Guest Author - Paula Petrie

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission wants to warn consumers who own a Kazuma Meerkat 50 Youth All-Terrain Vehicle that children are at risk of injury or death due to multiple safety defects with this off-road vehicle.

The ATVs have been imported by Kazuma Pacific Inc., of Stafford, Texas, and are
found to have several serious defects. The Meerkat 50 lacks front brakes, has no parking brake, is missing a neutral indicator light, and can be started in gear. The CPSC adds that the owner's manual does not contain complete information for safe operation and maintenance of the ATV.

The CPSC states, that the risk with these ATVs is severe because these vehicles are intended for children age 6 to 11.

“In many cases, youth riders are just learning how to operate an ATV and may not have the experience necessary to help them avoid hazards associated with this product's defects,” CPSC staff said in their release.

The CPSC recommends that consumers stop using this product immediately.
They also recommend that consumers demand a full refund of the purchase price from the importer or dealer due to the defective condition of the ATV.

Kazuma Pacific is refusing to provide complete incident or injury information for any of their products. Therefore, CPSC is unable to determine how many children may have been injured. Kazuma Pacific is also refusing to implement a corrective action plan for this ATV.

The CPSC says Kazuma Pacific has sold at least 2,700 Meerkat 50 ATVs and has said that they will continue to sell them.

Kazuma dealers and Web retailers nationwide have been selling this
ATV since 2003 for between $525 and $825.

The staff of CPSC are requesting that consumers report any incidents
involving the Kazuma Meerkat 50 to the CPSC Hotline immediately at (800) 638-2772 or to the CPSC Web site at www.cpsc.gov

To see this release on CPSC's web site, including pictures of the
product, please go to:
www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07204.html