In 2009, the recreational side-by-side industry was working to establish its first national vehicle design and performance standard.
The Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association, better known as ROHVA, was coordinating development of a voluntary American National Standard covering recreational off-highway vehicles, or ROVs. The work described in this announcement ultimately produced ANSI/ROHVA 1-2010, the first voluntary ANSI standard developed specifically for this emerging vehicle category.
Although most riders now call these vehicles UTVs or side-by-sides, the ROV designation was important. It defined a particular class of recreational vehicle and established a framework that manufacturers, regulators and safety organizations could use as the market expanded.
What Was ROHVA Proposing in 2009?
ROHVA began developing the proposed ANSI/ROHVA 1 standard in 2008. By November 2009, the organization had completed balloting on an initial draft, reviewed the comments it received and released an updated version for public review.
The proposed standard addressed a broad range of vehicle design, configuration and performance requirements, including:
- Accelerator, clutch and gearshift controls
- Engine and fuel cutoff devices
- Lighting and tires
- Service-brake and parking-brake performance
- Lateral and pitch stability
- Occupant handholds
- Roll-Over Protective Structures, commonly called ROPS
- Occupant-restraint systems
- Safety labels and owner’s manuals
These subjects remain fundamental to side-by-side design. Seat belts, occupant-retention systems, protective structures, stability testing and brake performance are now familiar parts of the UTV landscape, but the industry was still formalizing common requirements for them in 2009.
What Is a Voluntary ANSI Standard?
ANSI—the American National Standards Institute—does not design UTVs or directly regulate their sale. Instead, it accredits organizations that use an established consensus process to develop standards.
ROHVA served as the ANSI-accredited standards developer for recreational off-highway vehicles. The process brought together manufacturers, government representatives, consumers and other interested parties. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission participated in the process, but that participation did not make the resulting ANSI/ROHVA standard a federal regulation.
The distinction is important: ANSI/ROHVA 1 was an industry-developed voluntary standard, while the CPSC separately considered whether mandatory federal requirements were needed.
The First Standard Arrived in 2010
The effort reached its first major milestone in March 2010, when ANSI approved ANSI/ROHVA 1-2010. It established the initial voluntary benchmark for the equipment, configuration and performance of recreational side-by-sides.
ROHVA immediately began revising the standard as vehicles and safety research continued to evolve. ANSI/ROHVA 1-2011 added or expanded several significant provisions, including occupant-retention performance requirements, uniform labeling, increased static-stability requirements and a dynamic-stability test.
Additional editions followed:
- ANSI/ROHVA 1-2010
- ANSI/ROHVA 1-2011
- ANSI/ROHVA 1-2014
- ANSI/ROHVA 1-2016
- ANSI/ROHVA 1-2023
ANSI/ROHVA 1-2023 is the current version identified by ROHVA. It continues to address vehicle controls, lighting, tires, braking, lateral and pitch stability, handholds, ROPS, occupant-retention systems, labels and owner documentation. More information is available from the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association.
ROHVA and the CPSC Were Following Parallel Tracks
The timing of the 2009 announcement was significant because federal regulators were also examining side-by-side safety.
In October 2009, the CPSC voted to begin a rulemaking process addressing recreational off-highway vehicles. Its preliminary concerns included lateral stability, steering characteristics and occupant protection during rollover crashes.
The CPSC also reviewed ROHVA’s proposed ANSI standard and initially questioned whether it adequately addressed the rollover, collision and occupant-ejection hazards identified by the agency. Our contemporary report, CPSC Takes Big Step Towards Safety Rules for UTVs, documents that part of the debate.
In 2014, the CPSC proposed mandatory requirements involving lateral stability, vehicle handling and occupant retention. Meanwhile, ROHVA continued revising its voluntary standard, with government and industry representatives exchanging technical information through the standards-development process.
The result was not one single rule that permanently settled every UTV safety question. Instead, it became a continuing process in which voluntary standards, vehicle designs, safety research and possible government requirements evolved alongside the vehicles themselves.
How This Connected to the Original ROV Definition
The standards project also gave lasting importance to the industry’s definition of a recreational off-highway vehicle.
When ROHVA announced its ANSI accreditation in 2008, it described an ROV as having four or more non-highway tires, a steering wheel, non-straddle seating, seat belts, an occupant protective structure and an engine displacement of no more than 1,000cc.
That definition helped determine which vehicles fell within the ANSI/ROHVA standard. It was not a universal prohibition against building side-by-sides with larger engines, but its influence eventually reached state laws, riding requirements and racing classifications.
Our detailed report, Why the 2008 1,000cc UTV Limit Still Affects Riders, Racing and California Law, explains why that early definition remains relevant in the era of two-liter performance UTVs.
Why the 2009 Announcement Still Matters
This announcement captured the UTV industry during a formative period. Recreational side-by-sides had quickly grown beyond their work-vehicle roots, and manufacturers were producing machines with greater speed, suspension capability and recreational performance.
The proposed ANSI standard represented an effort to create common expectations for how those vehicles should be designed and tested. It also became part of a much larger debate over the respective roles of manufacturers, voluntary standards organizations and federal regulators in addressing UTV safety.
What was still called ANSI/ROHVA 1-200X in this 2009 announcement became ANSI/ROHVA 1-2010 only a few months later. Its subsequent revisions show that UTV design standards have continued to change along with the vehicles they cover.
Originally published November 16, 2009. Substantially updated to document the completion and subsequent evolution of the ANSI/ROHVA standard.
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