文章基本信息

标题：Consumer Federation of America and friends gear up for campaign against All Terrain Vehicles
期刊名称：CPSC Monitor
出版年度：2002
卷号：Dec 2002
出版社：Consumer Alert

Consumer Federation of America and friends gear up for campaign against All Terrain Vehicles

CPSC's involvement with ATV (all-terrain vehicle) safety dates back to the early 1980s. Despite a thorough airing of the issues at that time, and despite a ten-year government-industry consent decree which addressed many of the hazards associated with the vehicles, pro-regulation groups are still demanding more government action.

The Consumer Federation of America, (CFA), joined by several environmental-conservation groups, petitioned CPSC in August to ban the sale of 4-wheel ATVs to children under 16 and to offer refunds to those who purchased three-wheeled ATVs for children. As reported in the Monitor in November, CPSC lawyers docketed the portion of the petition calling for a ban on the four wheelers but not on the issue of refunds. CPSC accepted comments on that portion of the petition until Dec. 17.

In early December, CFA, together with the Natural Trails and Waters Coalition, issued a news release urging parents not to buy ATVs for their kids.

Calling ATV injuries "a hidden epidemic," CFA's Rachel Weintraub said the group was concerned that too many parents give ATVs to their children without knowledge about the potential injuries. (3)

CFA said that a report by "Good Morning America" on Nov. 8 demonstrated that many ATV dealers were not informing potential purchasers of ATVS about the hazards of children under 16 using adult-sized ATVs.

ATV enthusiasts groups have responded that the problem is not the products, but is caused by inexperienced users and lack of adult supervision.

CPSC is scheduled to release in early January a new joint government-industry study on ATV safety.

The Monitor warns consumers to look out for another high-pressure effort to get the media and Congress involved in the effort to regulate ATVs and their use in the coming year.

(3) "Don't Put an ATV on Your List this Holiday Season; ATV Dealers Fail to Warn Parents of Potential Dangers," news release from the Consumer Federation of America and the Natural Trails and Waters Coalition," Dec. 4, 2002.