The Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association (ROHVA), Specialty Vehicle Institute of America and Right Rider Access Fund are hosting the International 4-Wheel Powersports Vehicle Safety Conference at AIMExpo Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

The conference’s goal is to stimulate dialogue and to share best practices, innovations, opportunities and challenges in connection with four-wheel powersports vehicle safety, focusing on operator behavior.

“This is really an opportunity for the powersports community to come together to share information about what they do and how they do it to promote safe use of the vehicles,” says Paul Vitrano, general counsel of the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC).

Robert (Jay) Howell Jr., deputy executive director from the Safety Operations Office of the executive director of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, will deliver a keynote address to those in attendance, which will include representatives of SVIA, ROHVA, international industry organizations, trade and enthusiast media, as well as instructors and trainers.

The conference comes at the end of 2013 Autumn ATV Safety Week, and the MIC’s Vitrano encourages dealers to advocate for safety at a grassroots level.

“In many ways, dealers are our most important stakeholder here, as they are able to set the tone of what it means to be a responsible rider throughout the sales process,” says Vitrano. “I think it starts with training your salespeople on the floor about the safety issues concerning ATVs, especially the issue of having youth ride adult-sized vehicles.”

The ATV Safety Institute has developed a Sales Force E-Course to keep dealer staff well-informed about basic ATV safety principles, rider training and matching an ATV to the intended rider. The free course is available at http://cbt2.svia.org.