Yet another casualty of this destructive law: Honda has sent a letter to dealers announcing that it will withdraw youth motorcycles and ATVs from the U.S. market. It says lead figures as an intrinsic part of the alloys used in building the vehicles.
The irony, of course, is that of all the imaginable safety hazards posed by the existence of youth motorcycles and ATVs, the danger that kids will eat the darn things must rank at the very bottom.
Some other likely casualties here (Flickr group).
9 Comments
Wow…I never thought of that.
That means all those tiny 50cc motorcycles are right out too.
I hadn’t thought about this, but the fact that Honda motorcycles were basically recreational vehicles got me to think that all sporting goods for youth leagues will have to be tested.
Bats, gloves, uniforms, balls, face masks, shoulder pads, etc are all going to fall under this mess.
mmmmm… tasty motorcycle
[…] here. Friday’s CPSC stay of enforcement on some testing/certification rules in no way provides an […]
[…] or advertise any of them.” (Davey Coombs, Racer X). We covered Honda’s similar action here and here; see also this […]
Is there a specific exemption for automobiles and public transit vehicles?
Only products primarily intended for use by kids 12 and under are covered, so no cars or transit vehicles. One of the perverse consequences may be to push younger kids into using minibikes that are meant for those a little bigger/older.
[…] blogged earlier about Honda’s and Kawasaki’s having pulled out of the U.S. market and ordered a halt to sales […]
This law includes everything 125cc and under. The problem is that the law does not specify whether the lead is accessible to the child. You would have to EAT the frame, AND be able to digest it, to get to the lead in it. This is what happens when our politicians get on a cause (defective toys from China) and write, then pass a bill to “save the kids”, without reading the damn thing, or stopping to consider what else will be affected. This was rushed into legislation, passed overwhelmingly in Congress, and was signed by Pres. Bush.. No one wanted to be labeled as being against “lead poisoning”.
Wait until the Porkulus, I mean Stimulus, Bill fallout hits the fan (speaking of not reading the damn thing).