In some parts of the country (mine for example), kids get their own dirt bike or ATV well before the age of twelve (crazy to you urban dwellers, but what can I say?). The problem?
Most of these machines are run on lead-based batteries, and the new lead law is forcing manufacturers to pull them out of stores. Because you never know what kid under twelve might wrench open the battery compartment and start licking a little lead.
Seriously. The newest bit of whacky news to come out of the debacle that is the CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act), it's putting a hurting on a multi-million dollar industry in an economy that's already hit hard on the recreation market.
From Section 101 of the CPSIA: "beginning on February 10, 2009, any children’s product that contains more than 600 parts per million (ppm) of lead in any part that is accessible will be treated as a banned hazardous substance."
Batteries are, I guess, accessible - if you think a child is going to take the time to dig them out of the compartment and play with them. But how many kids old enough to get on a dirt bike or four-wheeler are really going to PLAY with the batteries that run them? Is this a misapplication of the law, or another place where the folks who wrote the CPSIA failed in over-generalizing its language?
Image: ATVAccessoriesBlog
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