CPSC Proposes Rule to Adopt 2010 Version of ATV Standard
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a proposed rule that would amend CPSC's mandatory standard for all-terrain vehicles, which is currently the 2007 "ANSI Standard for Four-Wheel All-Terrain Vehicles Equipment Configuration and Performance Requirements," developed by the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (ANSI/SVIA 1-2007). The proposed rule would update CPSC's mandatory ATV standard, which covers both adult and youth versions of ATVs, to reference the 2010, not the 2007, version of the ANSI/SVIA standard.
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Comments are due on October 11, 2011.
(The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) directed CPSC to make the ANSI/SVIA 1-2007 a mandatory consumer product safety and to issue rulemakings to adopt updates by ANSI/SVI that CPSC determines are reasonably related to the safe performance of ATVs. Among other things, the current standard has requirements on the vehicle’s equipment and configuration, maximum speed capability, speed capability of youth ATVs, service and parking brakes, pitch stability, electromagnetic compatibility, and sound level limits. It also has definitions and requirements for new categories of single-rider ATVs (category Y-10 and category T)1.
Would Take Effect 30 Days after Final Rule, as Changes Are Minor
CPSC proposes that the amendment updating the ANSI/SVIA standard take effect 30 days after publication of a final rule. This is because the differences between the 2007 and 2010 version are relatively minor and largely editorial; the 2010 version of the standard is already in effect as a voluntary standard; and CPSC expects that very few manufacturers would need to make any modifications to meet a mandatory standard that references the 2010 version.
Substantive Changes Include Scope Change, Test Requirements, Labeling
CPSC considers the only substantive changes of ANSI/SVI 1-2010 to be:
- elimination from the scope section, a provision calling for expiration of the definition and requirements for the Y--12+ youth ATV age category on July 28, 2011;
- change in how to calculate the speed for the braking test of youth ATVs;
- change in the force applied to passenger handholds during testing;
- addition of a requirement that youth ATVs shall not have a power take-off mechanism;
- addition of a requirement that youth ATVs shall not have a foldable, removable, or retractable structure in the ATV foot environment;
- additional specificity concerning the location and method of operation of the brake control;
- tightening the parking brake performance requirement by requiring the transmission to be in “neutral” during testing, rather than in “neutral” or “park”; and
- the requirement that tire pressure information be on the label, when the previous requirement could be interpreted to allow tire pressure information to be on the label, or in the owner’s manual, or on the tires.
(CPSC states that it was initially concerned that two changes to the ANSI/SVIA standard might reduce safety. These two changes were: (1) how the speed for the braking test of youth ATVs is calculated, and (2) the force applied to passenger handholds during testing. However,, industry subsequently addressed one issue and is not opposed to addressing the second.)
1The category Y-10 ATV is a youth model intended for use by children age 10 and older. The category "T" ATV is a transitional ATV intended for recreational use by an operator age 14 or older under adult supervision or by an operator age 16 and older.
(See ITT’s Online Archives or 02/02/11 and 02/01/11 news, 11020232 and 11020141, for BP summaries of CPSC testing and certification stays of enforcement for youth ATVs related to lead content and other requirements.)
CPSC contact - Elizabeth Leland (301) 504-7706; eleland@cpsc.gov
(FR Pub 07/25/11)