Scores of adults, teenagers, and children across America have been left permanently disabled after their hands, arms, feet, and legs have been crushed, and some have died, in rollover accidents involving the Yamaha Rhino Utility Terrain Vehicle (UTV). Last month, a report issued by a group of safety advocates and victims called for basic changes in the design of the Yamaha Rhino and other UTVs to substantially increase their ability to protect occupants in the event of rollover accidents.
The report, entitled Citizen Report on UTV Vehicle Hazards, has been submitted by victims of UTV rollovers, including the parents of children killed or injured in such accidents, as well as adult victims, the Trauma Foundation, and the Center for Auto Safety.
The report focuses on the Yamaha Rhino and has been sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, key members and committees of Congress, the Recreational Off Highway Vehicle Association, which represents UTV manufacturers, and other organizations and individuals with an interest in the ATV/UTV injury problem.
In releasing the report, Texas mother Heidi Crow noted, "Utility Terrain Vehicles have fallen within a regulatory crevice. These vehicles were introduced to the market and have been sold to consumers without having to meet government safety and performance standards. It is imperative that federal and/or state safety agencies step forward to protect consumers from the growing number of fatalities and severe injuries."
The report focuses particular attention on the safety defects with the Yamaha Rhino UTV. Identified in the report are 38 deaths, many of them of children, believed to have occurred in Yamaha Rhino accidents since the end of 2004. One of these was the death of Ms. Crow's nine-year-old son. Although he was belted, her son was ejected in a rollover and crushed underneath the half-ton Rhino, which was not equipped with doors or safety netting to contain its occupants.
“Lawsuits filed against Yamaha allege that from its introduction to the market in 2004, the Yamaha Rhino has been a rollover-prone vehicle with numerous safety defects,” stated Fabrice N. Vincent of the national plaintiffs’ law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, and a co-author of the report. “The complaints in these lawsuit have charged believe that none of the injuries or deaths would have occurred if Yamaha had incorporated readily available safety measures in the design of the Rhino that would have protected occupants during a rollover.”
In August 2007, Yamaha announced that in response to the risk of injury during side rollover accidents it was offering to install half-doors free of charge for all 2004-2007 Rhinos. For the 2008 model, the half-doors came standard.
However, Yamaha never issued a recall of the vehicle. As a result, it is estimated that only half of the 120,000 Rhinos sold in the U.S. from 2004 to 2007 have been retrofitted. Moreover, complaints filed against Yamaha allege that the half-doors are inadequate to prevent many injuries Yamaha knows occur when these vehicles roll over.
The Citizen Report on UTV Vehicle Hazards calls upon Yamaha to recall the Rhino to equip it with full doors and netting to protect occupants. In addition, the report sets forth design changes to the Rhino to promote occupant safety, including adding roll bar padding, increasing its axle width, lowering its center of gravity and/or adding a rear differential, to improve stability and handling.
