285

Mr . BARNARD . Thank you very much . Mr . Walsh .

STATEMENT OF JOHN B . WALSH , CORPORATE ATTORNEY AND MANAGER , LEGAL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT , U . S . SUZUKI MOTOR CORP . Mr . Walsh . Thank you , Mr . Chairman .

I have always been of the opinion that the brain could not absorb what the other end of the body could not endure . I ap

| for your endurance today . I know I am having some trouble getting by this long without lunch .

Mr . BARNARD . I am not going to react as to how that responds to our brains . Go right ahead . [ Laughter . ]

Mr . WALSH . My name is John Walsh . I am the corporate attor ney and manager of the legal affairs department of U . S . Suzuki Motor Corp . I would like to take this opportunity to present the views of U . S . Suzuki on safety of the three - wheel all - terrain vehi cles .

By way of background , U . S . Suzuki sold its first ATV in 1982 . Our recent sales represent less than 112 percent of the three - wheel ATV market . We firmly believe that three - wheeled ATV ' s are safe products . We believe that the CPSC has adopted a wide - ranging plan to address the many issues related to ATV safety and has been handling the issues professionally .

We also want to point out that U . S . Suzuki is pursuing a strong safety education program for ATV ' s and is working in cooperation with the CPSC to develop voluntary industry standards that will address all aspects of ATV safety . I would point out that Suzuki ' s experience with our ATV ' s indicates only two injury accidents . Nei ther of these involves any claim of instability or tipover .

We believe that the surge in popularity of ATV ' s has led directly to the accident statistics which have concerned the CPSC and this subcommittee . As with any similar product which experiences dra matic growth , the number of accidents will rise with the ever - in creasing number of products in use . The available data which we have seen indicates that most accidents are the result of improper rider behavior .

We at Suzuki are very aware of the widespread concern about ATV safety . We share this concern . We have developed and imple mented programs to promote safe and responsible ATV use . In co operation with the other members of the industry , we are develop ing standards which will cover all aspects of ATV safety . We are confident that our efforts will result in safer use of ATV ' s by the growing number of Americans using ATV ' s for both recreation and utility .

Since we sold our first ATV , Suzuki has prominently labeled these vehicles with basic safety instructions and warnings . We have included a comprehensive owner ' s manual with each vehicle advising the owner how to ride an ATV . For youngster - size ATV ' s , vehicle labeling and owner ' s manuals both stress the importance of parental supervision of ATV use and proper instruction of young riders before they ride an ATV .

50 - 115 0 – 85 - - 10