New Report Challenges Industry’s Dangerous Response to ATV Safety Crisis
For immediate release
Rachel Weintraub, Consumer Federation of America, 202-387-6121
Scott Kovarovics, Natural Trails and Waters Coalition, 202-429-2696
Sean Smith, Bluewater Network, 415-544-0790 x. 19
Wednesday, August 20, 2003
Consumer Groups, Conservation Advocates, and Doctors Call on CPSC to End Voluntary Approach to Safety
Washington, DC - A report issued today demonstrates that the
all-terrain vehicle (ATV) industry is failing to reduce injuries or
better protect children under 16 from dangerous adult-size ATVs. This
report, All-Terrain Vehicle Safety Crisis: America's Children STILL at Risk,
also directly challenges the industry's proposal to abolish minimum age
limits and put some children on bigger, faster ATVs made specifically
for adults. Consumer and conservation advocates and doctors join
together once again to call on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC) to issue national safety standards to protect
children.
"This report documents that industry's approach to safety has led to
more injuries, more deaths and bigger and more powerful ATVs on the
market," stated Rachel Weintraub, Assistant General Counsel for
Consumer Federation of America and co-author of the report. "CPSC must
act now by issuing a rule to protect all consumers, especially
children, from what continues to be a hidden epidemic."
New Data on People Injured on ATVs
The ATV industry's voluntary approach to safety relies upon
recommendations against the sale of adult-size ATVs (defined by
industry and CPSC as ATVs with engines larger than 90 cc) for use by
children under 16, warning labels and offers of training to purchasers
of new ATVs. New analysis of data on ATV injuries collected by CPSC
between 1997 and 2001 documents that this voluntary approach is failing
in every major area:
- Serious injuries requiring emergency room treatment more than doubled to nearly 112,000;
- Injuries increased across every driver age group, up nearly 76 percent for children 12 to 15, 233 percent for children younger than 6, and more than 500 percent for drivers 65 and older;
- In 2001, at least 97 percent of children under 16 were injured by ATVs larger than recommended for their age up from 95 percent in 1997;
- Injuries caused by the biggest ATVs - those with engines larger than 400 cc - skyrocketed by 567 percent, from fewer than 4,000 to more than 24,000. The number of these ATVs in use during this period increased by less than half as much;
- In 2001, approximately 42 percent of all injured drivers reported that their ATV did not have warning labels or they do not know if it did; and
- CPSC found that only 7 percent of the 16 million ATV drivers received formal safety training at any point since they began riding.
(See full report for related graphs)
Industry Proposes Putting Children on Bigger, Faster ATVs
As the safety crisis continues, the ATV industry attempts to minimize
the problem and shift responsibility to parents, victims and land
managers. On the crucial issue of protecting children under 16 from the
threats posed by adult-size ATVs, the industry proposes to abolish age
limits and put some children on bigger, faster ATVs made specifically
for adults. This was the message from dealers, state ATV associations
and other industry representatives when CPSC convened a hearing on ATV
safety in June. For example, the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania
Off-Highway Vehicle Association said, "establishing machine size limits
based upon a child's age is inadequate and misguided." He went on to
explain how his organization is working to change the State's safety
program to allow some children to operate adult-size ATVs.
At the same hearing, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the
Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA), which represents every
major ATV manufacturer, rejected intervention by CPSC. Instead, he
touted the companies' model state legislation that would bar any child
under 16 from riding an adult-size ATV on public land. Neither he nor
any other representative of SVIA at the hearing challenged their
colleagues' calls to end age recommendations.
"The ATV manufacturers can not have it both ways," said Scott
Kovarovics, Director of the Natural Trails and Waters Coalition and
co-author of the report. "They can't claim to continue to support age
limits for children under 16 while their surrogates criticize and work
to abolish them at the state level. Is this industry committed to the
principles in its model bill or it is another device to deflect
responsibility for this safety crisis?"
Doctors and surgeons who treat children injured by ATVs strongly
challenge the industry's suggestion that age limits should be
eliminated.
"Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh has seen the number of kids injured
in ATV accidents more than triple in the last five years," said Dr.
Jeffrey Upperman, trauma surgeon at Children's. "The types of injuries
we see from ATV accidents are so serious, including fractures, internal
injuries and head trauma, because in many cases the machines are too
big and too fast for small riders to control. We need to keep young
children off these potentially dangerous vehicles in the first place."
"When compared to sport- and bicycle-related injuries treated at
Cincinnati Children's Hospital, the injuries sustained from ATV crashes
are much more severe, resulting in more admissions to the intensive
care unit and more operative procedures," said Dr. Rebeccah Brown,
Assistant Director of Trauma Services. "Just because a child has the
physique to fit comfortably on an adult-sized ATV does not mean that he
has the maturity and judgement to handle it safely," stated Dr. Brown.
Will CPSC Act to Protect Children?
Last August, the Consumer Federation of America, American Academy of
Pediatrics and seven other medical and conservation groups submitted a
formal petition to CPSC requesting that it issue a national rule
barring the sale of adult-size ATVs for use by children under age 16.
In response, the Commission requested public comment last fall and held
a field hearing on ATV safety in Morgantown, WV in June. In addition,
CPSC Chairman Hal Stratton independently held several other public
meetings on this issue in Alaska in July.
"A national safety standard issued by CPSC would have many benefits,"
stated Weintraub. "It would provide protection for every child and send
a powerful message to parents about how dangerous large ATVs are for
children."
"It is time for CPSC to take the driver's seat on this issue and
protect the American people from these dangerous machines," said Sean
Smith, Public Lands Director for Bluewater Network.
Some parents who have lost their children in ATV crashes believe a
clear statement from CPSC could help other parents avoid their
heartbreak. Susan and Tom Rabe lost their 10-year-old son in 2002 when
the adult-size ATV he was driving rolled over on him. They are
committed to helping other parents avoid their tragedy.
"Adult-size four-wheelers should not be ridden by kids under any
circumstances," the Rabes said. "A law may be necessary to send that
message. We use laws to protect our children in many ways. If someone
had taken action to pass a law and work to educate consumers about ATV
dangers, we would have been celebrating Kyle's 12th birthday with him
this past weekend."
Consumer Federation of America is a non-profit association of 300
consumer groups, with a combined membership of more than 50 million
people. CFA was founded in 1968 to advance the consumers' interest
through advocacy and education. www.consumerfed.org
The Natural Trails and Waters Coalition includes more than 100
conservation, recreation and other groups working to protect and
restore all public lands and waters from the damage caused by
snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes, jet skis and all other
off-road vehicles. www.naturaltrails.org
Bluewater Network is a national organization aggressively confronting
the root causes of climate change and fighting environmental damage
from the shipping, oil, and motorized recreation industries. www.bluewaternetwork.org
The report can be found at any of the web sites listed above.
Click here to read the report.