Consumer Awareness

Presented ByCarolyn Anderson & Sue DeLoretto-Rabe

Cofounders

WHO WE ARE…

• What we have learned through the years• "If Only I Had Known“• In the past 10 years the number of CHILDREN KILLED or

Injured in ATV crashes has DOUBLED! (Jeffrey R. Sawyer, MD, Age-Related Patterns of Spine Injury in Children Involved in All-Terrain Vehicle Accidents. In Journal of Pediatric Orthopedics)

• The ATV Manufactures say there's been a decline in the INJURY RATE as there are more ATV's in use. This places the importance on ATV'S, not on children.

Parents want to love and protect theirchildren, most don't understand

the dangers of ATV's.

OBSTACLESTO REDUCING DEATHS & INJURIES

MIXED MESSAGING- A BIG PROBLEM:

• Industry sponsored training and educational materials

• Carol Keezer goes to SVIA/4H training session for 10-12 year olds in Defiance, Ohio.

• Industry blames rider behavior for deaths and injuries.

• “The majority of ATV-related accidents and fatalities involve behaviors that the industry warns against in all its LITERATURE, and on-vehicle LABELS.” SVIA Press Release, Special Report 2007)

OBSTACLESTO REDUCING DEATHS & INJURIES

MIXED MESSAGING- A BIG PROBLEM:

A.T.V Safety Activity Book

OBSTACLESTO REDUCING DEATHS & INJURIES

SIZE MATTERS

• In a study published in Neurosurg Focus, the team concluded that size matters: young riders all too often aren’t big enough or strong enough to control an ATV designed for an adult.

"Almost every time you read about young teenagers getting hurt on ATVs, they're riding larger, faster models intended for adults," says Roy Watson, general manager of the legal department for Yamaha Motor Corp.

INDUSTRY REJECTS UPPER SPEED LIMITS FOR ADULT MODELS

• CPSC data has never shown a significant correlation between high speed per se and ATV accidents.)

• Attempting to establish a limit on the maximum speed of adult-sized ATV's would be counterintuitive.

JOINT COMMENTS OF AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO., INC., AMERICAN SUZUKI MOTOR CORPORATION, ARCTIC CAT INC., BOMBARDIER RECREATIONAL PRODUCTS INC., KAWASAKI MOTORS CORP., U.S.A., POLARIS INDUSTRIES INC., and YAMAHA MOTOR CORPORATION, U.S.A.

Then WHY is SPEED the entire focus of the new standard for children?

Industry crafted standards that now define youth sized ATV's by their maximum speeds, rather than by engine size

“ATV makers have long wanted to break free from what Roger Hagie, a spokesman for Kawasaki Motors Corp. USA, calls, “THE TYRANNY OF AGE AND SIZE RESTRICTION." David Murray, an attorney who represents Yamaha, says the industry suggested transitional ATVs to the CPSC in the late 1990s, but the agency, then under Democratic leadership, rebuffed the idea.

ENTICEMENTPolaris donates $100,000 in ATVs to youth camps

• Polaris can “ENTICE” a new generation into the power sports community while providing a great experience for thousands of young people.” said Scott Wine, Polaris CEO.

• Polaris vehicles available to camp visitors at both camps include the Phoenix 200, the Sportsman 500 H.O., and the Sportsman 550.

WHAT CAN BE DONE…..?

SOLUTIONSTO THE DEATH AND INJURY PROBLEM

• WHY is it that most people have NO IDEA of the Dangers ATV's pose to Children under the age of 16?

• “IF ONLY I HAD KNOWN” Most common thing we hear from parents AFTER their child

is injured or dead. If you don’t ride you don’t know.

• THIS NEEDS TO BECOME COMMON KNOWLEDGE TO EVERYONE EVERYWHERE!

COMMON KNOWLEDGEWe ALL KNOW :• You shouldn't drink and drive, you shouldn't

text and drive. Smoking can cause cancer ( lady with the hole in her throat), Drugs can kill your brain (fried egg in pan). You need to buckle your seat belt before you drive a car, you should always wear a helmet when riding a bicycle, you need to make sure your child is in a proper safety restraint when in a car….

• BUT WHAT ABOUT ATV’s? (Most people have no idea, unless they are users)

MORE SAFETY MESSAGING and LESS RISKY BEHAVIOR PROMOTED

( Should be in the Dealerships as well as Magazines, TV commercials, Posters etc..)

Let's be clear about this: Advertising DOES influence behavior. That is what it's supposed to do. At least good advertising does ("good", from the advertiser’s perspective). They try to put the image in YOUR mind that YOU will be doing all the fun-looking activities shown in their ads, just by buying their product. ~John Mianowski

Safety Advertising by the Industry

Critics say the ATVwarnings are unusually

sweeping and can beambiguous, advising

against things such as: “EXCESSIVE” speed or hills

that are “TOO STEEP . . . for your ABITLITIES.”

Labeling ISN'T Sufficient and ISN'T Effective! Other industries don’t get away with warning labels as their only safety factor, so why should the ATV Industry?

The labels give us the defense that, ‘Hey, we told you,” said Doug Somers, a former Honda corporate attorney

TRUTH IN ADVERTISING: CONSISTENT AND CONCISE

BOLD PRINT THAT CAN BE SEEN that WARNS about theRISKS TO CHILDREN. Including Recent Death and Injury totals.

Public Service Announcements(PSA's) in EVERY STATE:

• Showing the dangers ATV’s can pose to Children.

• Not only from the medical societies, but by the ATV Industry

POINT OF SALE INFORMATION ( signs in dealerships)

• People should be told VERBALY and VISUALLY when LOOKING for an ATV, BEFORE they decide to BUY, about the possible risks ATV's can cause to children under age 16.

• Most all of the material is given out AFTER or during the point of sale, AFTER the customer has already made their decision to buy.

• Once they decide to buy, it's too late!

BLAMING IS NOT A SOLUTION Reckless riding is only one part of the problem.

• Pointing fingers at the parents and BLAMING them for their child's death

• Saying an accident occurred because of “Rider Behavior,” is called BLAME

Manufactures shift safety debate from ride to rider

None of this has proven to be helpful for the 30 or more yearsthe ATV INDUSTRY has used it!

Honda’s safety slogan

How would their customers feel about being called “STUPID?”( what about the firefighters, farmers, rescue workers doing their daily jobs?) Are they “STUPID” when that crash occurs?

CLOSING STATEMENT• In 30 years there has been NO MEANINGFUL CHANGES.• We continue to allow the ATV Industry to ignore the medical and

engineering research done on ATV’s.• Things have gone in the OPPOSITE DIRECTION • BIGGER AND FASTER MACHINES (dropping engine size, going

with speed and best fit for youth models, making seats larger allowing passengers, and doing NOTHING about the STABILITY of the machines).

• DEATHS AND INJURIES ARE STILL IN RECORD NUMBERS

From 1982 through 2010, CPSC staff received reports of 2,775 ATV-related fatalities that were children younger than 16 years of age. This represents 25 percent of the 11,001 total number of reported ATV-related fatalities.

CONCLUSION

• The ATV Industry needs to STOP ENTICING CHILDREN into ATV use, and BLAMING RIDER BEHAVIORS without SOLVING the SAFETY ISSUES that need to be addressed.

• This needs to become MORE about Saving Lives and LESS about Making Money!

IT'S TIME FOR REAL MEANINGFUL AND MANDATORY CHANGES THAT WILL HELP SAVE CHILDREN FROM DEATH

AND LIFE THREATENING INJURIES.