Powersports Industry Harmed by CPSIA

The powersports industry is caught in the middle of a fight over words between Congress and the Consumer Product Safety Commission about the lead standards in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.  Congress voted the act into legislation last summer and the new lead content limits were implemented February 10th.  Many critics of the legislation believe that a wide range of products have unintentionally been swept up in this legislation, which resulted in a ban of many all-terrain vehicles and off-highway motorcycles designed for youth.

These products present no health risk to children.

In fact, in the scientific evidence submitted, a toxicology expert estimated that any potential lead intake resulting from kids’ exposure to motorcycles and ATVs would be substantially less than the typical daily intakes of lead from food and water.

There is no practical reason for this industry and its customers to be harmed by an unintended effect of this law.  The consequences of this ban are serious.  With these ATVs unavailable to families, we may see more kids on ATVs designed for adults.  We know this leads to crashes.  The CPSC, the ATV industry, consumer groups, safety advocates and parents all agree that it’s critical to keep riders under the age of 16 off of adult-sized ATVs.

Each day this ban continues compounds the severe hardship on families and businesses. It all adds up to potential massive losses for dealers, manufacturers, retailers and others – up to $1 billion in retail economic value annually.  The powersports industry, on behalf of businesses and families across the country who have written hundreds of thousands of letters to Congress and CPSC, continues to urge the CPSC to grant the industry’s request for exclusions based on the evidence presented.

If CPSC believes its hands are tied because of the way the legislation was written, we ask Congress to restore common sense and support two new bills – S. 608 and H.R. 1587 – that would overturn the ban which brought the sales of off-highway motorcycles and ATVs designed for kids 12 and under to an abrupt halt on February 10, 2009.

Sincerely,
Paul Vitrano