MIC Takes Stop the Ban Campaign
to the SCORE San Felipe 250
Stop the Ban on Youth
Motorcycles and ATVs
Irvine, CA (3/5/2010) - The Motorcycle
Industry Council will cross the border next week
for the San Felipe 250 off-road race to increase
awareness of the need for the voices of those riders
most affected by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement
Act's ban on youth motorcycles and ATVs to be heard
by Congress.
MIC will have a booth at the event where visitors
can get information on the youth dirt bike and
ATV ban and can sign letters to Congress calling
for an end to the restrictions.
A copy of the sample letter and background information
about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement
Act can be found at www.stopthebannow.com.
"We want more letters from American residents
voicing their concerns with the lead ban but we
also must continue to raise awareness among the
very group of riders that will be affected the
most," said MIC General Counsel Paul Vitrano.
"Not all off-roaders know about the ban.
Or, they see youth models being sold again in
dealerships and believe that the problem's been
solved. But there's only a temporary stay of enforcement
and this fight is not over. Until we get Congress
to change the law and permanently end the ban,
we're in danger of losing small dirt bikes and
ATVs, family trail riding and youth racing. And
without youth models, youth riders are more likely
to wind up on adult-sized machines, which we know
is hazardous."
MIC representatives will staff its Stop the Ban
booth on the San Felipe Malecon (a famed beach
boardwalk) during the March 12 Contingency Row
pre-race festivities and tech inspection for the
24th MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe
250. The booth will be located directly across
from the Rice & Beans Restaurant.
SCORE International is one of the most widely
recognized off-road motorcycle and ATV race sanctioning
bodies in the world, known for the annual Tecate
SCORE Baja 1000. The San Felipe 250 is the first
of the three-race SCORE Baja series that also
includes the Baja 500.
Background Information on the CPSIA:
Enthusiasts and other stakeholders should
reinforce three key reasons why youth ATVs and
motorcycles should be excluded from the CPSIA’s
lead content provisions:
1. The lead content poses no risk to kids. Experts
estimate that the lead intake from kids’
interaction with metal parts is less than the
lead intake from drinking a glass of water.
2. The key to keeping youth safe is having them
ride the right size vehicle. Kids are now at risk
because the availability of youth ATVs and motorcycles
is limited due to the lead ban.
3. The lead ban hurts the economy for no good
reason when everyone is trying to grow the economy
and create jobs. MIC estimates that a complete
ban on youth model vehicles would result in about
$1 billion in lost economic value in the retail
marketplace every year.
The MIC supports the U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission’s request to Congress to give
the agency more flexibility to grant exclusions
from the lead content limit to address ATVS and
motorcycles. The CPSC requested this flexibility
in its January 15 report to Congress containing
recommendations to improve the Consumer Product
Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).
“MIC calls on Congress to draft legislation
as soon as possible to either grant a categorical
exemption for these products, as would be provided
by H.R. 1587, a pending bill with 56 bipartisan
co-sponsors, or to give the CPSC the flexibility
to do so,” Vitrano said.
Visit www.stopthebannow.com
for background information, FAQs, and public outreach
tools for the Stop The Ban campaign.
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