CPSIA Ban on Lead in Children's Products

I love Motocross,and i was about six years old when i rode for the first time a motorcycle Gear and the Youth who lived across the street got a little Honda 50 dirt bike.I rode the length of their driveway and crashed, but the bug had bitten. I got my own motorcycle when I was twelve, and the rest as they say, is history.I was alone in riding in my family, but for many people motorcycling is a family affair. It is an activity that the whole family can appreciate, and a lot of kids start riding when they are very young, so it is no surprise that families devote whole vacations around their children and motocross racing.

Riding at a young age teaches children responsibility.They learn to maintain their motorcycle. They learn to wear proper safety gear. They learn good sportsmanship and the camaraderie of competition.

These kids have learned skills and ways of thinking that will carry throughout their entire lives. Even kids who give up motocross have had the best training there is for street riding, and the life skills of hard work and perseverance.

In light of all of this it was crushing to many when Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) and then President Bush signed it into law in August 2008. The idea behind the law sounds great. It is intended to reduce the amount of lead that children come in contact with. The problem is that children’s motocross bikes have brakes and other parts that can have lead that exceed the levels allowed by the bill. As a result, motocross bikes and parts for motocross bikes intended for children under the age of 12 could no longer be sold.

This action disrupted not only a huge industry, it also crushed the hopes and dreams and fun of a lot of motocross kids around the country. The bill’s original sponsors have vocally argued that this result was never intended, that it has been taken too far. There is currently a stay in enforcement that expires May, 2011. If the law is not changed, May 2011 will mark the end of children’s motocross in the United States.

After a lot of campaigning and debating over the past several months, there is finally going to be a hearing held to determine whether children’s motorcycles and ATV’s can be granted an exception under the law. The hearing will be held tomorrow, September 10, 2009. There is also a bill pending to grant the sought exception, HR 1587.

What does all of this have to do with you? As motorcyclists we pride ourselves on being a community. We, as a community, need to stand up for our next generation of riders.

If you value youth racing and motorcycle riding, you can have a voice to preserve this family activity. This is a link to the AMA Alert that includes additional information and a form letter that you can send on to your Representative urging his or her support of HR 1587.