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WASHINGTON Today marks the expiration of a ten year old federal consent decree with all six all-terrain vehicle (ATV) manufacturers, Consumers Union said new government data shows the decree has not worked well enough and called on Congress to provide incentives for states to ban ATVs for use by children under 16.
"The Consumer Product Safety Commission's limited resources constrain its ability regulate ATVs effectively," said Dr. David Pittle, Technical Director and Vice President of Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine. "The only effective response would be a Congressional inquiry into the many dangers these vehicles pose, with an eye toward banning their sale and use by children under 16. Children under 16 have no more business driving an ATV than they have driving an automobile."
A Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) review of the impact of the ten year consent decree released yesterday shows a startling number of deaths and injuries linked to ATV use, many involving children. The study, "ATV Exposure, Injury, Death and Risk Studies," includes a special injury survey which suggests that injuries to children under sixteen may be as high as 47 percent of all injuries. This rate is comparable to the percent of injury reported in 1985, prior to the consent decree being implemented. The new study also shows that 95 percent of the children injured were driving vehicles larger than those recommended for their age.
Because of several unique design characteristics, ATVs can veer out of control without warning, hurling rider and machines up to 50 mph helter-skelter into unforgiving terrain, full of rocks, bumps and tree stumps.
"Since the 1988 consent decree on ATVs was signed, an estimated 2,040 users have died and an estimated 637,000 people were injured seriously enough using these machines to require emergency room treatment. At least one third of those children under 16," said Dr. Pittle. "These products were designed for fun, but the price for many has been too high, especially for young children."
The 1988 decree, which substituted for formal agency rule-making by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, required that large warning labels be placed on ATVs by manufacturers cautioning consumers about the hazards of sharp turns and advising against use by children under 16 years. Dealers were also required to offer training incentives for first time buyers and manufacturers were required to monitor and prevent sale of larger ATVs for use by children under 16. In addition, the manufacturers of ATVs voluntarily agreed to stop production of the more dangerous 3-wheel vehicle. The CPSC is expected to extend many of the provisions in the current consent decree.
"There is no question that without the consent decree we would be much worse off," said Pittle. The overall number of ATVs in use has doubled from 1985, when they numbered1,942,000 to 1997, with 3,660,000 in use. Over that time, the number of injuries has dropped by 50 percent. According to Pittle, "The consent decree was most effective in its early years, bringing injuries and deaths down significantly. Unfortunately, in the past four years, the consent decree hasn't made a further dent in the numbers of injuries and deaths, which have remained constant each year over that period."
The effectiveness of certain aspects of the consent decree are called into the question by the report. For example, though manufacturers agreed under the consent decree not to sell the larger ATVs to consumers for use by children under 16, the CPSC report shows that 95 percent of the injuries to children take place when they are riding the larger vehicles. The report also indicates that only 11 percent of ATV drivers have ever participated in a training program, despite the ATV driver training incentives required under the decree.
Furthermore, the new CPSC review shows at least 20 percent of ATVs in use today are the most dangerous kind: three-wheelers, whose manufacture was banned under the consent decree of 1988. At that time, manufacturers predicted that the vehicles would have only a seven year life. Instead, ten years later, one-fifth of all ATVs in use today are three wheelers.
"Amid all of the claims of fun, these machines have caused paraplegia, permanent brain injuries and other untold tragedies. With injuries in 1997 numbering 54,500, a new strategy is needed to reduce the dangers of ATVs to consumers," said Sally Greenberg, Senior Product Safety Counsel for CU's Washington office.
Among the manufacturers of ATVs are Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasawki, Honda, and Polaris.
NOTE: State by state data on deaths associated with ATV use is available upon request.
