All-Terrain Vehicle Safety Summit |
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Todd A. Stevenson
August 27, 2012
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 166 (Monday, August 27, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51731-51733]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-21011]
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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
[CPSC Docket No. CPSC-2012-0048]
16 CFR Chapter II
All-Terrain Vehicle Safety Summit
AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.
ACTION: Notification.
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SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC, Commission, or
we) is announcing its intent to hold a Summit on all-terrain vehicle
(ATV) safety. The Summit will be held at the CPSC's headquarters in
Bethesda, MD, on October 11 and 12, 2012. We invite interested parties
to participate in or attend the Summit and to submit comments.
[[Page 51732]]
DATES: The Summit will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on October 11 and
12, 2012. Individuals interested in serving on panels or presenting
information at the Summit should register by September 14, 2012; all
other individuals who wish to attend the Summit should register by
October 5, 2012. Written comments must be received by November 14,
2012.
ADDRESSES: The Summit will be held at the CPSC's headquarters, 4330
East West Highway, 4th Floor Hearing Room, Bethesda, MD 20814. Persons
interested in serving on a panel, presenting information, or attending
the Summit should register online at http://www.cpsc.gov/meetingsignup.html, and click on the link titled, ``ATV Safety
Summit.''
You may submit written comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-
2012-0048, by any of the following methods:
Submit electronic comments in the following way:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments. To ensure timely processing of
comments, the Commission is no longer accepting comments submitted by
electronic mail (email), except through www.regulations.gov.
Submit written submissions in the following way:
Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for paper, disk, or CD-ROM
submissions), preferably in five copies, to: Office of the Secretary,
Consumer Product Safety Commission, Room 820, 4330 East West Highway,
Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone (301) 504-7923.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and docket number for this notice. All comments received may be posted
without change, including any personal identifiers, contact
information, or other personal information provided, to http://www.regulations.gov. Do not submit confidential business information,
trade secret information, or other sensitive or protected information
electronically. Such information should be submitted in writing.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hope Nesteruk, Division of Human
Factors, Directorate for Engineering Sciences, 4330 East West Highway,
Bethesda, MD 20814, telephone 301-504-7694, email
atvsafetysummit@cpsc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are motorized vehicles, designed for
off-road use, with three or four broad, low-pressure tires (less than
10 pounds per square inch), a seat designed to be straddled by the
operator, and handlebars for steering. Since the 1980s, the CPSC has
been involved with ATV safety through various means, including
rulemaking, recalls, and litigation. Currently, ATVs are required to
meet the Commission's ATV safety standard at 16 CFR part 1420, and
comply with manufacturer and distributor action plans that require
numerous additional safety measures. However, a number of ATV issues
remain. For example, there are several issues from our 2006 NPR that
differ from the requirements of 16 CFR part 1420 and the action plans.
In addition, aspects of safety that are related to the behavior of ATV
operators, such as use restrictions governing issues such as helmet
use, riding on pavement, licensing of drivers, and age restrictions are
generally a matter left to the states. Finally, some avenues toward
improved ATV safety require additional research that is beyond the
Commission's current budget and resources.
CPSC staff is looking toward the future and envisions a two-pronged
approach to improving ATV safety: Regulation and stakeholder
engagement. Work regarding the 2006 NPR is nearing completion. However,
because 6 years have passed since the issuance of the NPR, staff would
like to provide stakeholders an opportunity to present their views on
the outstanding issues. In addition, once rulemaking is complete, we
envision that the next phase of the effort will focus on the different
roles each of the various stakeholders can play to achieve the goal we
believe every one of these stakeholders support: Keeping families safe
on ATVs. With these interests in mind, we are inviting stakeholders to
come together for an ATV Safety Summit. This Summit will serve as a
forum for stakeholders who have a mutual commitment to ATV safety to
share new information, as well as collaborate as a team and seek
solutions to common problems.
The Summit will take place over 2 days and will feature a mix of
rulemaking and nonrulemaking topic areas. There will be a series of
panel discussions each day focused on a different topic of ATV safety.
The details of the various topics are found in section III. The panel
sessions will begin with presentations from each panelist and will be
followed by a question, answer, and discussion forum. Every forum will
be an open discussion led by CPSC staff moderators where attendees can
speak freely. The discussions centering on our rulemaking will allow
attendees to discuss the open rulemaking, and these discussions may be
used to inform our future rulemaking. The discussion focusing on new
innovations in ATV safety will allow stakeholders to work together to
achieve common goals, develop possible solutions, and address actions
that each stakeholder can perform to advance the goal of keeping
families safe on ATVs.
II. What do we hope the summit will accomplish?
Our primary goal in this ATV Safety Summit is to bring together the
stakeholders, including manufacturers, consumer advocates, academic
researchers, and others with an interest in ATV safety, in an
environment that fosters mutual respect and that encourages the sharing
of information. We hope that by sharing lessons learned regarding
public awareness, information/education, training, and technology, the
groups each can take away information and ideas that will help everyone
promote ATV safety. In addition, for issues that are not related to our
current rulemaking effort, we want to encourage stakeholders to work
together to develop solutions to ATV issues apart from any effort or
assistance by the CPSC.
Because there are some differences between the regulations we
proposed in 2006 and the regulations we promulgated after passage of
the CPSIA, a secondary goal of the Summit is to give stakeholders the
opportunity to inform CPSC staff of any new developments in these
areas. More specifically, we are interested in learning about new
developments in the areas of ATV lighting, consumer point-of-purchase
information, and youth ATVs (speeds, size, weight, and transmission).
III. What topics will be addressed at the summit?
In general, the Summit will focus on the overall theme: ``Keeping
Families Safe on ATVs.'' We recommend that all potential panelists
consider this general theme when preparing. In particular, there are
six topics areas that we have identified. Below is a list of the
subject of each session and suggested specific topics for each. These
suggested topics are meant to be a guideline, but potential panelists
should not feel limited only to what is suggested below.
Rulemaking Topic Areas
1. Vehicle Characteristics
Suggested topics: Vehicle lighting (brake lights and head
lights); Age categories; Speeds and transmission
[[Page 51733]]
for youth ATVs--user acceptance and user abilities; Physical sizing of
ATVs
2. Consumer Awareness
Suggested topics: Point-of-purchase information; on-product
warning labels and hang tags
ATV Innovations Topic Areas
1. State Legislation: Effecting Change
Suggested topics: How to effect change; what works, what
doesn't? Successes and failures with other outdoor products
2. ATV Training: Reaching the Next Generation
Suggested topics: Increasing availability; using new
technology; what works, what doesn't?
3. Public Awareness, Information, and Education: Speaking With One
Voice
Suggested topics: What works, what doesn't? Cultural and
social media challenges to promoting safe riding
4. Vehicle Technology Innovations
Suggested topics: Any new innovation--from the proof-of-
concept stage or current in-use on ATVs--to advances in the area of
lateral stability and rollover protection.
It is difficult to anticipate the number of panelists who will be
available for each topic area. Therefore, we have not yet determined
the order of the panel sessions. We may combine, expand, or eliminate
panel sessions depending on the level of interest. The final schedule
will be announced on our Web site by September 28, 2012.
IV. Details Regarding the Summit
A. When and where will the summit be held?
The Summit will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on October 11-
12, 2012, at the CPSC Headquarters building at 4330 East West Highway,
4th Floor Hearing Room, Bethesda, MD 20814.
B. How do you register for the summit?
If you would like to be a panelist for a specific session of the
Summit, you should register by September 14, 2012. (See the ADDRESSES
portion of this document for the Web site link and instructions on
where to register.) We also ask that you submit a brief (less than 200
word) abstract of your topic, area of expertise, and desired breakout
panel. In the event that more panelists request a particular session
than time will allow, staff will select panelists based on
considerations such as: Whether the information to be presented has
been received in previous open comment periods; what is the
individual's familiarity or expertise with the topic to be discussed;
is there practical utility in the information to be presented; what is
the topic's relevance to the identified theme and topic area; what is
the individual's viewpoint or ability to represent certain interests
(e.g., such as large manufacturers, small manufacturers, academic
researchers, consumer organizations). While an effort will be made to
accommodate all persons who wish to be panelists, we expect to limit
each panel session to no more than five panelists. Therefore, the final
number of panelists may be limited. We recommend that individuals and
organizations with common interests consolidate or coordinate their
panel requests. To assist in making final panelist selections, staff
may request potential panelists to submit planned presentations in
addition to the initial abstract. We will notify selected panelists by
September 21, 2012.
If you wish to attend and participate in the Summit, but you do not
wish to be a panelist, you should also register by October 5, 2012, and
identify your affiliation. Every effort will be made to accommodate
each person's request; however, we may need to limit registration to
meet the occupant capacity of our meeting rooms. If you are unable to
attend the Summit, it will be available through a webcast, but you will
not be able to interact with the panels and presenters, nor will every
panel session be available. You do not need to register for the
webcast. The panels that are not webcast will be taped and made
available for viewing on the CPSC Web site.
If you wish to submit written comments for any reason, you may do
so before or after the Summit by any of the methods stated in the
ADDRESSES portion of this notice. These comments should be received by
November 14, 2012. Comments should focus on new information that was
not submitted previously that is related to the topic areas listed
above.
C. What will be the format of the summit?
The Summit will open with a plenary session that includes a brief
overview of the Commission's past activities on ATVs. Following that,
there will be a series of panels covering the topics listed above. Each
panel session will consist of stakeholders and members of the public
and will be moderated by CPSC staff. We expect potential panelists to
speak for approximately 10 minutes each about their topic area. At the
conclusion of the panel's presentations, there will be a question,
answer, and discussion session among the panelists and the audience,
centering on the topics discussed by the panelists. Each panel session
will be approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes.
For the topics not related to rulemaking activities, a CPSC
moderator will work with the group to help identify common goals,
possible solutions, and actions each stakeholder can take, independent
of any action, effort, or funding from the CPSC. We are not soliciting
or accepting any advice from the group as a whole; instead, we are
seeking to encourage the stakeholders to find common ground to move
forward.
For the topic areas related to our rulemaking effort, a CPSC staff
member will moderate the panel session to focus the discussion on our
open rulemaking topics. We are seeking new information that may be used
to inform our rulemaking.
All attendees will be given the opportunity to ask questions and
make comments during the panel session. At the close of the afternoon
session, all groups will join for a plenary session, during which the
groups will report on the results of their discussions.
D. What happens if few people register for the summit?
If fewer than 15 panelists or less than 30 participants register
for the Summit, we may cancel the Summit. If we decide to cancel the
Summit for this or any other reason, we will post a cancellation notice
on the registration Web page for the Summit and send an email to all
registered participants who provide their email address when they
register.
Dated: August 22, 2012.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2012-21011 Filed 8-24-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P