ATVs and the Lead Craziness

It is amazing to me that our politicians won't address the problems in the CPSIA legislation, and that for the most part the Media is ignoring it/us as well!

Across the country, the occasional local media are spotlighting the problems being caused by the new regulations in their community. But coverage of any kind is limited at best. I first contacted our local media two months ago (TV, radio, and newspaper) and they have ignored CPSIA almost completely!

So many industries are being hit on so many levels: books, clothes, jewelry, crafts, toys...manufacturers, consignment shops, and retail shops as well. Some of the financial hits are right now -- in the inventory we can't sell, some will be in the future, in the products we won't be able to sell because of the increased costs of testing.

The one industry that seems to come up most often in the news articles I do see is the ATV industry. As the good weather of spring moves into summer months, their losses just continue to mount.

Many articles deal with the pain being felt by the ATV industry, here’s one of the latest: Youth ATV and Motorcycle Ban: “In addition, dealers can also no longer sell parts or accessories that were made for these products. ‘We can't even take them in on trade so the consumer can't trade them back into us, they can't buy parts, they can't buy anything that was designed for a youth under 12 years of age,’” explains one of the ATV dealership owners hit hard by this law.

This article is from a couple of days ago: The Kids Bikes Ban: Digging Deeper -- What's new on the battle against the Feds Many of us can relate to the opening line: “Right now, we're all wondering: How could this happen?”

And in Delaware: “Rules on toxin stall mini-cylce sales” Which again, starts with these words that most of us agree with: “The government talks a lot about taking action to help small businesses. But businesses say they could do without this kind of action.”


One question I do have for the Congressmen and CPSC folks who don't seem to "get it" -- How could motorbikes, bicycles, ATV's, etc. be made without lead? Never mind the ludicrous idea that any of those are posing health hazards with respect to lead poisoning...But they can't be safely made without lead...Which I thought would/should give them automatic exemption under this crazy new law....But apparently, like the fabric and apparel industry and the book publishing industry, they continue to wait for their exemptions...Meanwhile much of their inventory can't be sold, bikes can't be fixed, and so on...