WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, consumer safety advocates, health professionals, insurers and individuals who have lost loved ones in off-highway vehicle crashes reiterate their opposition to the ROV In-Depth Examination Act of 2015 (H.R. 999/S. 1040) in response to a May 19, 2015, hearing in the House,1 and a markup scheduled for May 20, 2015, in the Senate.2 Members of this large coalition previously sent letters in opposition to H.R. 999 and S. 1040.
The ROV In-Depth Examination Act of 2015 would prevent the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) from setting minimum mandatory safety standards for recreational off-highway vehicles (ROVs), including standards related to lateral stability, vehicle handling, and occupant protection, for up to two years while the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) studies a number of the CPSC’s proposed requirements. This is despite the fact that the CPSC has already collected extensive research to support the proposed rule, and that the rule has already been delayed deliberately and repeatedly since 2009.
ROVs are four-wheel motorized vehicles designed for off-highway use with top speeds exceeding 30 mph. Their use has resulted in at least 335 deaths and 506 injuries from January 2003 to April 2013,3 and at least 72 deaths since January 2014, including 19 deaths in 2015 alone.4 Thus, the consequences of delay are significant. The death and injury data show a need for swift action, rather than once again postponing the completion of safety standards.
We urge opposition to the ROV In-Depth Examination Act of 2015, as it delays an important process to make ROVs safer for consumers.
Contact: Rachel Weintraub, CFA (202) 387- 6121
The consumer advocacy organizations, health professionals, insurers, and individuals who have lost loved ones on off-highway vehicles signing onto this statement include:
Rachel Weintraub, Consumer Federation of America www.consumerfed.org
William Wallace, Consumers Union www.consumersunion.org
Clarence Ditlow, The Center for Auto Safety www.autosafety.org
Ben Kelley, Trauma Foundation, www.traumaf.org
Ed Mierzwinski, U.S. PIRG www.uspirg.org
Christine Hines, Public Citizen www.citizen.org
Dr. Gary Smith, Child Injury Prevention Alliance www.childinjurypreventionalliance.org
Jacqueline Gillan, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety www.saferoads.org
Sue Rabe and Caroline Anderson, Concerned Families for ATV Safety www.cfatvsafety.org
John Mullen, Direct General Insurance www.directgeneral.com
Dr. Mary Aitken, Injury Prevention Center at Arkansas Children’s Hospital www.archildrens.org/Services/Injury-Prevention-Center.aspx
Dr. Ben Hoffman, Doernbecher Children’s Safety Center, Portland, Oregon www.ohsu.edu/xd/health/services/doernbecher/patients-families/safety-center
Heidi Crow-Michael, Mother of JT Crow, Testimony from May 19, 2015 House Commerce. Manufacturing and Trade CPSC Oversight Hearing: http://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF17/20150519/103481/HHRG-114-IF17-Wstate-Crow-MichaelH-20150519.pdf
John Sand, Father of Ellie Sand
Katie Kearney, Safety Advocate, Sean’s Law, Massachusetts
1. [House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, Oversight of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 114th Cong. (May 19, 2015).]↩
2. [Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Executive Session, 114th Cong. (May 20, 2015).]↩
3. [U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Proposed Rule: Recreational Off-Highway Vehicles (ROVs), Briefing Package (Sept. 24, 2014) (online at www.cpsc.gov/Global/Newsroom/FOIA/Commission
BriefingPackages/2014/SafetyStandardforRecreationalOff-HighwayVehicles-ProposedRule.pdf]↩
4. [Data compiled by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and its partners.]↩