In October 2009, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced it would be looking at measures to address mechanical issues in utility terrain vehicles or UTVs (synonymous with side-by-sides and Recreational Off-Highway Vehicles or ROVs) in an effort to increase safety and reduce deaths and injuries.
In the advance notice of the new rules, the CPSC said its "preliminary investigations" indicated that the vehicles had "inadequate lateral stability, undesirable steering characteristics and inadequate occupant protection during a rollover crash."
Riders are getting ejected from the vehicles and killed, with 410 ATV-related deaths and 135,100 injuries that resulted in trips to emergency rooms reported in 2008, according to CPSC statistics. The year 2006 was a particularly lethal year with over 832 deaths reported. The numbers have been increasing over the years-up from 398 in 1999-with the popularity of the toys, which may explain the increased attention from CPSC. We should point out that for reporting purposes, CPSC defines ATV-related deaths as vehicles with 3, 4 or an unknown number of wheels. So while the number may look misleading when it comes to UTVs and ROVs, they're lumped in with ATV statistics.
"The need for federal rulemaking on ROVs is the consequence of not having a voluntary standard that effectively safeguards consumers," Inez Tenenbaum, CPSC chairman, said in a statement about the proposed regulations. "I have reviewed numerous death and injury reports tied to ROVs and I believe CPSC can play a vital role in making them safer. While we work on new safety rules for ROVs, I urge all riders and passengers to strap on a helmet, use the seat belt, know the terrain and never allow anyone under 16 to drive these vehicles."
In the meantime, the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association (ROHVA) had been working with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to develop the first voluntary set of safety standards for ROVs. The ROHVA is an association comprised mostly of UTV manufacturers, so mandatory safety regulations may increase their costs and possibly open them up to lawsuits. However, the alliance of Americans for Responsible Recreational Access (ARRA) is onboard to fight against the anticipated ruling. See www.arra-access.com.
The initial version of the voluntary ROV safety standard has been in play since 2008, but was formally released in March 2010 and can be viewed at www.rohva.org.
"ROHVA remains hopeful that CPSC and other stakeholders will partner with ROHVA to promote these important initiatives, which are focused on changing behavior," Paul Vitrano, ROHVA executive vice president, said in a prepared statement. "CPSC data suggests that if we can change certain behaviors, we will improve the safety of operators and passengers."
Members of the industry are also concerned that CPSC used a metric originally intended for the automobile industry to evaluate the stability of ROVs.
As it stands, CPSC is no longer accepting public comments on the proposed rulemaking, but CPSC and ROHVA continue to engage in interchanges regarding federal regulation of UTVs.
"CPSC should refrain from further rulemaking activity until all information forming the basis for staff's positions on the ROHVA standard is produced, ROHVA has the opportunity to review, analyze and discuss it with CPSC staff and CPSC staff participates in ANSI/ROHVA-1-201X maintenance and revision process with the benefit of the comments submitted in connection with the ANPR [advance notice of proposed rulemaking]," ROHVA said in a statement of its position regarding the possibility of federal mandates on UTVs.
So, as with anything with the government, stay tuned.
