ATV Foes: 'No Kids on ATVS!'
Dec.
22, 2003 – Anti-ATV forces are gearing up to attack our sport in statehouses
around the nation, demanding that lawmakers bar kids from riding ATVs.
The anti-ATV groups say that not only should federal regulators do what they can to keep kids from riding full-sized ATVS, but states should go a step further.
"States should act as well by treating ATVs more like cars by establishing minimum age limits and requiring formal safety training and licensing," the groups said in a recent report they released that blasts ATVs.
The report, erroneously titled "ATV Safety Crisis: America's Children Still at Risk," was released in August by the Consumer Federation of America, Bluewater Network, and the Natural Trails and Waters Coalition. These are the same groups that issued a similar report a year earlier, and who have been putting pressure on the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission to try to keep kids off ATVs.
The groups first asked the commission for a ban on all ATV use by those under the age of 16, but the commission said it didn't have the authority to enforce such a ban.
The groups now want the commission to ban the sale of full-sized ATVs for the use of children under 16, which is something the ATV industry already voluntarily does.
Not only are they attacking ATVs at the federal level, but they plan to take their fight to statehouses when the legislative sessions begin in January.
What are some of the proposals?
As already noted, they want to establish minimum age limits for riding ATVs and want formal safety training and licensing to be required.
"It is unfathomable that it is illegal for children to drive automobiles until they are 16 years of age, pass a driver's training class, and obtain a valid driver's license, yet we permit even younger children to ride ATVs…" said doctors at Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati.
But there's more.
Specifically, model legislation put together by anti-ATV forces calls for a ban on the use of ATVs by children under 16, would require all ATV operators 16 and older to pass a skills test and be licensed, and would require all ATVs to be registered.
The proposed law also would require helmet use, prohibit carrying passengers, and bar operation on paved surfaces.
That model legislation was drafted by the American Academy of Pediatrics, but it's being pushed by the Consumer Federation of America, Bluewater Network, and the Natural Trails and Waters Coalition.
ATVA Director Doug Morris questioned the motivation behind some of the groups involved in this attack on ATVs. He noted that the Bluewater Network and the Natural Trails and Waters Coalition have never had any involvement with, or interest in, ATV safety. Instead, their agenda is to block access to public lands for ATV riders and others involved in motorized recreation.
"Including these anti-access organizations in this coalition makes for an odd alliance at the very least," Morris said, "since the interests of two of the coalition partners are in eliminating ATVs, not making them safer."
Tim Buche, president of the Specialty Vehicle Industry Association, made the same observation when the coalition released its report.
"It should be noted this so-called ATV `safety' initiative is being spearheaded by environmental organizations, aggressively trying to eliminate all forms of motorized recreation for Americans on public lands," Buche said.
The report blasts the safety record of ATVs but ignores vital data. ATV critics have tried to make an improving safety record look like just the opposite.
"ATV opponents are dismissing the remarkable growth in ATV sales in recent years," Morris said. "Simply put, there's been a tremendous increase in the number of people riding ATVs, and on a per-rider basis, the sport is much safer today than it was a decade or more ago."
Morris noted that in 1988, the ATV industry entered into a consent decree with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission that the federal agency said would result in "far-reaching and comprehensive relief designed to reduce the risk of injury associated with ATV usage." That agreement included an end to the sale of three-wheeled ATVs, age restrictions for those operating ATVs, safety information on the vehicle as well as in the owner's manual, and an ATV safety public awareness campaign.
More importantly, though, it resulted in the creation of a nationwide rider-training program available free of charge to all new ATV buyers. And even though the consent decree expired in 1998, ATV manufacturers voluntarily continue to follow the agreement.
In 2004, the ATVA will continue to fight proposed legislation that is detrimental to ATVing, whether it's at the federal, state, or even township level.
Meanwhile, the ATVA, American Motorcyclist Association and other motorized-recreation groups will continue to support efforts to make ATV riding safer.
"The ATVA is a strong supporter of riders getting training, wearing proper riding gear and obeying all laws as part of a comprehensive safety effort," Morris said. "The ATVA also very strongly supports close adult supervision of children riding proper-sized ATVs.
"I invite groups concerned about ATV safety to work with the ATVA to take steps that improve safety," Morris said.
Buche also notes that the ATV industry is very concerned with safety.
"The ATV industry is working actively with the CPSC, user groups, dealers and all others interested in promoting ATV safety," Buche said. "The CPSC recently held field hearings in West Virginia and Alaska. What may have surprised the (Consumer Federation of America) was the enthusiastic support for ATVs expressed at these hearings and the skepticism that the CFA's proposed federal ban on ATV sales would have any real world effects."
To find out how to get involved in fighting attacks in your area or state, contact Terry Lee Cook in the ATVA/AMA Government Relations Department at (614) 856-1900, ext. 1288, or by e-mail at tcook@atvaonline.com.