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e CPSC/ATV hearing in New Hamp.shire 8 ~ Statler doesn't like what he hears By Gary Van Voorhis CONCO R D, NH , JULY 25 Commissioner Stuart M. Statler of th e Consumer Public Safety Commission (CP SC) angrily stormed off the stage before the third in a series of five public hearings on All T errain Veh icl es (ATV), held in. the H o us e Chamber o f th e New H a m pshire State House was over. Sta tl er a ngrily un leash ed a verba l ba rrage a t th e final p anel o f witn esses and th ose p art ies in the chamber at th e start o f the final q ues tio ning session by Statler and CPSC Chairman Terrence M. Scan Ion. Wi th the testimony of th e fin a l n in e witn esses fi nis he d , Scanlon asked Sta tler to open the questionin g. Statler declined and then launched into a sca th ing de n unciation of those wh o saw that a lack of rider education an d not th e vehicl es th em selves was a n overri di ng factor in th e ri sin g rate o f ATV-rel ated d eath s a n d injuries. ' 'I' m di sappointed in what I h ear," said Sta tler. " We appear to have a failure to co m m u n ica te. We wo uldn 't be h ere if th ere wa sn' t a p roblem. " St atl er th en went throug h bits o f testimon y by th e nine wh ich keyed on the people-factor relating to accide nts. " Yo u' re sa ying let us ta ke care o f the problems, let us edu ca te, let us trai n , don ' t ge t in o u r ha ir. I' ve go t to leave here toda y wit h th e feeli ng th a t if thi s is th e best tha t is goi ng to co me o ut of th e peop le closest to the cu sto me rs th en we're in deep tro u ble because this upsurge is going to co nt in ue. " Sta tler co nt in ue d h is sta tem ent by say ing , " T h is meeti ng ha s h elped o pen m y eyes th at u nl ess th e manufacturers and/ or th e govern men t ta kes ac tio n in th is a rea , wh at is bei ng recommend ed does n ' t go nearl y far eno ug h . I do n ' t see the a ttit ud e th ere o r th e recogn itio n th ere wi th the manufacturers that this has to be don e and has to be done by explo ri ng a ll p ossibl e means rather th an sim p ly blamin g th e user every tim e a vehi cle tips over," Once fin ish ed , Statler told Sca n lo n he had nothing furt her to sa y. H e packed h is br iefcase and sta lked o rr th e stage a nd o u t of th e room. Lat er, while Scanl on was as ki ng questi ons of the panel , he rema rked, ''I' m no t qu ite o n th e sa me wave length as my co llea g ue." Th e hearings o pe ne d with sta tements from both Scanlon a nd Statl er. Vice-Chairman Carol G. Daws on an d Commissioner Saundra Brown Arrn -: strong d id n ot attend. Additionally, New H ampshire Governor j o h n H . Sununu promised to make avai la ble informati on an d sta tistics required by th e C PSC in th eir investigation. In hisopening sta tem ent, Scanl on reitera ted wha t he has said in ear lier CPSC/ ATV hea rings, th at the CPSC ha s" not reac he d any concl usions to wh at is ca usin g a ll th ese accid ents or wh at mi ght be done to preven t th em ." Scanlon th en dr ew on availab le sta tisti cs to note that at least 15 deaths o f th e 233 reported since 1982 rela ted in o ne way or a no the r to th e use o f ATVs rep ortedl y have occ urr ed in New En gland. ' '' Un q uestiona bly, the rapid gr owth of ATV sa les accounts for so me of this increase in injuries a nd dea th s; nea rl y th ree -q ua rters of a m illion ATVs are expected to be so ld th is year. There is mo re to i t than that, " contin ue d Sca nlo n , " a n a larming pe rce ntage o f th e injur ies and dea th s ha ve in vol ved chi ldren - som e as yo u ng as two .years o ld . Accordi ng to our la tes t figures, 23.2 percent of those kille d were ch ildren under 12 a nd 49.8 percent wer e u nder 16." Scan lo n continued, sayi ng , " If the results (o f the CPSC investigat ion ) indica te additional foll ow-u p actio n is necessary, th en we will act promptly a n d vigorous ly. But, th at doesn 't necessarily mean we will reso rt to mandat ory regulat ions o f so me so rt . It may well turn o u t that such things as warning labels, more rid er trai n ing, addi tiona l public ed ucati on a nd /or grea ter em p hasis on safety equipme nt , a ll of which co u ld be underta ken vo l u nta ri ly i n coope ra tio n w i t h ma nufacturers a nd AT V user s, will be sufficient to ge t th e jo b done. By th is fa ll, we shou ld h ave a bett er idea a nd by th e fall of 1986 we shou ld have most a ll o f the dat a we need to reach defini te co ncl usions." Scanlon concluded by saying he was pl ea sed to not e th e ATV ind us try ha s co m m i tted it self to develo pi ng a vo lu nta ry sta ndard for ATVs which will incl ud e ag e labeli ng and train ing. Stat ler's openi ng remarks showed no so fteni ng on h is p osit ion as a ded icated o p ponent o f ATVs. H e reci ted estim a tes on inj uries a nd fatali ties a nd , a t one poin t, sensa tio na lized th e figures by referri ng to th em as a " bo dy co u nt ," " Wha t reall y tro u bles me is th at mos t o f th e ATV industr y still preten ds th at th e vehicl e is not even a pa rt of th e pro blem a nd th at it bears no responsibil ity for the da ily toll o f inj u ries a nd dea ths. The ind us try - co nt in ues to bla me th e users th em selves in a ll or a lm ost every ins ta nce o f tragedy , even wh il e the bod y co u nt o f unsuspecti ng kids and others sk yro ckets. T his is indefens ibl e." Ea rlier in h is sta te me nt St a tl er em p hasized th at "apart from a ny possibl e m isu se or a buse, there a re dist ur bin g indications th at the very design o f th ese vehicles ma y well render th em inherentl y u nstable and unrea son ably dangero us - and so many users a re wh o ll y una ware o f this." Statler co nt i n u ed by sayi ng , " Beca use the vehi cle look s sta ble, bu yers a ssu me it is. And becau se o f pa st ma rk eting a nd advert ising exp licit ly direct ed a t kids, p arents bu y th em for their youngsters thinking th ey are sa fe." Time and aga in , Stat ler , in his best H arv ard Law Sch ool sty le, came back to wh at he had said 10 m ak e a point from hi s position. Addi tio na lly , he was fond of as kin g as ma ny questio ns as possible deali ng w ith h is sta ted o p in io n that " in order 10 operat e th e veh icle properl y, a rid er m us t ind uce in sta bili ty;", a nd ' that "to turn a 3- wheeler a t cu sto ma ry speeds, a rider 'over weigh ts' o ne o f th e rear wh eels a nd o ften ca uses it to brea k tracti on with th e gro un d. " T h e hearin g co nsisted o f seven panels of witnesses who were each a llowed a five-m inute presentation - with a red light to tell th em th eir time wa s up. Quest ions by Scanlon a nd St atler follow ed th e completion o f s ta te me n ts b y eac h p anel. The 10:00 a .rn . start o f th e hearings gave th e television , radio a nd newspaper repo rters o n hand little time before their deadlines. The starting time of the hearings had bee n var iously communicated a t 8:30, 9:00 and 10:00 a.m . The openi ng witness on th e first panel, H oward C. Dicki nson jr., Vice Chairma n of th e New H ampshire Reso urces, Recreation an d Development Co mmissio n, ca lled fo r a " goa l o f si mi lia r legislation o n ATV a nd off-highway recreat ion al vehicle (O H R V) u se in a ll sta tes throughou t New Engla nd. " T he most o utspoke n wi tness o f th e entire proceed ings was Representative Geraldine Bangs o f Derry, Ne w Hampshire, who focu sed her testim ony o n a ca ll for "a home of th eir ow n for ATVs. We can't afford damage to the terrai n and wildl ife as we ll as policing riders . ATVs are monsters o n o ur recre ati on trails," co ncl uded Bangs. An drea Fa lzarano , representing leg isla tors from New York State, ga ve test imony a bo u t an ATVl O R V bill aw a i ting th e sig na ture o f th e sta te's gov ernor which would parallel th e sta te's ex istin g sn o w m o bile laws. Fa lzarno noted th ere was no provisio n for th e use o f sta te funds fro m reg istra tions for tra il devel o p ment incl ud ed in th e bi ll because incl usio n m ight lead to def ea t o f th e legi slat ion . Th e bill a lso ba n s th e use by th ose under 16 unless u nder su pe rv ision by a parent . Ma rv H . H esl in , Co m missione r o f the Con necticut Depart m ent o f Co nsu me r Prot ectio n , sai d, " Co n necticu t has seen a rise in th e use and o wnersh ip of ATVs. We would like to see a m ulti-faceted approach to th e p roblem s ar ising a t both a sta te a nd fed era l level . We wo uld li ke to see labels sta ting that ATVs are not toys, but vehicl es. We have sa fety in stru ctions o n golf ca rts, why not ATVs?" Statler , in th e q uestion session, sa id, " It is gra tifying to hea r your co nce rns p ara llel o ur s a t C PSC," a nd th en went o n to as k if th ose o n th e panel felt th ere sho u ld be a n age lim it for o pera tio n o f ATVs. Hi s q uestion a bo u t a need for th e CPSC to man da te en gineering changes o f ATVs for safe ty drew no respon se, but he acce pted th is as a vot e in favor. Doct or N orm a n Yenko fsk y, the pres id ent o f th e New H ampshire cha p ter o f th e Am eri can College of Eme rge ncy Physicians, testified as th e fir st m ember o f pan el two . The four members ca rr ied a n anti-AT V message. Yen kofsk y no ted 50% of th e accide nt s reported by h is co lleagues in vol ve rid ers under age 14, th at a lco ho l use is a p robl em, a nd th a t lack o f hel m et use was rep orted in a ll New H am p shire o ff-roa d vehi cl e dea ths. " I opt for manda tory purch ase o f a helm et with a n ATV ," sa id Yenko fskv, J ul ie Cr oss, o f Dan vers, Ma ssachu setts, ga ve testimon y ab out her h usband 's death after h is " AT V to ok a sudde n righ t-h a nd turn whi le h e was riding o n a di rt roa d a nd h it a tree ," She not ed h e was wearing ridin g gea r a nd had ridden d irt bikes for eigh t years. U n de r questi oni ng , she admitted havin g n o exp la nation for th e accide nt a nd th at she h ad n ot had th e AT V che cked ove r. Danbury, New H amp.shi re, resid ent Sy lvia H iIf: whose ' IS-yea r-o l so n su sta ine d a sp ina l cord injury when hi s ATV ro lled o ver backwards on a n incl in e, sa id , " the a rea o f safety lies with th e man ufacturers. I want you to co nsider remova l o f ATVs from th e market unt il th ey are sa fe," When questi oned , Mr s. Hill sa id th e family still ha s th e ATV a nd that th eir yo u nger so n sometimes rid es it. Sirkka Wall er, of New H a mp sh ire's in j ury prevention center and child passenger sa fety program , felt " AT Vs sho u ld be recognized as a serious hea lth h azard. Standards shou ld be set on age, rider education , what ri ding gear should be worn and p aren ts ' responsibility. T h e parents need to be educated to the in herent da nger." The third pa ne l was made u p o f six perso ns. Aside fro m a police officer a nd a n O R V instructor, who showed slides dea ling wi th an accident res u lting in the dea th o f one in d ivid ua l, th e testim on y was comp le tely p ositive a nd no t, apparently, what Sta tler wa nted to h ea r as evi denced by hi s later q uest io ni ng. Perh ap s th e m ost effective witness was Dav id A. H ewitt, th e off-road veh icl es coo rd i n a to r fo r the N ew H ampshire Dep artm en t of Fis h a nd Game. " I feel nea rl y a ll ATV accidents are ca used by irresponsible, illegal or noco m mon-sense u se of ATVs," sa id H ew itt. H e went on to reco m me nd th e use of a headlight on at a ll times, a wo rki n g tail light, a nd so me form of ki ll- swi tch , as well as a chart in de alersh ips wh ich recommends sizes for users and a label on th e machi ne to tell th e user what th e top spe ed of th e machine is. " AT V manufacturers must foll ow wh at th e sn owmobile ind us trv has do ne and set up a nat ional AT V co n fere nce to improve co m m u n ica tion a n d provide a forum fo r both manufacturers a n d users," sa id H ewitt. " Co nt ro l a lso needs to be exe rcised o n dealers wh o a re more interested in a sa le than the sa fety o f th e buyer," H ewitt went on to no te that New H am p shire has 500 cert ified orr-roa d veh icle safe ty in str u ctors who h ave passed to ug he r cert ifica tio n tests tha n what is req u ired by the Specia lt y Vehicl e In stitut e o f Am erica (SVIA). St at ler fou nd H ew itt a mat ch for his qu esti on in g, bu t di d elici t from police o fficer Brian Con er th a t a speed over 20 m ph is unsafe by us in g Co n er's sta tem ent th a t h e fel t officers using ATVs di dn ' t need to go faster th an 20. The SVIA a n d th e AT\' industry was rep resented o n panel four with SVIA's president Ala n R. Isley presenti ng a tw o- minute portion of a lo nge r slide presenta tion o n th e key eleme nts o f th e indus try 's a p p roach to AT V sa fet y. Isley went o n to di agram th e proj ected fig u res o f gra d u at es fr o m th e cert ifie d instruc to r train ing progra ms. Roger Weston, of Ara i Hel met Ltd., and ยท Roger H agie of Kawasak i, as well as Wesley McCoy, H onda's A'TC racing tea m ma nag er a lso testified . McCoy's st a tement was in response to testimon y in th e june 17 h earing in Dall as, Texas, by Ron al d Montren ee o f Ram Ind ustries a bo u t Ra m 's ap proach o f H o nda (a nd Ka wasa ki) to tes t their steering damper on their race bik es. McC oy addressed hi s testim o ny to the previous testimony by Mo n tren ec, " T he rea so n we do no t endorse a fter ma r ke t prod u cts is beca u se recrea tio n a l an d p la y riders tend to bel ieve if T eam H o nda uses a p rodu ct then it must be good for th em. In most circu msta nces, th e raci ng team u ses th e p roduct in co mp letely di fferent a p p lica tio ns th an th e ge ne ra l cus to mer.' McCo y detailed wh a t individ ual member s o f the team had fou nd in t testi n g. H e concluded Ilis -sta tem en- - -