Banned ATC

[redryder]

Just who exactly banned the 3 wheelers? Guys I work with talk about how these bikes are banned and how dangerous they are. I was just wanting some facts so I can have a well reasoned arguement with them.
Who banned three wheelers?
Are thee wheelers more dangerous than four wheelers?
Somebody on these forums has a signature that states "More people were killed on 4 wheelers the first year after the ban than were killed on 3 wheelers before the ban."
Is that a true statement?
Thanks for any info.:beer

[SYKO]

umm.....so where you hiding under a rock for the last 20 years or what?? just do a search for the cspc

[84honda200s]

trikes were only banned from production and from being imported/ sold in the us by dealers i believe. it all went down in 1987 i think it was. this "ban" was only supposed to be for 10 years. it was put in effect by the cpsc. they can be dangerous if there is a total moron driving it (just like a quad). anything is dangerous if someone is careless and reckless. yes as far as i know the statement you made "More people were killed on 4 wheelers the first year after the ban than were killed on 3 wheelers before the ban." is true from what i herd.

[atc4everbob]

Not that I'm a physics geek or anything, but yes, 3 wheelers are considered more dangerous than 4 wheelers. The main reason is because 3 wheelers can tip left or right easier than a quad. Quads have the stability of the additional wheel in the front. But, for us guys that grew up on 3 wheels, we know what we can get by with and what we can't. Most die-hard quad riders don't like the less-stable 3 wheelers and are quick to bad mouth them. But for those of us who started out on them, YEAH BABY, I'll take a 3 wheeler please!!! It's all in the eyes of the beholder. The last post was a good point. There are idiots everywhere that ruin things for everybody. Look at it this way, a gun is totally harmless until picked up by hands. Then it becomes potentially dangerous depending upon who's holding it.

[BigRedRunner]

We need a F.A.Q. on the main page that gives the history of how the consent degree went down.

[ATC-Eric]

The ban did only last 10 years, its just that Honda and the boys werent stupid enough to try another go at it. With the amount of lawsuits settlements that were won, I'd almost be suprised to hear Honda didnt make a thing off of trikes.

[Mobular]

Just who exactly banned the 3 wheelers?

In the mid eighties, the Japanese companies producing the trikes that we all love, agreed to cease production of them under threat of a, or multiple, lawsuits. There was no "ban"! Besides, at that time all manufacturers were well underway with quad production, so they simply turned their efforts towards those without skipping a beat and avoiding very expensive legal fees. With that said, no one has "banned" trikes, well, except maybe racing organizations, riding parks and a few repair shops, but they are simply showing their ignorance and buying into the great myth of trike "instability".

[redryder]

We are getting closer to some good info!

[84honda200s]

here read this the whole entire thing. it will answer most if not all your questions.

http://www.3wheelerworldforums.com/showthread.php?t=68925

[Mobular]

here read this the whole entire thing. it will answer most if not all your questions.

http://www.3wheelerworldforums.com/showthread.php?t=68925


The above link(s) address the situation concerning the currently available trikes coming from Asia. I do believe that the OP was asking about the original action taken during the mid 80s. There was one tidbit that is applicable to this and here it is:


ATVs were first available in this country in the early 1970's, and
became increasingly popular in the early 1980's. With their rise in
popularity, the number of ATV-related incidents also rose. On May 31,
1985, the Commission published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking
(``ANPR'') stating the Commission's safety concerns and outlining
options the Commission was considering to address ATV-related hazards.
50 FR 23139. In 1987, the Commission filed a lawsuit under section 12
of the CPSA against the five companies that were major ATV distributors
at that time to declare ATVs an imminently hazardous consumer product,
see 15 U.S.C. 2061(b)(1).\2\ The lawsuit was settled by Consent Decrees
filed on April 28, 1988 that were effective for ten years.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\2\ The five distributors were American Honda Motor Co., Inc.,
American Suzuki Motor Corp., Polaris Industries, L.P., Yamaha Motor
Corp., USA, and Kawasaki Motors Corp., USA. In 1996, Arctic Cat,
Inc. began manufacturing ATVs and entered into an Agreement and
Action Plan with the Commission in which the company agreed to take
substantially the same actions as required under the Consent
Decrees.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. The Consent Decrees

In the Consent Decrees, the distributors agreed to: (1) Halt the
distribution of three-wheel ATVs, (2) attempt ``in good faith'' to
devise a voluntary performance standard satisfactory to the Commission....etc...........


3. ATV Action Plans/Letters of Undertaking

The Consent Decrees expired in April 1998. The Commission entered
into voluntary ``Action Plans,'' also known as ``Letters of
Undertaking'' or ``LOUs,'' with eight major ATV distributors (the five
who had been parties to the Consent Decrees, plus Arctic Cat, Inc.,
Bombardier, Inc. and Cannnondale Corporation, which no longer makes
ATVs) See 63 FR 48199 (summarizing Action Plans).\4\ Except for
Bombardier's, all of the Action Plans took effect in April 1998 at the
expiration of the Consent Decrees. (Bombardier's took effect in 1999
when the company began selling ATVs.) The companies agreed to continue
many of the actions the Consent Decrees had required concerning the age
recommendations, point of sale information (i.e., warning labels,
owners manuals, hang tags, safety alerts, and safety video),
advertising and promotional materials, training, and stopping
distribution of three-wheeled ATVs.


\3\ In the FR notice, the Commission noted that it
``specifically reserved its rights under the consent decrees to
institute certain enforcement or rulemaking proceedings in the
future.'' 54 FR 1407.

[redryder]

That was some good reading! Thanks

[hazard]

in my opinion i think the press and media have alot to do with it, everything gets blown out of proportion with news and politics, crap like that, theres some story on the news every night with some mother of some dumb kid ( no affence to mothers) ranting and raving about how her kid got hurt or killed because of some product (atv, car, swimming pool, faulty recliner, i bad pillow that somehow accidentaly suffocated him.... etc etc you get the point) then the whole sitituation get blown up and its on every tv channel and its the talk of the nation for a while then they have to ban something because of a MISTAKE A FLUKE, SOMETHING THAT JUST HAPPENED FOR A STUPID REASON nobody was even at fault but someone has to get the blame, usually manufacturers, then people like you and me who are well rounded and use or heads for something other than a hat rack get pissed because what we used to get alot of enjoyment from is banned, if stupid *Edited**Edited**Edited**Edited* could stay out of the media i am 100% sure we wouldnt have this problem, all it takes is some common sense, teach kids to be smart, listen to them and what they have to say so they dont rebel against everything, a little common sense goes along ways but to some people that is just too far out of reach and who gets the blame and the crap end of the deal, GOOD PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND ME again thats just my opinion and i hope i didnt affend anyone who reads this.

[torker]

Aaaaleluuuuuyahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:Bounce :beer YAMAHONDAMAN :beer :Bounce

To what he said...

TORKER.

[350xBomb]

in my opinion i think the press and media have alot to do with it, everything gets blown out of proportion with news and politics, crap like that, theres some story on the news every night with some mother of some dumb kid ( no affence to mothers) ranting and raving about how her kid got hurt or killed because of some product (atv, car, swimming pool, faulty recliner, i bad pillow that somehow accidentaly suffocated him.... etc etc you get the point) then the whole sitituation get blown up and its on every tv channel and its the talk of the nation for a while then they have to ban something because of a MISTAKE A FLUKE, SOMETHING THAT JUST HAPPENED FOR A STUPID REASON nobody was even at fault but someone has to get the blame, usually manufacturers, then people like you and me who are well rounded and use or heads for something other than a hat rack get pissed because what we used to get alot of enjoyment from is banned, if stupid *Edited**Edited**Edited**Edited* could stay out of the media i am 100% sure we wouldnt have this problem, all it takes is some common sense, teach kids to be smart, listen to them and what they have to say so they dont rebel against everything, a little common sense goes along ways but to some people that is just too far out of reach and who gets the blame and the crap end of the deal, GOOD PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND ME again thats just my opinion and i hope i didnt affend anyone who reads this.


Can you say "60 minutes?" They ran a show back in the 80's that completely slandered three-wheelers and became a driving force toward the decree.

[deathman53]

I deal with this all the time, where I ride people think I'm riding an "illegal" machine and that the cops can come and take it way, stuff like that. Its ignorance to common sense rules and most of the people who do this, ride their quads like they are couches, not moving thier body around, leaning alot into turns, sitting on the back of the seat and popping the clutch with and going nearly wot, stupid stuff like that. The 16-20 yr olds are the WROST they brag to no end about their quads and when they see a trike, they automaticly assume, that they are very dangerous, since they never seen one and get real coc**y about their quads and how they are "far more advacnced technology" than the trikes are. The only thing that is more advanced is the front suspension, rear suspension didn't go too far in the last 20 years. Most of the rear suspensions now are comparable to 85/86 atc250r and its close cousin 86-89 trx250r.

[oldsking86]

I agree hazard on that also! The media just blows things up and makes it worse for us all.. I remember one lady was having a kawsuit against mcdonalds because the kids meal was making her son fat.................. So why the *Edited**Edited**Edited**Edited* do you feed it to him, it's fast food, it's not good for you anyways! Whatever people can make money off of they will do it and the media is their major tool

[BigRedBlair]

Anything will hurt ya if you don't know what your doing with it.

[oldskool83]

i think what may have not helped (i was to young to know the real answer) may have me ride training. today i know dealers offer atv training courses, i dont know if its madatory...last new atv i got was in 1994 so i dont know.

i to tend to think it peple were tought to respect and ride somthing right you may have seen trikes into the 90's or even today. my boss acked same when i said i got a 3 wheeler. its just people not keeping up the current info and how rules apply.

i like 4 wheels but they were costly when i was a kid, dirtbikes were cheap but im so small to ride them...the trike is my newest craze...boy are they cool.

[SpeedyTide]

3 wheelers were never banned from anyone owning or riding one. Only banned from being produced which all manufactures quickly adhered too.

[Mobular]

3 wheelers were never banned from anyone owning or riding one. Only banned from being produced which all manufactures quickly adhered too.


Once again, a mis-statement. Trikes were never "banned". Their production was mutually halted by the manufacturers... not banned!

[Sargon2112]

Nothing against dirtbikes (I have one and love it after all)...

However... To halt production of a THREE wheeled machine because it is "unstable" and prone to turning over while at the same time continuing to produce a TWO wheeled machine (h3ll, it will turn over unless something or someone is holding it up!!!) shows just how helplessly stupid these geniuses truely are!!

What would we do without these brilliant minds looking out for us!?

David...

[team-red-rider]

hey if 3 is unstable ... y do both bar stools i have ..have 3 legs? my moms desk chair...has 3 wheels/leg things my math teacher has said that 3 is always more stable than 2 or 4 ...(not to sure how but ok im not gonna argue)

[RedRider_AK]

LOL If trikes are unstable than what are bikes?! And unicycles! Haven't seen manufacturers stop making unicycles because they're "unstable"....

[mymint87]

We need a F.A.Q. on the main page that gives the history of how the consent degree went down.

(Roy Deepa) worked for the CSPC and tried and tried to prove a bad design, but he kept failing in the courts because it was always considered rider misuse or error....then he got a lucky break when a girl in michigan (i believe) dyed while riding across a flat farm field (bout 30mph) thats all he needed to finally convince them it was a product flaw....their were also instances of high death rates in alaska of people who died on utilities mainly because alot of them rode on paved streets. (DUH...no differential)

they actually where going for a total ban with all recalled and refunded. but it ended up a ban just on production..

The canadian proviences were more leanyent(sp.) towards enterpretation siding more with rider fault, thats why there are always still rumors about 87's being still sold up in that part of the northern continent

BTW ironically the dude eventually, (after trying to ban quads too) went to work for quad manu's as some kind of consultant (friggen dude played both sides)

[dirt bike dan]

that ban is ridiculious! theres no way a 3wheeler is harder to ride and less safe than a dirtbike or motorcycle! just dont get it and never will!

[honda_atc200es]

heres some good reading on atv's
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_terrain_vehicle

heres some more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_wheeler

[Tantrix]

They are more prone to tip over than quads, but this also depends on the height of the atc, wheelbase, & width of the rear axle too. If you have a trike that is pretty low to the ground with a wide wheelbase it is less likely to roll over than one that is high off the ground with a narrower wheelbase...that's just simple logic. Low center of gravity + wide wheelbase = more stable. Matter of fact, I'd say you're more likely to roll a big jacked-up 4x4 utility quad than a lot of trikes out there because the center of gravity is so much higher. Quads aren't flip-proof.


I grew up on trikes and in my opinion they made me a safer rider because if you acted crazy and/or stupid you could roll it. Kids starting off on quads these days are under the impression they won't roll over no matter what and end up hurt & even killed on them thinking they are invincible. A little common sense goes a long way.


Like atc4everbob said...none of my guns have ever killed anyone but I'm sure if I grabbed 4 or 5 and went around acting careless it's bound to happen. Halting the manufacture of trikes shouldn't have happened but you know soccer moms...they have to protect us from ourselves, rather it be putting a stop to trikes or gun control.

[redryder]

That was some good reading.

[i58829]

hey if 3 is unstable ... y do both bar stools i have ..have 3 legs? my moms desk chair...has 3 wheels/leg things my math teacher has said that 3 is always more stable than 2 or 4 ...(not to sure how but ok im not gonna argue)


3 legs can't wobble, they're gonna touch the ground no matter what, now take your basic 4 legged chair and set it on something flat, if the 4 legs aren't 100% the same length it will rock. It's really only valid on things that are rigid, so a 4 wheeler will 'level' iteself and have all the tires on the ground because of suspension and tire compression.

I always tell people, one of two things

If they weren't outlawed and dangerous i wouldn't have them, or,

If you're on 2 wheels on a 3 wheeler, you know where you are, and if you're on two wheels on a 4 wheeler, you know where you're gonna end up...