Many emails ( a LOT! ) have been coming in to The Kneeslider asking why I have not mentioned the issue of youth motorcycles and ATVs being essentially taken off the market due to the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. The problem is, I don’t know where to start. This incredibly far reaching law goes far beyond the children’s off highway vehicle market, it affects anything sold to children 12 and under.
Virginia Postrel notes:
Under the law it is now illegal, … to sell or distribute any product–toy, book, clothes, electronic gadget, you name it–aimed primarily at children 12 and under without first having every accessible element in that product–fabric, appliques, ink, zippers, buttons, switches, doll hair, you name it–certified by a third-party lab (not, for instance, the zipper maker) as having less than 600 parts per million of lead. The law includes substantial criminal penalties and allows state attorneys general, as well as the Consumer Product Safety Commission, to enforce its provisions.
In response to one of the emails I received I said:
Safety regulators are all smiling and congratulating themselves on a job well done and moving on to their next conquest, oblivious to the damage they cause. While congress rushes to spend hundreds of billions to stimulate the economy because we’re losing jobs, regulators are doing their best to destroy jobs.
There is growing opposition to this law from many quarters. Regulators are digging in their heels, saying big toy makers are behind the complaints, when in fact, it is the thousands of small businesses most affected, who are going out of business because of the cost and practical impossibility of compliance.
The AMA is asking everyone to contact their representatives in Washington asking for specific exclusions for the powersports industry. That is one course of action, but a law filled with exclusions and waivers is bad law and it will become hopelessly complex for anyone trying to begin a business in a market where laws like this are in place. This law needs drastic revision or repeal.
There is much more that can be said about it but I would recommend reading the posts by Virginia Postrel linked below and quoted above giving a good rundown of the law and its effects.
Also, Senator Jim DeMint has a proposal to change the law which seems very reasonable and deserves attention.
You may also wish to try the AMA’s proposed action of asking for a powersports exemption.
Any improvement to this law is better than none, but as it sits, many small businesses may be driven to close their doors, the entire youth powersports industry is only one very visible example many of you may have an interest in but don’t ignore the many other businesses equally affected. It’s worth your time to look into this and form your own conclusions.
Links:
Virginia Postrel – post 1 post 2 post 3
Senator Jim DeMint proposal
AMA call to action
mark says
Wow. I don’t even know what to say. They’ve effectively legislated all products for children out of existence. I knew politicians were idiots, but this is truly mind-boggling.
verbal says
Well, can you wind up with “doll clothing for grownup enthusiasts” and “clothing for very short 13-year-olds?”
Kurt says
Lead being a bad thing is not a new concept. It has been known for a long time to have a damaging effect on children. The industry took some steps to regulate itself but the problem still exists. That said I agree that this law while in principle is a good one, could be carried out diffrently. Mark was right when he said “They’ve effectively legislated all products for children out of existence.”
todd says
My daughter is two and if she went out and bought an ATV without asking me first I would be a little disappointed. How do they determine which products are sold to children? Of the many people I know with mini-motos nearly all of them are at least 24 years old.
Why don’t they just make it like cigarettes and alcohol? You need to be a minimum age to buy anything not yet tested. Now the ATF can be called the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, and Lead.
-todd
Nicolas says
That’s one of the biggest BS I’ve ever seen …
Where do you get significantly in contact with led on your motorcycle ? My 9-years old son doesn’t ride his dirtbike naked, he wears some protective gears that keeps him isolated of the bike itself, he doesn’t drink the gas either, wth !?! (I don’t ride naked either, btw 😉 Led in the clothing ? BS … So it’s just that if you can’t prove you’re innocent (lead-free) you’re by default guilty ? Isn’t it anticonstitutional or sthg ?
Note that lead-free motorcycles are still not exempt of crash opportunity that may reduce the lifespan of the children 12 and under, in a much bigger scale than being in contact with parts or fluids containing led on the bike.
Art says
When you couple this with the recent Florida Supreme Court ruling that parents cannot sign waivers for their minor children at motorsport events, and proposed legislation in Ontario, Canada to make it illegal to even carry under-14-years olds as passengers on a motorcycle… ya gotta wonder if there really IS a plot to kill motorcycling by pushing kids out. Add in punitive insurance rates, anti-motorcycle specific noise, license plate placement and “street racing” legislation. Where will this end?
As for the lead issue, I don’t let my kids put their dirtbikes or ATVs in their mouths. I’m reminded of the ridiculous M*A*S*H* episode where Klinger tries to eat a jeep.
Rick says
so this is because independent lab testing is so successful at protecting us from things like contaminated PEANUTS…
FREEMAN says
I must have been living under a rock for the last couple years. This is the first I’ve heard of this new law. What a disservice.
Richard Gozinya says
The really weird thing is, this doesn’t affect those manufacturers who tend to have the most lead in their products. The Chinese. American made products are fewer and fewer, and haven’t used any lead based paint for quite a long time already. Simple solution, scrap this crap bill, and make all chinese made goods pass a more stringent test for lead and other toxins before being admitted into our country.
If they can’t play responsibly, then they’ll have to pay the price.
OTTO MANN says
I WAS BORN IN EASTERN GERMANY, IN 1966. THIS IS SCARRY”
GenWaylaid says
Kids, it’s time to get used to hand-me-downs! The next decade is going to look that much more like the Great Depression if children are running around in worn-out clothing playing with trash and sticks.
I like Todd’s idea of expanding the ATF. While we’re adding lead to their purview, let’s go ahead and tack on carcinogens and other hazards. One drawback, that would make their acronym BATFELCH.
Mark says
BATFELCH? That really did make me LOL.
palegreenhorse says
it is too bad science isn’t used appropriately. yes, lower lead in everything is better–even if you don’t put it in your mouth. but really controlling feedstocks would be way more practical than controlling the end product. further there are some products that are exceptionally un-likely to contain lead. for instance it seems to me that building an engine block with significant lead content would just cause it have very undesirable flow properties when the engine got to temperature. most companies that sell raw materials ALREADY have specifications on purity of the product they make or mine and also specify the allowable contaminates. So if we concentrate on lowering the allowable limits for producers of raw materials (where it is easier to test and refine anyways!) and in recycling then the end products will have lower lead content.
It is too bad that we don’t seem to have people that can handle thinking about how to solve a problem before it becomes one instead of burdening the end manufacturers. There are more important safety campaigns to be waged in child sized motorsports (as mentioned not riding naked =) than licking the plastic fender.
Henry says
However bad you think this new law is, it is actually worse.
No, hand me downs will not work – no one can now legally sell anything whatsoever for children under 12 unless EVERY component of EVERY version of EVERY item is tested for led. Used clothing shops, charity thrift stores, your garage sale, NO ONE is exempt. A one-of-a-kind handcrafted item? Well, it has to be destroyed in testing, you know.
Want, or need to change something in your product? Maybe you ran short of your regular brand of inner tube for the bicycles you make? Or perhaps you want to try a new brand of paint? The testing starts from scratch: every component, in every size, in every color must be tested again.
I eagerly await the first prosecution of that little old lady down the block who makes little girl’s clothing to suppliment her Social Security.
The CPSC has decided to give everybody next year off, the law notwithstanding, so long as the manufacturer is certain there is no lead in their product. ATVs and Motorbikes, of course, contain at least a minute amount of lead in many components -copper wire, inner tube valve stems, almost anything cast, most battery terminals, etc., etc.
Chris says
Other than the battery, why is there any lead *at all* in a motorcycle? I agree the law is sort of silly, but I also don’t understand why it’s necessary for a motorcycle to contain lead.
Don says
One of the main reasons I decided to move to a poorer asian country. Over regulation.
Pete P. says
You got it on the hand-me-downs. The CPSC interpretation of the law specifically targets thrift shops. THRIFT SHOPS! Like Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc. They can no longer sell used toys, because they cannot certify the lead content of the goods.
un-fricking believeable.
No, I guess it’s totally believeable seeing the idiots we elect to Congress.
mxs says
These type of laws usually come to light as personal vendetta or interest pursued by a politician(s). When any statistics come into play, either there’s none to be offered or there’s very little available to make their case and thus they creatively misinterpret numbers. Why? To catch attention (votes) of the people who will not be touched by such law, but think it is a good idea. They also like to be taken care of by their nanny state ….
This mentality seems to be overwhelmingly popular in North America (ask people in Ontario about it; the wave, save the children and teenagers from harm, is fully on …). I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’d think that there’s plenty to be fixed here, rather then waste time on such things which will not make lives of any significant majority of people better. On contrary …..
Baja Bill says
TWO SOLUTIONS:
I used to work on Capitol Hill in the 80’s…
Believe me: It really hurts to receive calls from constituents… I could always put down a someone’s letter, and finish my Pastrami sandwich, but I could never just put down the phone or hang up on a constituent!
Call and have a nice chat with your representative’s staff person. Ask them to find a reasonable interim resolution to your child(ren)’s weekend plans. Be nice, compassionate and patient with the staffer. They are overwhelmed enough already.
FINALLY: Get ready now….
One “quick fix” is to establish business in Mexico and sell mini-bike parts. You think that’s funny or ridiculous? Perhaps… But the law punishes manufacturers; not “common folk” like us… It’s a veiled threat to “encourage” legislation quickly. If legislators do not have anything to watch, things go “underground”, or in this scenario, across the border.
I’m so upset right now, and frankly, I bet the CPSC is struggling to fix this ridiculous issue – and FAST!!!
JC says
“I eagerly await the first prosecution of that little old lady down the block who makes little girl’s clothing to suppliment her Social Security.”
It will go over pretty badly if I’m on the jury….
“Other than the battery, why is there any lead *at all* in a motorcycle? I agree the law is sort of silly, but I also don’t understand why it’s necessary for a motorcycle to contain lead.”
Cheap Chinese scooters and ATV’s might have lead in the paint (and note I said “might”)
John says
Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But then I repeat myself.
— Mark Twain
Henry says
The allowable limit for lead in any component or part is extremely minute. Yet lead is used in many products as an alloying agent, ductile agent, or even a bonding agent. In most cases the lead is not capable of entering the bloodstream, even if the item is swallowed. A piece of lead crystal (glass) will pass through the body without being digested, for example.
I understand that there is a small amount of lead in schrader valves (inner tubes). Many metal alloys contain tiny, but now illegal lead levels; none of it available for digestion, but there it is. Copper wire requires lead to make it ductile enough to prevent breakage. I rather imagine there are still some solders used in manufacturing that contain at least some lead.
If you call your congressman (who, unless he is Ron Paul, voted for this) you will be informed that the “scaremongering” is ridiculous since since a test is only $150 to $500 per test. But here is the really fun part, and the part that is generally overlooked – the law requires you test each component. Of each version – no cheating by claiming that everything is the same except, say, the color or size – those would be different versions. Spoke nipple, $150. Drive side spoke, $150, outside spoke, $150, rim, $150, A chain link has, what, six parts per link? – That is $900. Bolt, nut, washer, lock washer, that’s $400. Black paint on the frame, blue paint on the tank, red and white on the fenders and guards, $600. How many discrete parts are there that would be considered accessible under the act? Four or five hundred maybe? Remember, any one number in the parts manual may reference an assembly of parts that must each be tested. Say just 400, so its just $60,000 for the test. Honda can afford that, right? For one color of one size. Do they offer three different color schemes? $60,000 times three, $180,000. And three different engine sizes? Times three again. With two gearing options? Times two again. And two different wheel sizes? Twice more. So, maybe $2 million for a single model, or maybe twice that, and you might be able to get it all through the lab in the same calendar year as the production year.
Yes, Honda can afford it, if they want to. But can KTM? Or Kymco? Will any new company ever again want to pony up the bucks to enter our market for the first time?
Oh, and the burden is not just on the manufacturer – they propose to send any dealer or retailer to jail who somehow manages sell anything not tested by the protocol.
Mel Beaty says
I will quote (reasonably accurately) Mark Twain: “Suppose you are a congressman and suppose you are an idiot, but I repeat myself.” It’s bad enough that they don’t have a good handle on what they are enacting, then they turn it over to the bureaucrats that write the regs based on how they see the contents of the legislation. I don’t know if they are just well meaning fools or if the real agenda ultimately is to reduce off road motorcycle riding.
Wave says
I fail to understand how the legislature of any country could make such a ridiculous ruling. Of course it is unhealthy to ingest large quantities of lead as a child, but how does that translate into banning all lead-containing objects, no matter how unlikely they are to be ingested?! Remember that the baby boomer generation grew up in lead-painted cots playing with lead soldiers painted with lead, and the vast majority of them turned out alright!
As others have mentioned, it hardly seems necessary to point out the irony of banning something as inherently dangerous as a motorcycle because it may be possible to absorb a minute quantity of lead from it by licking the paintwork!
todd says
So how or when is this supposed to take effect? I just got back from the local Mega-Store of Your Choice and the shelves were still stocked with toys and battery operated ATVs. How come they’re not all locked up in jail? Isn’t Feb.10th 2009 the start date?
I think I’m going to get insanely rich by opening up a Lead testing facility.
-todd
Azzy says
Ever wonder why all of your electronics just die after a few years, and your grandfather’s old radio in the office still plays as if it were new?
Lead.
Now that we pull it out of everything, solder joints become brittle with heating and cooling, all the tin used grows “tin wiskers” and in the end, you have another heap of junk going to the landfill.
Its all these progressives (used to be called facists in 1930 Italy) that think they can tell us how to live our lives better, how to raise our children, because they know better than us common people.
Just because some welfare mom out there didnt keep up on a house and let her kids start eating paint, the rest of us have to sufffer. How many years did kids play with lead and tin toy soldiers with no problems?
zip22 says
Azzy, you’re suggesting the only reason products don’t last as long as they might have previously is lead? Your entire post is riddled with sweeping generalizations and a poor understanding of the legislation in the original post.
CPSIA did not stem from house paint, it stemmed from huge recalls of imported toys that had lead paint.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/14/recall/index.html
If you think you and other “common people” have the technology and knowledge to conduct long term studies on the effects of lead, more power to you. I prefer to put my trust in science. The research has shown time and time again how much damage lead can really do.
http://www.slate.com/id/2172544/
I think the CPSIA is a crappy law just like the rest of you. Overall, it just seems poorly implemented, vague, and unrealistic for all the companies involved. Your post, however, just didn’t seem to have anything straight.
Lewellyn says
Bet, that lead enough is in every Nintendo DS, Sony Playstation/PSP, PC, even in the game-cartidges. Nice to see not only german politicians are stupid. ;-))
DoctorNine says
There is this law. It’s called the Law of Unintended Consequences. Apparently congress is unaware that it supercedes their CPSIA legislation. Soon, their constituents will point this out to them. Then, we will see if they are truly representatives, or simply the modern equivalent of imperial tax collectors. I really hope it is the former, not the latter. But I am not optimistic.
OMMAG says
Face it… you government is out of control.
Azzy says
Zip
I noted 2 reasons why lead has a place in products. Its a kneejerk reaction due to things like the chinese toy scare that cause the rest of us to suffer. Usually, any law based on a scare causes us to suffer, and usually, its headed up by people who “know what is best for you”
I have family that was involved in some lead settlement in the past, and understand it has an impact on children. I think much like any other settlement industry, its based on bad law and scared parents that are misinformed.
Just tell me where my information did not have anything straight… maybe I did jump around, but they are all competent valid points.
zip22 says
Basically your entire post. As I laid out in my post, many of your claims are not valid. Tin has been used in solder for thousands of years (with varying concentrations). There is still lead in electronics around today – they are not the reason behind your claim of reduced longevity.
I would rather have regulations than have children experience the negative effects of lead and have to deal with settlements after the fact. I think we can agree that the regulations in this bill are irrational and overgeneralized, but when dealing with something that presents itself slowly like lead poisoning I think regulation is the easiest and safest way to proceed. This isn’t something the free market can deal with. If a company is using lead, people can’t realistically test each product for their home. They may never realize that their child’s problems stem from lead until much later.
The Model Citizen says
This has ramifications elsewhere. I have been working on a project for an American manufacturer for the last fourteen months. They are already nervous considering the current financial climate. With approximately a week to go in the project I wouldn’t be surprised if it is dropped by the client considering this new law. Fourteen months of work, with only partial payment, down the drain……and I’m in Oz.
Azzy says
Zip
I dont know, 3 of my recent electronics purchases have said on the box that they are lead free. I know that tin has been used, but in the concentrations it is used now, it makes for a more brittle and less flexible solder joint.
But aside from the electronics industry, this is still a bunch of people telling the consumer what is best for them. Let the consumer decide what they want and dont want in a product, be it a motorcycle for their kids or a toy.
Grandma says
I find this “law” absolutely perposterous. My husband, my son’s, my grandkids and I have ridden motorcycles since age 5. None of us ever “chewed” on and have no lasting affects due to “lead”. My main concern is the audacity of people “we” elect. I believe it’s time we protect ourselves – if we don’t this law and all the others that will follow will furthur their mission to socialism. I’m sane, I work everyday as a nurse, I have a family that I love, I’m a conservative and we live the golden rule. No one asked us, no one took the time to really consider the overwhelming consequences of the life we enjoy. No, they can’t and will not take this away from us. FIGHT!!! Enough is Enough.
resist... says
Settle down everyone, these bureacrats know what best for you. The good government has been telling how to live your life for years and thanks to them, you are still alive. Now if you’ll excuse me I have a battery terminal to go chew on.
Make it Hurt says
OK Why have they not taken all the kids fishing gear out of Wal Mart, Is Lead not a major Ingedient, For FISHING, and how many Chinese Bikes are still coming in to our Country, So Let’s Start with a BAN on Kids Fishing, Somebody should warn the Fisherman that THEY are NEXT. Maybe they should be on our side NOW,
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