theuglycamel
12-23-2010, 01:04 PM
About two months ago I read a few of the threads here regarding the regulatory safety standards for 3 wheeled atvs and I shot the CPSC an email to see if anything had changed (thread I was reading was almost 3 years old). Here's my email and the reply I just received this morning.
Dear Sir or Mam,
Upon request by several of my colleagues, I’m writing in regards to the Mandatory Safety Standards for three-wheeled ATV’s. We’ve been attempting to obtain this safety standard from the CPSC website with no luck and appears that it is not available. This seems to be someone’s oversight since the safety standard was a Congressional mandate to be adhered to before the Consent Decree was expired in 1998. Please inform me of where I might find this safety standard or forward any documentation you may have that proves the CPSC is exempt from producing this and from compliance of Congressional mandates. Thank you for your time.
Dear Mr. Wilkie:
Thank you for your inquiry about three-wheeled all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Please note that the comments in this response are those of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC” or “Commission”) staff, and they have not been reviewed or approved by, and may not necessarily reflect the views of, the Commission.
Under the 1988 consent decrees, ATV manufacturers agreed not to market three-wheeled ATVs and not to distribute or sell three-wheeled ATVs to their retail dealers, agents, or representatives who sell ATVs. When the consent decrees expired in 1998, the major manufacturers agreed through Letters of Undertaking (LOUs) with the Commission to continue not selling three-wheeled ATVs. (Copies of the consent decrees can be located on the CPSC website at www.cpsc.gov/cgi-bin/foia.aspx. Select “All Terrain Vehicles,” click “Find,” and on the resultant screen, see the last five items in the list, all dated 04/28/1988.)
In your message, you mentioned that “the safety standard was a Congressional mandate to be adhered to before the Consent Decree was expired in 1998.” I am not sure whether you are referring to a standard for three-wheeled or four-wheeled ATVs. The consent decrees did include statements that (1) administrative proceedings had been initiated by the CPSC for the purpose of developing standards for ATVs; (2) the ATV industry would attempt “in good faith” to reach agreement on a voluntary standard satisfactory to the Commission; and (3) “to the extent that three-wheeled ATVs meet mandatory standards promulgated by the Commission or voluntary standards satisfactory to the Commission . . . the marketing and sale of such vehicles shall be permitted.” An ATV standard was developed and published in 2001, for four-wheeled ATVs; it was ANSI / SVIA – 1, American National Standard for Four Wheel All-Terrain Vehicles - Equipment, Configuration, and Performance Requirements. (It was revised in 2007, and under direction of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (“CPSIA”), which was enacted in 2008, the standard was made mandatory by the CPSC, with an effective date of April 13, 2009.) As can be seen from the title, the standard is for four-wheeled ATVs only. No standard was developed for three-wheeled ATVs, and there was no congressional mandate to do so at the time the consent decrees were being established.
With respect to three- wheeled ATVs, section 232(c) of the CPSIA states:
Until a mandatory consumer product safety standard applicable to 3-wheeled all-terrain vehicles promulgated pursuant to the Act is
in effect, new 3-wheeled all terrain vehicles may not be imported into or distributed in commerce in the United States. Any violation
of this subsection shall be considered to be a violation of section 19(a)(1) of this Act and may also be enforced under section 17 of this Act.
This does not require the Commission to issue a safety standard; rather, it says that as long as there is no such standard, three-wheeled ATVs may not be imported into or distributed in the United States. (A copy of the CPSIA can be found at www.cpsc.gov/cpsia.pdf).
The Commission does not believe that it is feasible to develop such a standard for three-wheeled ATVs; a discussion about this can be found in an August 2006 Federal Register notice titled, “Standards for All Terrain Vehicles and Ban of Three-Wheeled All Terrain Vehicles: Proposed Rule.” See www.cpsc.gov.businfo/frnotices/fr06/066703.pdf. The relevant discussion begins on page 45914 (“page 12 of 60” of the pdf document) and continues to page 45915. For the reasons discussed there, the Commission is not working on such a standard, and the moratorium in the CPSIA continues to apply.
Again, thank you for your inquiry. I hope that the above information is useful.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth W. Leland
Project Manager, ATVs
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
eleland@cpsc.gov
301-504-7706
Dear Sir or Mam,
Upon request by several of my colleagues, I’m writing in regards to the Mandatory Safety Standards for three-wheeled ATV’s. We’ve been attempting to obtain this safety standard from the CPSC website with no luck and appears that it is not available. This seems to be someone’s oversight since the safety standard was a Congressional mandate to be adhered to before the Consent Decree was expired in 1998. Please inform me of where I might find this safety standard or forward any documentation you may have that proves the CPSC is exempt from producing this and from compliance of Congressional mandates. Thank you for your time.
Dear Mr. Wilkie:
Thank you for your inquiry about three-wheeled all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Please note that the comments in this response are those of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC” or “Commission”) staff, and they have not been reviewed or approved by, and may not necessarily reflect the views of, the Commission.
Under the 1988 consent decrees, ATV manufacturers agreed not to market three-wheeled ATVs and not to distribute or sell three-wheeled ATVs to their retail dealers, agents, or representatives who sell ATVs. When the consent decrees expired in 1998, the major manufacturers agreed through Letters of Undertaking (LOUs) with the Commission to continue not selling three-wheeled ATVs. (Copies of the consent decrees can be located on the CPSC website at www.cpsc.gov/cgi-bin/foia.aspx. Select “All Terrain Vehicles,” click “Find,” and on the resultant screen, see the last five items in the list, all dated 04/28/1988.)
In your message, you mentioned that “the safety standard was a Congressional mandate to be adhered to before the Consent Decree was expired in 1998.” I am not sure whether you are referring to a standard for three-wheeled or four-wheeled ATVs. The consent decrees did include statements that (1) administrative proceedings had been initiated by the CPSC for the purpose of developing standards for ATVs; (2) the ATV industry would attempt “in good faith” to reach agreement on a voluntary standard satisfactory to the Commission; and (3) “to the extent that three-wheeled ATVs meet mandatory standards promulgated by the Commission or voluntary standards satisfactory to the Commission . . . the marketing and sale of such vehicles shall be permitted.” An ATV standard was developed and published in 2001, for four-wheeled ATVs; it was ANSI / SVIA – 1, American National Standard for Four Wheel All-Terrain Vehicles - Equipment, Configuration, and Performance Requirements. (It was revised in 2007, and under direction of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (“CPSIA”), which was enacted in 2008, the standard was made mandatory by the CPSC, with an effective date of April 13, 2009.) As can be seen from the title, the standard is for four-wheeled ATVs only. No standard was developed for three-wheeled ATVs, and there was no congressional mandate to do so at the time the consent decrees were being established.
With respect to three- wheeled ATVs, section 232(c) of the CPSIA states:
Until a mandatory consumer product safety standard applicable to 3-wheeled all-terrain vehicles promulgated pursuant to the Act is
in effect, new 3-wheeled all terrain vehicles may not be imported into or distributed in commerce in the United States. Any violation
of this subsection shall be considered to be a violation of section 19(a)(1) of this Act and may also be enforced under section 17 of this Act.
This does not require the Commission to issue a safety standard; rather, it says that as long as there is no such standard, three-wheeled ATVs may not be imported into or distributed in the United States. (A copy of the CPSIA can be found at www.cpsc.gov/cpsia.pdf).
The Commission does not believe that it is feasible to develop such a standard for three-wheeled ATVs; a discussion about this can be found in an August 2006 Federal Register notice titled, “Standards for All Terrain Vehicles and Ban of Three-Wheeled All Terrain Vehicles: Proposed Rule.” See www.cpsc.gov.businfo/frnotices/fr06/066703.pdf. The relevant discussion begins on page 45914 (“page 12 of 60” of the pdf document) and continues to page 45915. For the reasons discussed there, the Commission is not working on such a standard, and the moratorium in the CPSIA continues to apply.
Again, thank you for your inquiry. I hope that the above information is useful.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth W. Leland
Project Manager, ATVs
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
eleland@cpsc.gov
301-504-7706