After a decade long study, government pencil pushers at the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), are counting down the days to roll out new rules that would impact the design of side-by-side off highway vehicles.
The study and changes were pushed due to the 335 deaths that have involved the vehicles . . . over a ten-year period. Thirty-three point five deaths per year.
For the sake of perspective, 53 people die annually in the US due to bee stings . . . 130 Americans are killed by deer.
Thankfully, Hippos are not native to the U.S. as they kill 2,900 Africans each year . . . nature’s serial killer.
But facts never bother the government.
The CPSC, which was allocated $129 million in taxpayer funds in 2015, has launched studies on everything from the dangers of thrifts stores to “problem” drywall.
The government agency has spent the past five years studying side-by-side four wheelers that have gain popularity due to their utility and multiple passenger capabilities.
The study has resulted in proposed rules that are now open for public comment before they pass.
The CPSC proposes to limit the top speed to 15 mph if the seatbelt isn’t engaged while modifying the structure of the vehicles to accommodate a wider stance.
The bureaucrats are also hilariously proposing to actually expand the turning radius of the off road vehicles, making it clear that the DC city-dwellers have never spent time on a trail.
Critics of the proposal fear the modifications will lead to even more accidents as they will apply “on-highway” standards to a off-highway vehicle. Is it better to run off of the trail and hit a tree or take a sharp turn?
The Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association weighed on the rules by stating, “CPSC’s proposed rule would inappropriately apply design-restrictive standards developed for on-highway vehicles, without ensuring that those principles apply in off-highway environments.”
Comments remain open to the public on the proposed rules until April 8th.
