As of Tuesday, February 10th, 2009, the small powersports industry has all but been shut down. This affects not only dealers and new units but individuals all across the U.S. New and used units as well as parts availability for every used unit in the nation has been called under question. This issue is far reaching not only financially but also concerning safety. With the suspension of proper sized ATV's and motorcycles suspended, young riders will be tempted to use improperly sized and built machines which could (but Lord willing won't) lead to severe injuries.
There is a waiver now setting before the Consumer Product Safety Commission in Washington DC, but has not been acted upon as of yet. We need every available rider, Mother, Father, Grandmother, Grandfather, Aunt, Uncle and any relative, friend neighbor, business or personal contact or any person who is a legal us citizen to get involved. They need to access this website, read the sample letter, type in their name and address then click the "send a letter on my behalf" icon below it. This will generate correspondence to all the committee members in Washington that are on the committee that oversee the commission that could act upon this. The commission members as well as my office will also receive copies of the letters set so we can be the most effective voice we that we can. The sport as well as the industry is in turmoil and time is short. The future of small powersports is at risk!
http://tomself.com/This is from a friend who deals in this business.
On February 10, 2009, a new law called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act went into effect. This law was created by Congress last August as a knee-jerk reaction to hazardous toys being imported from China (remember the Fisher-Price toy recalls). It bans all products sold for use by children which contain above certain levels of lead and phthalates. In the act, children is defined as anyone 12 or under, and the law is very broad in that it exempts no products from its purview.
How does this become an issue of importance?
All minibikes and pitbikes fall under this act, as well as ATV's sold for youths. As of today, all the major motorcycle and ATV manufacturers have instructed us to remove all bikes and ATV's used by children from inventory and to cease advertising, marketing, selling, possibly servicing these products. The lead contained in these bikes is not in the paint; it's in the metal used for certain parts in the engines and electrical parts. Most dealers have also been instructed to stop selling parts and accessories for the bikes as well.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC, which is the commission charged with enforcing this act has been asked by the motorcycle industry to grant a waiver to prevent the end of the motorcycle industry, but they are dragging their feet. As a result, minibikes and pitbikes became illegal today.
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Topic: New Law potentially shuts down small PowerSport Industry (Read 1769 times)