CPSC Drafting New Rules for Chinese-made ATVs

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is working on drafting new safety rules for all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) imported from China, which are often defective and involved in accidents resulting in thousands of rider deaths and serious injuries each year.

Chinese-made ATV models are widely sold over the Internet and may not meet U.S. manufacturing standards or safety regulations, according to a New York Times report. The CPSC was granted new power to regulate ATVs by federal legislation passed last year and designed to better ensure the safety of products used by children under 12.

Many of those injured or killed in ATV accidents every year are children who are either too young to drive the powerful vehicles or are injured while riding as passengers on ATVs driven by adults. Some ATV models are defectively designed with narrow wheel bases which make the vehicles prone to tip over, even when they are being driven at safe speeds on flat terrain. Also, many models lack proper safety equipment to prevent death and serious injuries in the event of accidents.

Dangerous ATV models made by U.S. manufacturers such as Polaris, Honda, Yamaha, Arctic Cat, Kawasaki and Suzuki are blamed for causing thousands of injuries and deaths each year. Chinese imports are a smaller segment of the ATV market, accounting for less than 100,000 vehicles compared to about 800,000 ATVs sold by the traditional sellers, the Times report said.

However, safety officials say the Chinese imports are becoming more popular and sales are increasing, in part due to their cheaper cost (about one-third as much as domestic ATVs), which means more potentially defective and dangerous vehicles may be making their way into the U.S.

Also, because the Chinese ATVs generally are smaller and less-powerful than the domestic vehicles, they appeal more to families with children, leading to more accidents and injuries to young riders, officials say.

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