A bi-partisan group of federal lawmakers has sent a letter supporting legislation that prevents government funds being used for motorcycle-only traffic checkpoints.

The letter was sent May 25 to the U.S. House Committee on Transport and Infrastructure and the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit urging support for H.R. 904 and H. Res. 239.

H.R. 904 would prohibit the U.S. Transportation Secretary from providing funds for state or local governments to be used on helmet checks and motorcycle-only checkpoints. H. Res 239 supports retaining a ban on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration using federal funding to lobby state lawmakers, and urges the agency to focus its efforts on motorcycle crash prevention, rider education and training.

“We take motorcycle safety seriously and want NHTSA to focus its safety efforts on proven lifesaving methods,” the letter reads. “Including H.R. 904 and H.Res. 239 in the surface transportation reauthorization bill would set the record straight, that the House of Representatives supports rider education, driver awareness, training and proper licensing as the best methods of preventing motorcycle crashes, not mandatory federal helmet laws.”

The letter is signed by Representatives Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), Tom Petri (R-Wis.), Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa), Reid Ribble (R-Wis.), Ron Paul (R-Texas), Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.), Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Bob Filner (D-Calif.), Aaron Schock (R-Ill.), Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.), Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) and Mike Ross (D-Ark.).

The full letter is available on the AMA’s website.

[Source: AMA]

A U.S. House subcommittee has approved draft legislation that could exempt youth motorcycles and ATVs from the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.

The Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade has approved the Enhancing CPSC Authority and Discretion Act (ECADA). The ECADA would provide the Consumer Product Safety Commission with the authority to use discretion in enforcing the lead ban on youth off-highway vehicles.

“While CPSIA has many virtues, there are some unintended consequences of the law as well. Our common sense reforms will help to make a good law even better, saving thousands of American jobs in the process and providing our children with the important protections they need,” says Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.), subcommittee chair. “This was a careful balancing act, but even the Consumer Product Safety Commission has recognized the problems with CPSIA and requested greater flexibility in implementing the new law.”

The draft legislation would allow the CPSC to grant exceptions to products which require lead or cannot be manufactured without lead, or where the lead components are not likely to be placed in a child’s mouth and ingested. The ECADA also exempts battery terminals from the lead limits.

The ECADA will now move on to the Energy and Commerce Committee.

The Motorcycle Industry Council, which represents the manufacturers and distributors, has stated its support for the ECADA.

“MIC and its members reiterate their strong support for ECADA and urge its quick passage by the Energy and Commerce Committee,” says Paul Vitrano, general counsel for the MIC.

Others, such as Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.), say the ECADA does not do enough to address the problem. Rehberg restated the need for H.R. 412, the “Kids Just Want to Ride Act”, to be enacted.

“I appreciate the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade’s continued work to undo the consequences of the overreaching regulations created by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. However, this legislation still does not go far enough in exempting youth-sized motorcycles and ATVs,” says Rehberg, who authored H.R. 412.

“H.R. 412, the Kids Just Want to Ride Act, provides the necessary exemption for these vehicles and is the most common-sense approach to this issue,” he continued. “Montanans and folks across the country who enjoy these products are waiting for Congress to show leadership and exempt these products once and for all.”

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