3-all-terrain vehicles Only one person at a time should ride an ATV. Adding a passenger to the ATV increases the propensity of the vehicle to tip or turn over, because the passenger, to a significant extent, increases the high center of gravity. In almost a third of ATV accidents (31 percent), more than one person was riding the vehicle. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons urges its members to alert their patients to the dangers of ATVs. Although these vehicles may give the appearance of being safe, stable recreational vehicles, they have been demonstrated to be otherwise, both by analysis of their physical properties and by alarming and increasing statistics reporting injuries and deaths to riders of ATVs. Orthopaedic surgeons are urged to encourage parents to protect their children by choosing other recreational activities that are more appropriate for children than the operation of motorized vehicles. October, 1987 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In December, 1987, the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) created a Task Force to study the hazards of all terrain vehicle (ATV) use and to recommend a course of action to the Attorneys General This report summarizes the work of the Task Force to date, and recommends actions to be taken in the immediate future. In short, the Task Force has found that ATVs are imminently and unreasonably hazardous. The Task Force has also concluded that steps taken thus far by the federal government are inadequate, and that further action is needed. 2 Ban on current promotion and sale of ATVs for use by children; 6. Adequate warnings to potential riders of the hazards of ATVs, 7. The safety verification form proposed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC); This report is not all-inclusive. Silence on any particular issue does not necessarily mean that it is not of concern to the Task Force. INTRODUCTION On December 29, 1987, Missouri Attorney General William L. Webster, Chair of the NAAG Consumer Protection Committee, appointed this Task Force to study ATVs and the hazards posed by them and to recommend a course of action to the Attorneys General. Tennessee Attorney General W. J. Michael Cody is chair of the Task Force. The other Task Force members are: California Attorney General Connecticut Attorney General Illinois Attorney General Massachusetts Attorney General Michigan Attorney General Minnesota Attorney General Missouri Attorney General New York Attorney General Texas Attorney General Wisconsin Attorney General Don J. Hanaway Under our federal system of government, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has primary responsibility to protect the citizens of all states from dangerous and hazardous products. The Task Force believes that the CPSC has not fully met its obligation in the case of ATVs. While the CPSC complaint against the industry acknowledges that ATVs are imminently and unreasonably hazardous, the Preliminary Consent Decree of December 30, 1987 (Decree) has several deficiencies which, if left uncorrected, will result in death and injury which could otherwise be prevented The Task Force has been unable to discover any other hazardous consumer product sold which has been responsible for more deaths and injuries. In the past five years alone, over 900 people have died, and 330,000 people have been injured in ATV-related accidents Nearly half of those killed and injured have been children. Stronger action than is proposed in the Decree has been taken by the federal government following far fewer deaths associated with the use of other consumer products Although the CPSC has the primary duty for insuring the safety of consumer products, Attorneys General must also act when their citizens are victimized. As the chief legal officers of the states, the Attorneys General have the responsibility of enforcing state consumer protection laws This Task Force has studied the ATV issue in depth. The recommendations made in this report present our views on how effective action might be taken at the federal and state levels. Our chief concerns center on the importance of: 1) permanently banning threewheeled and child-sized ATVs; 2) prohibiting the use of ATVs by children under 16 years of age; 3) instituting a consumer refund program for all ATVs, and 4) developing performance standards. We urge your immediate consideration of the recommendations that follow. 1. BAN ON THREE-WHEELED ATVs The Task Force finds that current three-wheeled ATVs have design defects which render them imminently and unreasonably hazardous consumer products. Accordingly, the Task Force recommends an immediate ban on the sale of all three-wheeled ATVs ATV design defects include lack of an adequate suspension system, lack of an effective rear-wheel differential suitable for variable terrain, a high center of gravity in relation to the dimensions of the vehicle, and tires which contribute to machine tipping. This combination of faulty design characteristics produces steering and balance problems which cause ATV riders to lose control of the vehicle. The most significant handling and control problems occur in turns and on slopes. In turning an ATV, the rider must shift his or her body weight to the outside of the turn, while at the same time leaning into the turn. In moving up a slope, the rider must keep his or her body weight forward over the ATV. During either a turn or a climb, a slight change in terrain, including a bump or a hole, can cause the ATV to flip over or roll over before the rider has an opportunity to respond and regain control |