BETHESDA, MD (BRAIN)—The Bicycle Product Suppliers Association filed a petition on Thursday seeking a one-year extension of the May 17 deadline for third party bicycle testing.
The testing is required under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which says that all products subject to a consumer product safety rule must have a certificate verifying compliance with the applicable regulations. For bicycles, the standard is known as 16 CFR 1512.
There are four labs currently certified for testing, but only one is accredited to test for compliance with the entire standard. Earlier this year, the Commission extended the deadline from Feb. 10 to May 17 saying there weren’t enough accredited labs to handle the capacity needed for testing.
As of this month, “the situation is still adequate,” according to the petition, which was filed with the secretary of the CPSC by BPSA attorney Erika Jones, of D.C. firm Mayer Brown.
Also, the BPSA is hopeful that the current bicycle regulations, which have not been revised since 1976, will be updated this year, and that would impact testing, said Matt Moore, head of the BPSA’s legislative committee.
The CPSC will now decide whether to grant the petition and for what length of time, Moore said. Regardless of the outcome, testing will be unavoidable in the future, he said.
“If you haven’t started on a process of certification under 1512, it would be wise to do so. This just buys you a little more time,” Moore said.
The third-party testing requirement is already in place for children’s bicycle helmets. All children’s helmets manufactured after Feb.10 must be tested by an independent lab and labeled for verification, either electronically or through a hard copy shipped with the helmet.
The deadline for third-party testing for children’s products subject to new lead content limits has been extended until next February.
—Nicole Formosa
