I don’t think you understand how dangerous bicycles are:
“In 1997, 225 children ages 14 and under died in bicycle-related crashes. Motor vehicles were involved in more than 200 of these deaths.
“In 1998, nearly 362,000 children ages 14 and under were treated in hospital emergency rooms for bicycle-related injuries.”
We know that both bicycles and cars contain lead, which is deadly and causes learning problems. Maybe all this lead contributes to the bicycles and car operators not behaving in a safe manner. It is therefore essential to remove all of the lead from these dangerous devices. After all, large mini-vans are designed to be used to haul large numbers of small children around. All quite dangerous.
Or maybe all this lead has just caused our legislators to lose their collective minds and pass silly laws that they never read and don’t understand…
CPSIA is a very serious matter. Laws of this monumental stupidity put in doubt the rule of law and assault the concept of civilized society. Please don’t put the partisan “they don’t read the law” talking point in your comments. Yes, on the matter of health and safety, Democrats are off the wall crazy. Let’s keep the focus on bad law and the influence of Ralph Nader groups. The vote for CPSIA included almost every legislator, Democrat and Republican alike.
Granting an exception for bicycles is correct as far as bicycles are concerned, but it does not get at the real problem – the belief that the incidental use of lead is a hazard to anyone.
William Nuesslein, why is “they don’t read the law” partisan? People of BOTH parties clearly don’t read the laws, in more or less equal proportions. Unless, of course, you’re asserting that members of one party have a speed-reading advantage over members of another party…
When the Republicans fought the Stimulus bill, they asserted that there was insufficient time to read the bill. “Time to read a bill” became a Republican talking point and was put to use with the ridiculous bonus scandal. To the extent that educated adults believe that brass (some lead) valves in tire stems are a hazard to children, there is no hope at all.
The problem with CPSIA was not its construction. It was that child protecting politicians were made fools by crafty, albeit crazy, activists. I am particularly angry with the Democratic politicians because we went through decades of nonsense from the Delaney amendment. We also had the breast implant debacle courtesy of Ralph Nader groups. Republicans have their own problems.
The larger point from CPSIA is how we govern ourselves.
But we shouldn’t let the bike dealers get panicked or anything. Earlier here and here.
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Note that she calls it the “Consumer Product Safety Information Act,” as though it’s a labeling law. In fact, that’s the whole tone of her article.
I could probably support nutrition labels for bikes. It would provide low comedy, and no one would lose a job.
I don’t think you understand how dangerous bicycles are:
“In 1997, 225 children ages 14 and under died in bicycle-related crashes. Motor vehicles were involved in more than 200 of these deaths.
“In 1998, nearly 362,000 children ages 14 and under were treated in hospital emergency rooms for bicycle-related injuries.”
We know that both bicycles and cars contain lead, which is deadly and causes learning problems. Maybe all this lead contributes to the bicycles and car operators not behaving in a safe manner. It is therefore essential to remove all of the lead from these dangerous devices. After all, large mini-vans are designed to be used to haul large numbers of small children around. All quite dangerous.
Or maybe all this lead has just caused our legislators to lose their collective minds and pass silly laws that they never read and don’t understand…
CPSIA is a very serious matter. Laws of this monumental stupidity put in doubt the rule of law and assault the concept of civilized society. Please don’t put the partisan “they don’t read the law” talking point in your comments. Yes, on the matter of health and safety, Democrats are off the wall crazy. Let’s keep the focus on bad law and the influence of Ralph Nader groups. The vote for CPSIA included almost every legislator, Democrat and Republican alike.
Granting an exception for bicycles is correct as far as bicycles are concerned, but it does not get at the real problem – the belief that the incidental use of lead is a hazard to anyone.
William Nuesslein, why is “they don’t read the law” partisan? People of BOTH parties clearly don’t read the laws, in more or less equal proportions. Unless, of course, you’re asserting that members of one party have a speed-reading advantage over members of another party…
When the Republicans fought the Stimulus bill, they asserted that there was insufficient time to read the bill. “Time to read a bill” became a Republican talking point and was put to use with the ridiculous bonus scandal. To the extent that educated adults believe that brass (some lead) valves in tire stems are a hazard to children, there is no hope at all.
The problem with CPSIA was not its construction. It was that child protecting politicians were made fools by crafty, albeit crazy, activists. I am particularly angry with the Democratic politicians because we went through decades of nonsense from the Delaney amendment. We also had the breast implant debacle courtesy of Ralph Nader groups. Republicans have their own problems.
The larger point from CPSIA is how we govern ourselves.