri ding double." Aft er readi ng fro m h is prepared sta tement, Sta tler said " We (mea n ing Statle r a nd the o ther commissioners ) have th e sa me p hi losophy, but a di ffere nt message. I bel ieve in th e least dras tic means. I would love it if this in d ustry would ta ke it o n their own beginn in g yes terday, but I don 't see th a t ha p pen in g . The ATV ind ustry pretends th e veh icle is not even a part of th e p roblem ." Commissioner Sca n lon follo wed Statler's sta tement by telling the audi ence th at each commissioner is a n in dependen t. T he hearing consisted of n ine pa nels a nd the first was made up of both pro-ATV witnesses a nd an ti -ATV witnesses. Dr . E. Sievers Go lla day o f L i ttl e Rock, Arkansas sa id that ATVrelat ed in juries a re close to reaching an ep ide m ic level , th at 4%o f th e to ial ad m iss io ns in Li ttle Rock's Ch ildren 's H ospital are from ATV related in juries, and th a t the use 01 helmet s would avoi d a vast number o f injuries . H e ca lle d fo r a specific code with mo re acc urate descri ption of numbers of injuri es and dea th s a nd sta ted th at " they sh o u ld be kept o ff th e stree ts. I agree with Commissioner Stat le r's o pi n io n." Dr. jonathan Lee o f Shreveport, Louisiana fo llowed with more sta tistics from his a rea a n d told o f a n ATV rider kill ed while cro ss ing a hi ghway; a girl who wh ecli ed into a veh icle in front o f h er a nd su ffered massive h ead in j u ries wh ile wearing a helm et; a 20-year-old male (no helmet ) wh o was racing with three fri ends a t a bou t 45-50 mph wh en o ne o f h is AT"'s rear wh eel s to uc hed th eir s he cras he d into a parked pi ck -up tr uc k. Lee added th at m ost o f th e injuries are h ead a nd facial injuries a nd th at th er e is a high p ot ential for serio us injury even with ex pe rienced rid ers, but a lso added th at o n ly 7%are wearing prot ective clothing . Lee sa id . that protective gear would help but more importantl y th e ins ta bi li ty of th e vehicle wa s a t fault . Dr. Edward H eiden , a co ns u lta nt to Honda in Washin gton , D.C .. testified th at more accurate data was need ed on th e subj ect. Heiden sugges ted data on behavior to sep ara te th e a verage riders and th e injured riders. j erry Hill from th e Bureau of Environmenta l Hea lth Science, Arkansas Department of Health in Little Rock , Arkansas sa id " I persona llyfeel th e ca use is th e la ck of res peer for the vehicl e. The majorit y o f accide nts a re ca use d by unsafe riding habits." Following each panel's testimonies, th e co m m issio ne rs as ked questions. After questi oning from Dawson, Gollada y sa id he didn 't kn ow the size o f th e machines the kids wer e hurt o n a nd said " T he re is not a gr eat deal of difference between 30 a nd 40 mph," Statler took th e floor with questions to th e first panel and after getting m ore injury sta tistics from th e two doctors, began to question Heiden for wanting to gather more factual sta tistics. " Sho u ld th ey wai t?" Statler as ked. " Kids are d ying dail y, do we co ntin ue to wait?" Sta tle r foll ow ed m ore questioning w ith , " Wha t if we learn th at th e injury ra te co nti n ues to spi ra l? By December o f th is year if-it isn 't workin g does th at crea te a feelin g in yo ur minds that th e vehicl e need s to be re-de sig ne d?" Th is prompted Sca nlon into say ing " I feel it is mi sleading for a fellow Commission er to imp ly th e Commi ssion isn't d oin g a nything . .. " Sta tle r started to inter rupt Scanlon, who cu t him o ff, sayin g " P lease don 't interrupt, let 's do it in a judicious m anner . .. " Sta tle r interrupted a ny way, sayi ng, " In a yea r a nd a half I'll be off th e Com m ission (referri ng to th e ex p ira tio n of h is cu rr ent term )." And with th at th e hea ring room broke into app la use. Panel two sa w Kenneth Packer of Packer En gineering in Naper ville, Ill in o is a nd a nothe r Packer enginee r, Kevin Breen , testify to th e sa fety of the AT V. Pack er sa id th at the AT\' was trul y a va lua ble asset and th at a study shou ld involve hu man in p u t, mech anical inpu t a nd environ me nta l input. Packer a lso cha llenged th e moveme nt towards restrict ed use by childre n by say ing "Thi s ca n co n.rribu re to o ur yo u th." Breen added th at th e AT V is a rider-active vehicle a nd sa id tha t rider in pu t is a n important part of how it's o perated . Because o f th e necessary rider input. Breen said th e ATV needs th e big seat for rider m ovem ent. H e a lso a dded that a differential would - limit th e predi ctability o f power to th e rear wheels and would hurt the ATV rather than help it. Breen th en as ked to sh ow a vid eo tape o f a test he had perf ormed , but Scanlon sa id he was o u t of time. Flo yd Gibson , a Honda deal er from T exarkana, T exas sh o we d slid es o f tests he had done in regard to a ir pressure. The slides sh owed th e sa me ATV with both ove r- a nd under- pressurized tires. Whi le Scanlon and Dawson sh owed interes t in looking a t th e slides, Sta tler would o n ly tak e a n occasion al .g ta nce a t th e screen . Gibson claimed th at reducing th e air pressure reduces th e speed a nd en h an ces th e handling o f th e ATVs. Dr. Robert Woods, a mech an ical engineer fro m th e University of T exas. spoke o n beha lf of a co m pe titio n held at co lleges th roughout the nat ion in th e buildin g o f a four-wheeled AT\'. Wood cla imed that four-wheelers a re more sta ble than three, while still providin g th e sa me thrill a nd e xc i te me n t. Wood sa id his fourwheeler co u ld en ter a hairpin a t full speed on tarma c a nd not turn o ver. When questioned by Statler, Wood sa id th at three-wh eelers wer e banned from th e co m pe titio n because o f stability probl ems. Breen co n tested that the two co u ld not bc compared because Wood 's vehicle co u ld not go over logs o r through water and wa s a nonrider-active vehicl e. Statler now had a new an gl e a n d co ntin ua ll y asked "Is th e four-wheeled vehicle more stable tha n a three-wh eeled vehicle?" Dawson persuaded th e other commissioners to look at Breen 's video, but the VCR would n ot work. They lat er wat ched th e video a t th e lu nch break. Alan Isley o f th e Specialty Vehicle In stitute o f America (S\' IA) testified that from this da y forward the manufacturers have agreed to label each new ma chine with a n age recommendati on. All 50cc ATVs will not be recommended for rider s under six, 7,O-80cc vehicles will not be recommended for riders under 12 a n d all others will n ot be recommended for riders under 14. Ro ger Hagi e of Kawasaki sa id " O ff-ro a d riding needs respe ct regardl ess o f how m an y wheels. It has to be ridden a n d it is up to the rider o f wh en a nd how to ride. It doesn 't in volve disengaging th e bra in or learning new rules of ph ysics. " One of th e su rp rising testimonies of th e day ca me from Ronald Montrenee o f Ram In dustries. Morurenec's co m pa ny se lls a steeri ng damper for ATVs th at he claims mak es th e vehicle sa fer. Hi s testim on y rai sed the Com m ission 's eye bro ws ~vhen he stated th at h e a p p roach ed both Honda and Kaw asaki with hi s p roduct. H e sa id th ey turn ed him down, despite likin g th e product . because it would ad m i t li ability. Dougla s Somer s of th e law firm re presen ting H onda responded with i' We have never asked to co ver up a ny sa fety device. There m ay be so me downsides to th e product , it m a y not a p p ly to th e recreational rider. " The Comm ission sta led th at th e matter would need looking into a t a nother ti me. When it was Sta tler's turn to question th e su bjec t turned , o nce agai n , to three- vs. fo u r- w hee le rs. Don Brandt , of Adve nture Veh icles, In c" sai d th at fo ur- whe el models o f AT Vs a re sa fer th an the three. H a gi e, howeve r, sa id Kaw asaki 's venture into th e fo u r-wheeled mark et wa s strictly a market in g decision and had noth in g to do with sa fety. Sta tler tr ied to get H agi e to say somet hi ng a bo u t th e o the r manufacturers' " kiddie ATVs," but H agi e wo u ld n' t tak e th e bait . It wa s th en brought to Statler 's a tten tion tha t th e so ca lled " kiddie ATv s" won 't go ove r 12 m ph. So me rs testified th at d iffere ntia ls wer e un safe o n bumps a nd uneven terrain, but said th e regular AT\' o n ly required a slig h t and simple weight sh ift. Statler's ca rs perked up a nd h e inqu ired "Do yo u h ave to bre ak traction ?" Somers repli ed th at it wa s sim p ly loading th e o u tside wh eel a n d sa id it was not a p roblem . Sta tler j um ped in with a "S o me wou ld call that inducing instability." One witn ess gave a very sim pl e but co rrect a na logy of how to turn a

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