Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

LO NG BEACH , CA, NOV. 13 Five scheduled public hearings associated with the U.S . Consumer P rod uct Safety Commission's probe of ATV safety are over, and the big q uestion is, what happens now? At the m ost recent hearings, ATV-foe Stuart M. " Ban 'em " Sta tler h as seemed to p ress toward in itia l fin dings tha t ATVs 14 pose an " un reason able risk of injury," a legal term th a t would allow th e CPSC to ban or reca ll th e ma ch ines. Statler, wh o wants a ma gi c, crashp ro of , fool-proof ATV design to halt a ny cha nce o f injury while riding, put it just th at way a t th e October 17 CPSC hearin g in Los An gel es, asking ATV manufacturers ' representatives " . . . isn 't there something yo u ca n do to mak e it markedly safer? If yo u can' t bring that number of inj uries down , th en I think in creasingl y th e evidence beg in s to pile up that this may be an unreasonabl e risk of in jury." But CPSC ATV Task Force Chairman Ni ck Mar chica told Cycle News in a recent telephone interview that Statler ca n ' t push for a finding of unreasonable risk before receiving research results and ac tio n recommenda tions from CPSC staffers. ''I'm not there for a n unrea sonabl e risk," sa id Mar chica, ''I' m not there for a ny th ing, for a ban. H e (Sta tler) is not in a posit ion to talk a bo u t unrea sona ble risk o f injury because I haven 't given h im a ny packet o f informatio n that co uld a llow h im to do so. We have a year's worth of wo rk to do before we ca n g ive th e Co m m issioners reg ulatory op tions to pursu e." Beyond th at , there is n o evidence that the o ther th ree C PSC Comm issio ner s - Chai rman T errence Scmlon , Com missio ner Carol Daw son and Co m m issioner Saundra Bro wn Arm strong - sha re Sta tler 's fervor fo r ma nda tory reg u la tio n as opposed to edu ca tio n and training p rogram s supported by AT V ent h us ias ts and man u facturers . All three o ther Comm issioners have gone on reco rd as op posing th e ba n and reca ll advoca ted by Sta tler on .numerous occa sions. In h is o pen ing sta teme nt a t th e Los Angeles hearing, Sca n lo n said ", . . we certa in ly do n ot have the da ta a t this point to justi fy a ban o f ATV sa les or a recall of tho se ATVs already in use." Arm strong, in her openi ng sta tement, said" . . . the Commission must o bta in more information to determine wha t, if any , ri sks of inj ury are posed by a ll -terrain vehicles a n d th e manner in which they a re opera ted, a nd, as a p prop ria te, wha t actions a re necessary. " . Daw son told th e a udience a t th e hearing that she did not favor go vernment interferen ce in and regulation of peoples' personal aHa irs. Scanlon pinned down th e p roba ble time frame for th e com p let io n o f th e CPSC inv estigation in hi s sta tements at th e October 17 hearing, sayin g,"In an y event, we expec t th at th e results o f o u r investigations will en a ble us to develop a preliminary AT V in jury a na lysis within th e next six months a nd to have fin al reco m me nda tio ns by September 30 of next year." In the mean tim e, Sta tler has been denyi ng h is earl ier references to an ATV ban' a nd possible recall. " He' s cha nged hi s position from 'Le t's halt p roduction ' to ' Let' s see wh at ca n be done.'" March ica said. · Asked about the rea sons for Sta tler 's den ia ls a nd the soft ening of hi s p ub lic sta nd on ATV safety, l\Ia rch ica sai d," I thi n k th e cartoons ar e gett ing to him ," referrin g to J im Smi th's Team Sm itty cartoon strip wh ich often lampoons Sta tler in A TV N ews a nd Cycle N ews. Marchica a lso sa id that Sta tler 's term on th e CPSC is due to expi re o n Octob er 26, 1986. Sta tler. wh o was ap poi n ted to a seven -year term by th en-President Jimm y Carter , is un lik ely to be reappointed by Pr esident Reagan . Reagan a ppo in tee Ca ro l Da wson recentIy o btained Sena te co nfirm ation for a full CPS C term , an d Sen ate confirma tio n for newl y nomi• nated Anne Graham is pending. ceeding . . . In th e ANPR, th e Commis sion discu sses meth ods by whi ch a ny unrea sonable ri sks o f in jury whic h might be associa ted wi th ATVs co uld be adeq ua tely red uced or elimi na ted. T hese method s in clude promulga tio n of a performan ce sta ndard , a ban o f AT Vs, th e develop me nt of a voluntary sta ndard, an adm inis tra tive recall proceedi ng un der section 15 of the CPSA, an im m in ent hazard action u nd er section 12 of the CPSC or the di ssemi nation o f sa fety rela ted info rmation." At the hea rin g in Los Angeles o n O ctober 17, Com m issioner Stuart M. " Ban 'em" Sta tler, wh o has gai ned fame for rep eatedl y ca lling for a ban . and reca ll o f ATVs, said, spea king a bo u t the Comm issioners. " None o f us, incl uding m yself, hav e urged a ban of th ese veh icles. I have, al on e, ur ged tha t th e manufacturers halt production o f th e vehicles until th ey a re satis fied that they have a safer vehicle." · . Sta tler's call for a ban and recall of ATVs has been well documented in bo th Cycle N ews a nd A TV N ews, and hi s claims that he never ca lled for a ban are untrue. • RISK By John Ulrich CPSC Commissioner's lament: Is " Ba n 'em " a fair tag for Stuart Statler? Consumer Product Safety Commission member Stuart M. Nick Marchica Federal Register notice: CPSCATV ban possible LONG BEACH, CA, OCT, 18 The October 2 ed itio n of th e Federal Register contained a notice stating that methods being considered by the U.S. Consu me r Product Safety Commission to reduce ATV-related injuries incl ude a n o u trigh t ban and a recall. The Federal Regi ster is published by th e U.S. gov ernment and is th e official source of informa tion o n pending, pl anned , a n d possible actions by gov ernment age nc ies, The notice in questi on an no u nced the October 17Los Angeles CP SC hea ring in to ATV safety; in sup p leme nta ry informati on provided with the notice, under th e heading , " Backgro u nd ," are listed correc ti ve ac tio ns bein g cons idere d by th e Co m m ission to ' mi tiga te ATV -rela ted injuries. " T o address thi s conce rn," rea ds th e information , " the Co mmission has issu ed a n advance no tice of proposed rul emaking (ANP R) wh ich formall y com mences a rulemaking pro- " Ban 'em " Statler has in creasingl y co m pla ined recentl y that Cycle N ews is unfair in tagging him as " Ba n 'em ," repeatedl y sta ting in public a nd privat e meetings that he never advoca ted a ban a nd recall of ATVs a n d gene ra lly pl ayin g th e part o f a co nsc ientio us, ded icat ed , unfa irl ymal igned public officia l. Cycl e N ew s, no su rp rise, sees things differently, a nd we figure Stat ler's just trying a P.R . ca m pa ign to clean up hi s image among ATV en thusias ts, ma ybe hoping to ward off some o f th e co nsidera ble flak tha t's co ming his way over hi s mishand ling of the ATV safe ty issue from da y one, But si nce he's brought it up so much, since it 's obviously really wearing on him and making him nerv ous, let's tak e a look at wh ether or not Statl er deserve s the tag " Ba n 'em ." To start with , one ha s to co ns ider the con tex t of Statler 's sta tements. A CPSC brochure, "The U.S. Consumer Product Safet y Commission ," published in September, 1985, states "Since Ma y 1973, this independent regulatory agency of the federal gov- . ernmen t has worked to prevent injuries and deaths by . . .banning products for which no feasible stan dard would adequately protect th e public; obtaining the reca ll or repair o f products that present substantial hazards or imminent h azard s to consum ers .. .' The brochure goes on to state " . . .the Consumer Product Safety Act gives the Comm ission a uthority to iss ue a ma ndatory safety standard for cons u me r products which pose u nreasonable ris ks o f inj ury or death. The Commission also can ban a product . . . The Commission has issued a total of 35 standards, bans and other mandat ory rules since 1973," According to a " Consumer P ro duct SAFETY ALERT" on ATV s published by th e Consumer Product Safet y Commission in August, 1985, "Under laws admin istered by CPSC, an estimated 325 million potentially hazardo us products have been called back from the marketplace and consumers sin ce 1973 (whe n CPSC was crea ted). " What these two exa m p les of CPSC publication s illustrate is that we're dea ling with a Federal agency with a record of ba ns and recalls, indeed, a sta ted purpose of bans and recalls . Knowing tha t, a lo ng comes Commi ssion er Stua rt M. Stat ler , a n agen t o f th e U.S. gove rn ment, issuing press releases a nd making sta teme nts to reporte rs abo ut the th rea t posed to civi liza tio n by the ATV. In a Mar ch 7 lett er to sta te cons umer protection agencies , Statl er wrote th at CPSC " O p tio ns range . . .to halting future three-wheeled ATV producti on ; to possibl y recalling a ll such vehicles previously sold." At a CPSC hearing in Washington on April 3, Statler di stributed a printed statement that read , in part, " As o ne Commissio ner , I am so distressed by th e dimensions of th is emerging risk based on w hat we already know, that I believe serious consideration needs to be gi veri in the mon ths ahead to the advisability of seeking a halt in future three-wheeled ATV production and possibly recalling a ll such vehicles previous ly sold." In th e April 4 edition of the San Diego Daily Tran script, a UP I wire service sto ry headl in edv ' Ll.S. Moving Toward Ban Of ATV Bikes" quoted Statler as saying, " A mandatory ru le is by no means th e ex tent to which we co u ld go . I'm ser iously considering the possibility of seek ing a ban and, possibl y, a recall of the vehicles out th ere." Statler appeared on th e" April 25' television broadcast of the ABC 20/20 show, and wa s shown on camera saying, " T he real questi on is wh y don't these manufacturers, basically four foreign manufacturers , recognize the seriousness of this problem and cease production immediately, and possibl y recall every o ne of those 1.8 million that ar e o u t on the market?" On May 21, in Washington, I told Statler th at I had a rea l problem with him ca ll in g for a ban and recall of ATVs. " I never said that," Statler told me. " I haven 't said we should recall a nd ban ATVs." H e then went on to say th at manufact urers should immedi at ely cease production of ATVs and reca ll those alread y in the hands of cons u me rs. Webster 's New World Dictionary, Second College Edition defines ban as being, a mo ng o the r things , a verb mean ing " . .. to prohibit, as by officia l order , from doing, using, appearing, happening, etc.; forbid; censor . .. to cu rse; co ndem n . .. " In the noun form , th e sa me di ctionary says, a ban is " .. .an official order forbidding something; prohibition . . . strong public disapproval or condemnation intended to prevent someth ing . . ." : Looking at th e dictionary defi nition, I don't think there's any difference between ca ll ing for a cease of production and calling for a ba n. · Even if there is, Statler himself first raised the possibility.of a ban, usin g that exact word , on March 7, and again on April 4. What we've go t here is a public official , one Stuart M. Statler, a guy who wor ks for an agency with a h is· tory o f banni ng and reca lli ng products, a nd he's advocating a cease to ATV production , a hal t to ATV production, " . . .a ban, a nd possi bly a reca ll , , ." of ATVs. T here isn't a reasonable man in the world who co u ld listen and read Sta tler's sta te· ments of public record and n ot conclude that he thinks a ban and recall of ATV s is a swell idea. Which is wh y it 's perfectly reaso nable to ca ll him Stuart M, " Ban · 'em " Statler. •

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