Consumer Group Seeks
Tougher ATV Rules

From Consumers Union:

Another group is calling for changes in the law, to prohibit the operation of All Terrain Vehicles (ATV) by children under 16.

Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, is petitioning the Consumer Product Safety Commission to take action. It follows a similar plea by a group of St. Louis neurosurgeons earlier this month.

"Self regulation by the ATV industry has led to one thing -- an increase in injuries and deaths," said Janell Mayo Duncan, senior counsel for Consumers Union. "Congress, the CPSC, and States need to take more comprehensive action to make all-terrain vehicle use safer. "Recreation should not be life-threatening," she added.

The group says ATV use killed an estimated 740 and seriously injured more than 125,000 people in 2003 alone. Nearly one-third of those were children under age 16. The statistics show an upward trend in ATV injuries and deaths since restrictions on manufacturers under a consent decree expired.

Consumers Union said the CPSC should ban the class of vehicles designed for children; ban three-wheeled as well as 2-person vehicles; evaluate the dynamics of the ATV crashes that are claiming so many lives; develop comprehensive, mandatory safety standards; and require the redesign ATVs to improve safety, particularly to prevent rollovers.

The consumer group also called on Congress to make funds available to the states for educational and training campaigns, as well as licensing and helmet requirements and enforcement.

It said states should ban ATV use on paved roads; implement educational and training campaigns; create and enforce licensing requirements; and require appropriate protective gear including helmets to operate an ATV.