MIC Launches Multi-media Campaign
at Indy to Permanently
Stop the Ban on Youth Motorcycles and ATVs
Irvine, CA (2/10/2010) - The Motorcycle
Industry Council says now is the time to push for
a Congressional solution to permanently end the
ban on youth motorcycles and ATVs in a video call-to-action,
http://bit.ly/aXpkyu. At this year’s Dealernews
International Powersports Dealer Expo, the MIC is
hosting a variety of multi-media communication tools
and activities so that dealers, MIC members, and
Expo exhibitors can voice their concerns, show their
support, and urge Congress to take action to permanently
end the ban on youth vehicles.
“There is tremendous momentum for Congress
to amend the Consumer Product Safety Improvement
Act’s lead content provisions to exclude youth
vehicles,” said MIC general counsel Paul Vitrano.
“We need our voices to be heard now, and by
making all these different multi-media tools available
here at Indy, every MIC member, every exhibitor,
and every Expo attendee can be part of this massive
grassroots effort to finally Stop the Ban.”
The MIC’s multi-media communication offerings
at Indy include:
Text – Signage will be
posted throughout the Expo encouraging attendees
to show their support for the effort to Stop the
Ban on youth ATVs and motorcycles with their cell
phone by sending the text message “StoptheBan”
or “STB” to 30101. A feature on www.stopthebannow.com
allows the public to join the campaign directly
from the website by entering their cell phone
number. Each person will receive a text response
after entering their number and upon replying
with “yes” will be placed in the campaign.
Letter – Attendees will
be asked to add their signatures to letters urging
Congress to amend the CPSIA to exclude youth vehicles.
Last year’s campaign generated over 5,000
hand-signed letters at the show.
E-mail – Computers will
be available in the MIC Business Center (Booth
# 4508) so members, exhibitors and dealers can
quickly and easily send an e-mail to their U.S.
Representatives and Senators and to the Congressional
oversight committees to urge them to Stop the
Ban on youth ATVs and motorcycles. Last year,
over 1 million electronic messages were sent to
Congress, and they got the attention of Capitol
Hill.
Call – A special computer
station will be set up in the MIC Business Center
(Booth # 4508) with a link to identify appropriate
Members of Congress, and a Skype account that
will enable Expo attendees to call their U.S.
Representative and Senators directly from the
computer to leave a message.
Video – The MIC is encouraging
members, exhibitors and dealers to "Send
a Video Message to Congress." A camera and
filming booth will be set up in the MIC Business
Center (Booth # 4508) so that Stop the Ban messages
can be created, posted online, and forwarded to
Congress.
Each of these tools also is available on www.stopthebannow.com.
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.
Discuss
this in ATVriders.com Forum
|
