Dear Mr. Torres:
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.
In your message, you asked about development of a mandatory safety standard for three-wheeled ATVs. The CPSC has not initiated development of a mandatory standard for three-wheeled ATVs because the CPSC does not believe that such a standard is feasible. Nor has Congress directed the agency to do so.
In 2006, the CPSC initiated a rulemaking proceeding that would ban the sale of three-wheeled ATVs. The Federal Register notice that describes the ban, and the CPSC’s reasons for proposing a ban and for not developing a safety standard for three-wheeled ATVs, can be found at
www.cpsc.gov/businfo/frnotices/fr06/066703.pdf, beginning on page 45914 of the notice (or “page 12 of 60” of the pdf document) and continuing to page 45915.
There are times when Congress has directed the Commission to develop a standard or to complete a rulemaking. This is not the case with three-wheeled ATVs. In August 2008, Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (“CPSIA”). Subsection (c) of Section 232 of this Act states:
Until a mandatory consumer product safety standard applicable to 3-wheeled all-terrain vehicles promulgated pursuant to this 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 section does not require the Commission to issue a safety standard for three-wheeled ATVs; rather, it states 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 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 information above is useful.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth W. Leland
Project Manager, ATVs
U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
eleland@cpsc.gov
301-504-7706