Commission sets ATV hearing in West Virginia June 5.Reports that deaths and injuries related to All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) are rising despite government and industry safety efforts have prompted CPSC CPSC Consumer Product Safety Commission (US) CPSC Computer Science (course) CPSC Canadian Plastics Sector Council (Ottawa, ON, Canada) CPSC Chemical Processing Safety Committee to plan a series of regional hearings on the matter. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. CPSC Chairman Hal Stratton Hal Stratton is a former chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. He was appointed in 2002 by President George W. Bush. Stratton resigned as chair and commissioner in July 2006, three months before his term officially expired. , "West Virginia West Virginia, E central state of the United States. It is bordered by Pennsylvania and Maryland (N), Virginia (E and S), and Kentucky and, across the Ohio R., Ohio (W). Facts and Figures Area, 24,181 sq mi (62,629 sq km). Pop. and Pennsylvania ranked in the top six states for ATV-related deaths between 1982 and 2001." (1) The first hearing is being held in Morgantown, W. Va. Interested persons from Maryland, Ohio and Pennsylvania are also invited to participate. The hearing is on June 5, 2003, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center, West Virginia University West Virginia University, mainly at Morgantown; coeducational; land-grant and state supported; est. and opened 1867 as an agricultural college, renamed 1868. Health Sciences Campus in Morgantown. CPSC is accepting requests to make oral presentations at the hearing. The text of the presentation must be submitted to the CPSC, Office of the Secretary, no later than May 29, 2003. In the 1980's The Commission tried a similar tactic when it held regional hearings on ATV (1) (Advanced TV) An early name for the digital TV standard proposed by the Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Service (ACATS). See ACATS. See also ATV Forum. (2) (Analog TV) Refers to the NTSC, PAL and SECAM analog TV standads. safety throughout the country. After several years of study and investigation, the Commission sued ATV manufacturers and distributors under Section 12 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA CPSA n abbr (BRIT) (= Civil and Public Services Association) → sindicato de funcionarios CPSA n abbr (Brit) (= Civil and Public Services Association) → ). (2) The parties settled the lawsuit lawsuit: see procedure; tort. in 1988 by signing a consent decree A settlement of a lawsuit or criminal case in which a person or company agrees to take specific actions without admitting fault or guilt for the situation that led to the lawsuit. A consent decree is a settlement that is contained in a court order. , which addressed the safety hazards of both three-wheeled and four-wheeled ATVS. The consent decrees expired in 1998, but CPSC continued to monitor the safety of ATVs and gather information related to injuries and deaths. One of the provisions of the consent decree was an agreement not to sell adult-size ATVs for children. In 2002, CPSC was petitioned by consumer organizations to ban the sale of adult-size 4-wheel ATVs for use by children under age 16. CPSC had previously rejected this option when crafting the consent decree. The agency participated in a joint industry-government study on ATVs last year, which compared the rates of injuries by riders of ATVS from 1997-2001. The report (3), which showed a significant increase in injury rates, was disappointing both to ATV enthusiasts and ATV distributors, but ATV rider groups say that they continue to promote training in safer riding techniques as an answer to the problem. ATV-related injuries increased 104 percent in the five-year period from 1997-2001, according to CPSC. At the same time, the number of ATV drivers increased by 36 percent, and the number of driving hours increased by 50 percent. The actual number of ATVs in use increased by 40 percent. CPSC says that none of these statistics can explain the steep climb in the injury rate. Chairman Stratton said that a field hearing, such as the one in West Virginia, "gives local people a voice and an opportunity to participate when they otherwise might not have been able if we limited our hearings to Washington, D.C." (4) It seems doubtful that the federal government will find answers to the problem in any further technical studies. The Monitor will follow the West Virginia hearing with great interest and looks forward to more such hearings throughout the country. (1) "CPSC To Hold Regional ATV Safety Hearing in West Virginia; ATV Injuries Double in Five-Year Period, Deaths Continue to Climb," April 23, 2003, News Release from the Office of Information and Public Affairs Those public information, command information, and community relations activities directed toward both the external and internal publics with interest in the Department of Defense. Also called PA. See also command information; community relations; public information. , U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. (2) Section 12 is the "Imminent Hazard" section of the Act. (3) The report appears on CPSC's web site at http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia03/os/atvex2001.pdf (4) CPSC news release, Op. cit. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion