FCAI boss: ATVs under the microscope

There could be a bumpy road ahead for the under governed all-terrain vehicle (ATV) market in Australia, according to the motorcycle chief at the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, Rhys Griffiths.

Griffiths, who has just returned from the first-ever international ATV symposium in China, says that if ATV safety continues to remain a very public issue, it could have serious long-term repercussions for the market.

"Because ATVs are not registered in Australia they don't require compliance, and there aren't engineering and component standards that have to be adhered to," says Rhys, in particular reference to the proliferation of (often very inexpensive) ATV imports over the last few years.

"And from a safety point of view when it reaches the stage where the likes of O, H & S step in, they will end up as the regulatory body for ATVs, not vehicle standards organisations."

When asked what more could be done about addressing ATV safety, Griffiths said: "Essentially, manufacturers are already doing something about it. When a farmer outlives a utility ATV, they have the option of moving onto the side-by-side vehicles, which are now quite prevalent in the market.

"But instead, in a lot of cases farmers are making their own alterations to ATVs when they have clearly done all they can with them. And when they get onto a tight angle on their bikes they tip over, often without them wearing the appropriate safety gear. A lot of that stuff has to do with education."

Griffiths said that North America leads the way in ATV regulation.

"The message is pretty clear: if it's suitable for America and Canada, it's good for us. And we'd certainly look at piggybacking off their safety initiatives."

Manufacturers, distributors, importers and other stakeholders involved in the global ATV industry were at the symposium in Beijing, which addressed consumer issues such as safety, vehicle utilisation and market dynamics, as well as industry standards, technical issues and regulatory issues including mandatory standards, customer support, testing and certification.

"I was invited to the symposium by Paul Vitrano from the American Motorcycle Safety Foundation," said Griffiths.

"I was delighted to accept, as networking with key personnel from America is an invaluable exercise."

According to Rhys, one of the main objectives of the symposium was to invite Chinese ATV manufacturers to an information session to outline the requirements for export markets, particularly in America where ATVs are bound by a number of federal and state-based statutes.