CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION ' S RESPONSE TO HAZARDS OF ALL - TERRAIN VE HICLES ( ATV ' S )

TUESDAY , MAY 21 , 1985

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ,

COMMERCE , CONSUMER , AND

MONETARY AFFAIRS SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS ,

Washington , DC . The subcommittee met , pursuant to notice , at 9 : 35 a . m . , in room 2154 , Rayburn House Office Building , Hon . Doug Barnard , Jr . ( chairman of the subcommittee ) presiding .

Present : Representatives Doug Barnard , Jr . , John M . Spratt , Jr . , Joe Kolter , Ben Erdreich , Albert G . Bustamante , Larry E . Craig , Patrick L . Swindall , and Jim Saxton .

Also present : Peter S . Barash , staff director ; Theodore J . Jacobs , chief counsel ; Faye Ballard , clerk ; and Scott Fisher , minority pro fessional staff , Committee on Government Operations

OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN BARNARD Mr . BARNARD . The subcommittee will come to order .

Today , the Commerce , Consumer , and Monetary Affairs Subcom mittee examines the effectiveness of the Consumer Product Safety Commission ' s | response to the increasing number of deaths and in juries related to the use of all - terrain vehicles .

Information developed by the Commission and by this subcom mittee demonstrate that a significant increase in deaths and seri ous injuries have accompanied the increased popularity of these three - wheel vehicles . Since 1982 , 161 ATV - associated fatalities and 128 , 400 emergency room treated injuries are known to have oc curred . In 1984 , injuries were almost 242 times the number in the previous year and more than seven times the number in 1982 . Fig ures for the first 4 months of 1985 show an 80 - percent increase in injuries over the same period of 1984 .

A significant portion of these deaths and injuries occur to young people , and injuries often involve severe physical impairment . In comparing ATV injury and death rates with rates for other off road recreational vehicles , the Commission staff has found that ATV - related injuries were nearly double those for minibikes and trail bikes and more than eight times those of snowmobiles . So we can all agree that a problem does exist . The question is what to do about it .

( 1 )