Take action now: Help change the law to exclude youth-model motorcycles and ATVs

Courtesy of American Motorcyclist Association

Last update: April 26, 2010
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has voted to stay enforcement of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) that currently bans the sale of youth-model motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). The stay, which extends through May 1, 2011, follows a unanimous vote by Acting Chairwoman Nancy Nord and Commissioner Thomas Moore.
While we applaud the CPSC commissioners' vote to stay enforcement of the law, this does not solve the real issue, which is the law itself. Despite the stay, it is unclear whether state attorneys general will also decline to enforce the CPSIA. The sale of youth-model motorcycles and ATVs is still technically illegal. Even though a stay means that dealers would not be subject to fines or penalties imposed by the CPSC, state attorneys general would still be able to prosecute violators if they chose to do so. Youth-model motorcycles and ATVs should be exempt from the law, and Congress needs to act to make that happen.
Below are some quick links for ways you can help to exclude youth-model motorcycles and ATVs from the CPSIA or for more information about the issue:

• Contact your representatives in Congress by using the Take Action button in the Issues & Legislation section of this website.
• Act now to help kids keep access to youth-model dirtbikes and ATVs: AMA urges riders to contact elected officials by clicking here. Read the AMA’s letter to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees in support of Rep. Denny Rehberg’s amendment to prohibit the use of funds to implement and/or enforce the CPSIA.
• Section 218 allows state attorneys general authority to enforce certain federal product safety laws. To view a brief summary of Section 218, please click here.
• Click here to urge your State Attorney General to follow the lead of the CPSC regarding stay of enforcement.
• Individuals can sign up for the AMA/ATVA Government Relations Department's Action E-list so that they can be notified by e-mail when their support is needed to make a difference on important issues.
• Those interested in circulating a petition to change the CPSIA should contact our grassroots team at grassroots@ama-cycle.org.
• For more historical information, please click here to see a video of AMA’s President Rob Dingman.
• Read the AMA's comments to the CPSC here.
• Read the U.S. House of Representatives Bipartisan letter to the CPSC here.
• Read the U.S. Senate Bipartisan letter to the CPSC here. Click here to read the CPSC's response to the Senate letter.
• To read the stay of enforcement from the CPSC, please click here.
• For an abridged version of the stay of enforcement, click here.
• The CPSC issued its final rule pertaining to the lead content limits on certain materials or products of the CPSIA. To read the final rule, click here.
• Rep. Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (26-TX) sends letter to Chairmen Henry Waxman and Bobby Rush requesting a hearing on the problems in implementing the CPSIA. To read the letter, click here.
• Read the AMA’s letter to the National Association of Attorneys General and its response.
• On May 14, 2009, Acting Chairman Nord testified before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Small Business. Read her testimony here.
• Sean Hilbert of Cobra Motorcycles submitted a statement for the May 14 hearing. To read his statement, please click here.
• For more details about the bill (H.R. 1587) to exclude OHVs from the CPSIA, click here.
• To view the CPSC report to Congress regarding the CPSIA, please click here.
• Language regarding the CPSIA as passed in H.R. 3288, the Consolidated Appropriations Act. To view the language, please click here.
• To view testimony from Chairman Inez Tenenbaum and Commissioner Nancy Nord of the Consumer Product Safety Commission before the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government of the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, please click here for Chairman Tenenbaum’s testimony and click here for Commissioner Nord’s testimony.
• Click here to download a PDF version of the CPSIA.
• Click here to download a PDF version of the Consumer Product Safety Enhancement Act.

Read the following AMA press releases on this issue:

• Congressional hearing may impact ban on selling off-highway vehicles for kids
• Appropriations bill debate creates opportunity to influence lead-related ban of youth off-highway vehicles
• AMA urges support for kids' access to youth-model off-highway vehicles
• Congressional hearing set for Thursday to get information on the law that bans the sale of dirtbikes and ATVs for kids
• AMA urges state attorneys general to join stay of enforcement of lead law
• The vote is in: CPSC decides to stay enforcement of law banning youth-model motorcycles and ATVs
• Consumer Product Safety Commission set to vote by Friday to postpone enforcement of lead law provisions for youth-model motorcycles and ATVs
• Motorcycle and ATV waiver from lead law sought from Consumer Product Safety Commission
• CPSC poised to delay enforcement of law that bans sale of youth-model motorcycles and ATVs
• Video: Amend the CPSIA rally
• Consumer Product Safety Commission poised to vote on excluding youth OHVs from lead law
• Congress urges U.S. safety panel to exclude youth-model motorcycles and ATVs from anti-lead law
• Video: CBS station WHPTV interviews AMA members about lead law
• One of two CPSC commissioners wants to delay enforcement of ban on sale of youth-model OHVs
• CPSC staff recommends against exempting kid's dirt bikes and ATVs from strict anti-lead law
• From the mouths of kids: Riders rally in Washington, D.C., against lead ban for motorcycles
• AMA urges action on bipartisan Congressional letters to end the ban on the sale of youth-model motorcycles and ATVs
• AMA Hall of Famer Malcolm Smith defies federal law banning sale of youth motorcycles and ATVs
• Young motorcyclists and ATV riders join state lawmakers to seek lead-law exemption

Read these clips from U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) about the CPSIA:

• Rehberg Legislation Opens Trails for Young ATV Enthusiasts
• Herseth Sandlin, Rehberg Press Products Safety Commission for Youth ATV & Motorcycles Exemption
• Rehberg Notes Importance of Legislative Solution to Youth ATV/Motorcycle Ban
• Rehberg Smoothes Path for Off-Road Enthusiasts & Preserves Jobs
• Denny Rehberg Fights for Montana Off-Road Vehicles (Video)
• Rehberg's Amendment Protects Young ATV Enthusiasts (Video)

CPSIA Background
The CPSIA took effect in February 2009 and it immediately stopped the sale of dirt bikes and ATVs designed for children 12 and under. The law was meant to protect children from dangerous levels of lead in toys, but it was written so broadly that it also impacted children's books, clothes, motorcycles and ATVs.



Under the CPSIA, all youth products containing lead must have less than 600 parts per million by weight. The CPSC has interpreted the law to apply to various components of youth-model motorcycles and ATVs, including the engine, brakes, suspension, battery and other mechanical parts. Even though the lead levels in these parts are small, they are still above the minimum threshold.



To ensure continued availability and access to youth-model motorcycles and ATVs, the Motorcycle Industry Council, Specialty Vehicle Industry Association, the AMA, ATVA and others asked the CPSC to consider petitions submitted to exclude youth-model motorcycles and ATVs from the final rule governing the law.



The CPSC staff admits that the risk of exposure to lead from youth-model motorcycles and ATVs is relatively low. But the staff told the commissioners that the law is written so strictly that no lead absorption into the body is allowed. As a result, they say, motorcycles and ATVs shouldn't be exempt from the law.


In April, the two-member CPSC rejected an industry request to exempt youth-model off-road motorcycles and ATVs from the CPSIA because the agency did not believe that it had the authority to exclude these vehicles from the lead-content limits imposed by Congress. However, the commissioners signaled their desire to issue a stay to give Congress the opportunity to change the law so that youth-model motorcycles and ATVs can be legally sold. The commissioners also expressed hope that manufacturers will use the delay to make changes to their products to make them meet the requirements of the new law.



"...ATVs and motorized bikes appropriately sized for children 12 and younger can again be available and the commission will not seek penalties for violation of Section 101 and related provisions of the (law) against those who sell them," said Acting CPSC Chairman Nancy Nord on April 3. "I hope that the state attorneys general will follow the lead of the agency on this matter.



"All stakeholders -- industry, users, Congress and the commission -- need to come together to fix the statutory problems that have become so apparent, in a common sense approach that does not unnecessarily burden those regulated, yet provides safety for American families," she said.
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MIC: Massive grassroots effort needed to change CPSIA

Courtesy of Motorcycle Industry Council
IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 19, 2010 – The Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) supports the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recommendation to Congress to give the agency more flexibility to grant exclusions from the lead content limit to address certain products.  The CPSC requested this flexibility in its January 15 report to Congress containing recommendations to improve the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).
“We are encouraged that the consensus report of all five Commissioners specifically mentions ATVs and dirtbikes, recognizing the dangers to riders caused by the current ban on youth motorcycles and ATVs,” said MIC general counsel, Paul Vitrano.
In addition to the consensus report, MIC is encouraged that CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum also called on Congress to create a new “functional purpose” exclusion to the lead content limits.  This amendment would permit the Commission to grant exclusions for youth ATVs and motorcycles since lead in many accessible components is necessary for their functional purpose, contact with those components is infrequent and the elimination of lead is impracticable or impossible based on available scientific or technical information.
“It is clear that the CPSC strongly believes that the ban on youth model ATVs and motorcycles needs to end,” Vitrano also said.  “MIC calls on Congress to draft legislation as soon as possible to either grant a categorical exemption for these products, as provided by H.R. 1587, a pending bill with 55 bi-partisan co-sponsors, or to give the CPSC the flexibility to do so.”
In a Jan. 12 letter, the MIC thanked the CPSC for its efforts to promote youth safety by implementing a temporary stay to make some youth vehicles available despite the ban.  MIC also suggested three ways to completely or substantially exclude or exempt youth off-highway motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles from those provisions:

1. a “functional purpose” amendment
2. a categorical exemption, such as would be provided by H.R. 1587
3. a change in the definition of “accessibility” for powersports products

Vitrano said it will again be critical for enthusiasts and industry to mount a massive grassroots effort targeting Congress to advocate for one of these amendments to the CPSIA.  In the coming days, MIC will be launching advocacy campaigns through www.stopthebannow.com .
The MIC letter can be read at this link: http://tiny.cc/8iJ3x