Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

A Texas boy, Michael McCloud, age 8, died over the weekend when he was thrown from a Yamaha Rhino when it rolled over. He was a passenger on the vehicle, driven by 12-year-old Kinsey McCloud, also of Richardson, Texas. The accident took place in McClain County, Oklahoma. It is unclear if or how the two youngsters are related.

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There appears to be some debate about classifying vehicles such as the Yamaha Rhino as an Off Road Vehicle (ORV), sometimes also called Off Highway Vehicle (OHV), versus an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV). While ATVs are also classified as ORVs or OHVs, because they are designed to be operated off standard asphalt highway surfaces, not all OHVs can be called ATVs, according to a story recently published in The Northern Times, serving Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada.

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Like it or hate it, celebrities these days are watched and imitated. The celebrity tabloid world was buzzing today about a photo snapped of Brad Pitt holding his 2-year-old daughter, Shiloh, on his lap while he was driving a Yamaha Rhino ATV. Star watchers bashed the actor, noting that the Rhino is a powerful and heavy piece of equipment, and that he was placing the child in an unsafe situation.

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Safety Organization Sponsored by ATV Manufacturers Recommends Rules for Safe Operation

The All-Terrain Vehicle Safety Institute (ASI) is a not-for-profit division of the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA), formed in 1988 to implement an expanded national program of all-terrain vehicle (ATV) safety education and awareness. The ASI is sponsored by the leading ATV manufacturers.

These are their “golden rules” for ATV use:

• Always wear a helmet and other protective gear.
• Never ride on public roads - another vehicle could hit you.
• Never ride under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
• Never carry a passenger on a single-rider vehicle.
• Ride an ATV that’s right for your age.
• Supervise riders younger than 16; ATVs are not toys.
• Ride only on designated trails and at a safe speed.

The organization also recommends riders take an ATV RiderCourse through ASI. Information is available at www.atvsafety.org or by calling 800-887-2887.

serious injury and death have resulted from rollover accidents involving the Yamaha Rhino

Yamaha Rhino, a popular all terrain vehicle (ATV) manufactured by Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., is the subject of legal scrutiny after cases of serious injury and death have resulted from rollover accidents involving the vehicle. The Rhino has been in production since 2003.

Attorneys at Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C., are currently evaluating claims against Yamaha Motor Corporation on behalf of people who suffered serious injury in a Yamaha Rhino ATV accident, or whose loved ones were injured or killed in these serious crashes.

Pending claims allege that design defects make the Rhino fundamentally unstable. Information on the company’s web site, www.yamaha-motor.com and in the Yamaha Rhino Owner’s Manual acknowledges that “abrupt maneuvers or aggressive driving have caused rollovers - even on flat, open areas.”

A Yamaha Rhino safety bulletin was issued to Rhino owners in August 2007 advising that vehicles could be returned to Yamaha dealers for installation of new equipment - doors and passenger handholds - at no cost to owners, to improve vehicle safety. Yamaha recommended that Rhino owners have the doors and handholds installed.

Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., Customer Support Group, followed up with a letter to Rhino Owners in September 2006 urging safe operation, warning of risk of tip over or rollover under “certain conditions” and providing instructions for avoiding / correcting a tip over and safe operator / passenger conduct in the event of a tip over / rollover. Warning labels for attachment on the Rhino passenger enclosure were enclosed with the letter.

According to the Yamaha Motor Corporation web site, the 2007 Yamaha Rhino Owner’s Manual was updated to include the new doors and handholds, and including a note that these modifications were available at no charge to vehicle owners. Rhino owners were provided a supplemental Guide to Genuine Yamaha Doors/Handholds and Rhino Occupant Protection, as well as a new on-product label promoting awareness of the new products and acknowledging dangers of rollover. Dealers installing doors and passenger handholds were instructed to attach the new on-product label to the vehicle’s dashboard.

Doors and passenger handholds are standard on 2008 models of the Yamaha Rhino, according to Yamaha Motor Corporation’s customer service line. Customer service recommends that anyone purchasing a used Yamaha Rhino (prior to the 2008 model) check to see that the doors and passenger handholds have been installed, and to see a local Yamaha authorized dealer to install these items if this has not been done.

Download a PDF of the updated 2007 Yamaha Rhino Owner’s Manual

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outdoor/Rhino%20Owner%20Info/LIT_11626_20_64.pdf

Download a PDF of the 2007 supplemental Guide to Genuine Yamaha Doors / Handholds and Rhino Occupant Protection

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outdoor/Rhino%20Owner%20Info/rhino_guide_supplement.pdf

Download a PDF of the 2007 on-product label for the Yamaha Rhino

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outdoor/Rhino%20Owner%20Info/SERIGRAPH_sticker_01.pdf