The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) published a Final Rule (FR) in the January 23, 2024 Federal Register (F.R. Vol. 89 No. 15; CSPC-2017-0032). The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) requires the CPSC to publish, as a mandatory consumer product safety standard, the American National Standard for Four-Wheel All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) Equipment Configuration and Performance Requirements developed by the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (ANSI/SVIA 1-2007). The mandatory safety standard was issued November 14, 2008 and was codified at 16 CFR Part 1420.
The CPSC has twice followed the established update policy. The Commission revised Part 1420 in accordance with the revision procedures set out in the CPSA to reference the 2010 edition of the ANSI/ SVIA 1 standard (77 FR 12197; February 29, 2012) and in 2018, the Commission published a Final Rule that amended the mandatory ATV standard to reference the 2017 edition of the ANSI/SVIA 1 standard (83 FR 8336; February 27, 2018).
In March 2023, ANSI/SVIA issued a 2023 edition of its standard. In accordance with the CPSA, the CPSC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and is issuing this FR to amend the Commission's mandatory ATV standard to reference the 2023 edition of the ANSI/SVIA 1 standard.
After considering the eleven comments received regarding the NPRM, this FR amends the Commission's mandatory ATV standard to reference the 2023 edition of the ANSI/SVIA standard. A listing of areas of the revisions include:
- Hot Surface Requirements, Touch Points - specifies performance requirements that limit maximum surface temperatures for various touch points. ANSI/SVIA 1-2023 sets out performance tests to evaluate whether surface temperatures for various touch points are within specified limits. Requires all categories of ATVs to meet surface temperature limits.
- Fuel System Components (Fuel Tank Structural Integrity, Fuel Hoses, Fuel Filter and Shut-off, Elastomeric Component Durability) - The Commission finds that the various performance tests of Section 13 of ANSI/SVIA 1-2023 simulate real world scenarios and promote fuel systems' structural integrity. The FR adopts Section 13 of ANSI/SVIA 1-2023, without change, as part of the mandatory standard.
- Tire Pressure - Removes the maximum recommended tire pressure of 69kPa (10psi).
- Owner’s Manual -Commission retaining the paper manual requirements rather than changing to the 2023 update of an electronic version. Electronic manuals can additionally be provided.
- Effective Date - The effective date as proposed in the NPRM was September 1, 2024. The scope of ANSI/SVIA 1-2023 states that the voluntary standard becomes effective beginning with Model Year 2026. SVIA states that the product development cycle for ATVs is two or more years to design and develop new models. SVIA contends that model year designations are typical in the ATV industry and other vehicle industries and that EPA emissions requirements are based on model year. SVIA advocates if the FR specifies a calendar date for the model year effective date, the date should be no earlier than September 30, 2025 for the variations in the model year production cycles of affected ATV manufacturers. The CPSC believes that since manufacturers have varying schedules for manufacturing, importing, and distributing vehicles of the same model year, enforcement of a rule based on a model year would be impractical. For compliance and enforcement purposes, as well as for clarity for industry and consumers, the FR provides a specific effective date for the safety improvements in the 2023 standard revision.
This FR is effective January 1, 2025. Incorporation by reference of the publication listed in this FR is approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of January 1, 2025.
The Final Rule is available on InterRegs.NET for our US Federal subscribers and is also available at www.selectregs.com.