As the prime ATV riding season kicks into gear, so does the increase in deaths. Just last month, CPSC staff was aware through media reports of at least 40 fatalities between April 1st and April 30th, including 12 involving children younger than 16 years of age.

CPSC data indicates that ATV-related deaths jump on average 30 percent from March to April for children younger than 16 years of age. Adult deaths increase 88 percent on average for the same timeframe. During 2003-2005, ATV-related deaths rose each month during the spring and into the summer, peaking in July, when 23 children and 76 adults were killed in ATV-related incidents on average.

“If springtime deaths and injuries are an indication of what’s to come, we urge all ATV riders, young and old, to take all necessary safety precautions,” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “Far too many people are losing their lives and sustaining life-threatening injuries, which in many cases are preventable. CPSC is working diligently to ensure that the ATVs on the market meet mandatory standards and to promote safe riding practices.”

In April 2009, as a part of the requirements for a CPSC approved action plan for ATV manufacturers and distributors, it became mandatory for these companies to offer free, hands-on training through their dealers to first-time purchasers and age appropriate members of their immediate families within a reasonable time from purchase.

Moreover, as another element of approving ATV action plans CPSC requires companies to also offer first-time purchasers an incentive valued at $100 for taking the hands-on training offered by the ATV Safety Institute (ASI). ASI also offers online training for experienced ATV riders.

Many ATV-related deaths and injuries are preventable. CPSC encourages all ATV riders, young and old, to make this riding season safer by following the basic rules of the trail:

• Take a hands-on safety training course

• Always wear protective gear – especially a helmet – when riding ATVs

• Do not ride or drive a single-rider ATV with a passenger or ride as a passenger

• Do not drive ATVs on paved roads

• Do not permit children younger than 16 to drive or ride adult ATVs. Always choose an age-appropriate ATV for your child

Recreational off-highway vehicles (ROVs), also known as side-by-sides, have grown in popularity in recent years, and CPSC wants riders and passengers to know that they are different from ATVs. Unlike ATVs, ROVs have a steering wheel, bench or bucket seats, seatbelts, foot controls and a roll cage. They, too, are associated with a number of fatalities and injuries every year.

Keep safety first when using both off road vehicle types. To learn more, visit ATVSafety.gov. Please download our ATV Safety PSAs at www.atvsafety.gov/pr.html

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › CPSC warns Memorial Day weekend among deadliest times for ATV riders

The CPSC and GAO define ATVs as “off-road motorized vehicles, usually with four tires, a straddle seat for the operator, and handlebars for steering control.” The ATV category does not include side-by-side vehicles such as the Yamaha Rhino and Polaris Ranger, which the government now classifies separately as recreational off-highway vehicles.

GAO says that ATVS have increased in popularity during the last decade and have become a concern to the CPSC and various safety and consumer groups because of their propensity to roll over. Of particular concern is the matter of children who are injured or killed while driving adult-size ATVs or riding as passengers on an ATV that experiences a rollover or crash.

Last October, the CPSC announced it had voted to publish an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to address safety hazards associated with off-highway vehicles and ATVs. According to the CPSC, “preliminary evaluations indicated that the vehicles may exhibit inadequate lateral stability, undesirable steering characteristics, and inadequate occupant protection during a rollover crash.”

The GAO report will likely influence what new regulations, if any, the CPSC adopts to govern the use of ATVs in the U.S.

GAO analysis found that “injuries and fatalities increased substantially during the last decade, but not as rapidly as the number of ATVs in use, which nearly tripled. According to Commission staff, an estimated 816 fatalities occurred in 2007, the agency’s most recent annual estimate, compared with 534 in 1999, a 53 percent increase.”

GAO says an estimated 134,900 people were treated in emergency rooms for ATV-related injuries in 2008 – a 65 percent increase over the 81,800 people treated in 1999 for injuries resulting from ATV use. Approximately one-fifth of ATV-related deaths and about one-third of the injuries involved children.

No federal regulations exist governing the use of adult-size ATVs by children. GAO says that accidents involving children frequently occur when children are allowed to ride ATVs that are too large and too difficult for them to handle.

Despite the fact that ATVs can weigh about 600 pounds or more and travel at speeds up to 70 mph, many adults allow children to drive or ride them for recreation. As a result, the U.S. is seeing a continued rise in ATV-related injuries and deaths in children.

“Manufacturers and distributors have agreed to use their best efforts to prevent their dealers from selling adult-sized ATVs for use by children, but recent GAO undercover checks of selected dealers in four states indicated that 7 of 10 were willing to sell an adult-sized ATV for use by children.”

CPSC estimates that costs associated with ATV fatalities and injuries more than doubled in less than a decade, soaring from $10.7 billion in 1999 to $22.3 billion in 2007.

To download a version of the GAO’s full report, go here.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Government Accountability Office releases ATV report

According to Troy Police, Dacin was out riding ATVs with her flight instructor Saturday night when she hit a cement pad just before 1 a.m., causing the rollover. Dacin was ejected from the vehicle and hit her head. The ATV then landed on top of her.

Dacin was taken to Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, where doctors pronounced her dead just before 2 a.m. The Oakland County Meidcal Examiner’s Office said the official cause of death was head trauma. Dacin was not wearing a helmet when the accident occurred.

Dacin’s friend, Tracy Freeland, who graduated from Utica High School with her in 2006, said that Dacin liked to ride motorcycles and had considered joining the Air Force.

“She was a wild child. She just wanted to laugh and have fun,” Freeland told the Free Press. “She wanted to fly.”

Police are currently investigating whether alcohol played a factor in the ATV crash.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 816 ATV-related fatalities occurred in 2007, the agency’s most recent annual estimate. The federal government does not include side-by-side vehicles such as the Yamaha Rhino and certain Polaris models in its ATV estimates, so the fatalities linked to all off-road vehicles would be much higher.

The Free Press report says that Dacin was driving a quad, which the driver straddles – an ATV according to government classification.

The CPSC has reported a 53 percent increase in the number of ATV deaths from 1999 to 2007. The agency also estimates that about 135,000 people were treated in emergency rooms for injuries caused by an ATV crash, compared with 81,800 in 1999 – a 65 percent increase. One-fifth of all ATV deaths involved children.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › ATV rollover kills 22-year-old student pilot

The boy’s parents told authorities they did not know the boy had taken the ATV and that they began to search for him “within several minutes.” They found the boy just after 7 p.m. trapped in the water underneath the overturned vehicle. The parents administered CPR until emergency medical help arrived.

Maryland’s Office of the Chief medical Examiner has ruled the boy’s death to be an accidental drowning.

Authorities say the boy was found wearing a helmet. According to the parents, he was allowed to ride the Polaris ATV, but they told authorities the ATVs had been put away for the night.

The investigation remains open, though Police have stated that it appears no laws were broken.

Maryland law prohibits children under 12 years to operate ATVs on public land, but there are no restrictions for ATV use on private property in the state.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has evaluated the safety standards for ATVs as established by the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association and found that they do not “adequately address the deaths and injuries associated with ROV rollovers and collisions.” Inadequate lateral stability, undesirable steering characteristics, and insufficient occupant protection during rollover crashes are some of the characteristics that make the vehicles so dangerous, the CPSC says.

In a statement last October about the dangers of ATVs, Inez Tenenbaum urged parents to keep their children off of ATVs.

“I urge all riders and passengers to strap on a helmet, use the seat belt, know the terrain, and never allow anyone under 16 to drive these vehicles,” Tenenbaum said.

Polaris touts its line of child-oriented vehicles with the tagline: TOUGH ATVs FOR TOUGH KIDS

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Maryland boy drowns after ATV rollover

Investigators at the scene said that the crash was likely the result of the front left tire coming off of Case’s vehicle. The tire disengagement apparently caused Case to run the ATV headlong into a tree. Authorities said that the boy was not wearing a helmet.

Case was rushed to South Williamson Appalachian Regional Hospital in South Williamson, Kentucky, where emergency physician Brandon Haake pronounced him dead.

Case attended Belfry High School in Belfry, Kentucky. According to the school principal, who spoke with the Williamson Daily News, Case was well liked by his fellow students.

“The young man was a senior and well liked at the school. I don’t know anyone who didn’t like Andy,” Principal Rod Varney told the Daily News.

“Any time you lose a student it’s devastating to the school. It is a difficult time for everyone,” Varney told the Daily News. “Somebody lost a child, somebody lost a friend and then we all lost a student.”

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Kentucky leads the nation in the number of ATV-related fatalities. The CPSC says that 367 ATV-related deaths were reported in Kentucky in 2006 alone, and incomplete numbers for the following years show that ATV fatalities continue to escalate. Tragically, about one-third of all the reported ATV deaths in Kentucky are children.

Pennsylvania, California, West Virginia, and Texas are other states with an unusually high rate of deaths caused by ATV accidents.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Kentucky teen dies in Christmas day ATV crash

In July 2008, Gillentine-Green pronounced the deaths of 20-year-old Crystal Hooper and her 5-year-old cousin Natalie Aguilar after the ATV they were on crashed. According to available reports, Hooper lost control of the ATV and ran into a trailer full of building supplies. Both Hooper and Aguilar sustained head injuries in the accident.

Mississippi remains one of the few states with almost no laws pertaining to the use of ATVs. As a result, the number of ATV-related injuries and deaths in Mississippi is three times higher than in most other parts of the country.

ATV deaths have been creeping upward in the state since 1981, but the numbers suddenly spiked in 2005. From then until 2007, the last statistically current year in the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s data, 65 ATV-related deaths occurred, representing more than 25 percent of all the state’s ATV-related deaths since 1981.

According to state numbers, 29 people were killed and 1,500 seriously injured in ATV accidents in Mississippi last year alone.

A bill that would have encouraged ATV safety died in Mississippi’s last legislative session, but Republican State Representative Dannie Reed plans to reintroduce a similar bill in the upcoming session. The legislation would require all ATV drivers to wear helmets while driving on public land. Drivers also would have to meet the minimum age requirement for the vehicle and the number of passengers would be restricted. Ignoring the safety laws would cost $100 per violation.

“Mississippi has lost more people on ATVs than the state has lost soldiers to the Iraq war,” Reed told the Clarion-Ledger.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Mississippi coroner supports legislation governing ATV safety

Because more than 500 lawsuits have been filed in federal courts throughout the U.S., a “bellwether” approach is being taken to manage the caseload. A group of plaintiffs will be selected to represent all of the other plaintiffs in the case. Bellwether trials are occasionally formed when large numbers of plaintiffs file suit and proceed on the same theory or claim. The verdict from these trials will be extrapolated to the other plaintiffs’ cases, and will indicate the trends in all remaining cases. The multidistrict litigation (MDL) could also lead to a settlement.

Nearly all Rhino lawsuits filed against Yamaha claim that the vehicles have design flaws and lack key safety features, both of which make the vehicles unstable, prone to roll over, and unusually dangerous. The Rhino’s narrow frame and track width and its high center of gravity have played a role in hundreds of rollovers and crashes since the vehicle’s debut in 2003. Most plaintiffs claim that the vehicles were being operated appropriately and responsibly when the accidents occurred, often on level ground and at low speed.

The first of the MDL trials is scheduled to start on October 18, 2010 and will involve a case brought by a Kentucky woman. Subsequent cases are scheduled to be heard on November 15, November 29, December 13, and January 10, 2011.

Yamaha issued a safety recall of all Rhino vehicles last spring and ordered its dealerships to stop selling all Rhino models until a series of safety upgrades could be completed on each new vehicle.

On August 27, a Texas jury cleared Yamaha in a case brought by the parents of Forrest “Eddie” Ray, a 13-year-old boy who was killed when the Rhino he was driving flipped. Although seen as a landmark trial and victory for Yamaha, the boy’s father testified that his son had been driving a modified Rhino and was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Federal Yamaha Rhino cases set for multidistrict litigation next year

According to officers from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the boy was wearing a helmet, but it was not enough to protect him from serious injury. Reports say that the boy was thrown from the vehicle and landed about 3 feet away from the ATV. He was rushed to St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, where he later died as a result of massive head injuries.

ATV accidents such as this have prompted the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission to push for more regulation and ATV safety awareness, especially when children are concerned. The CPSC is currently drafting new ATV safety rules that will become mandatory for all ATVs manufactured in or shipped to the United States.

The vehicles have flown under the regulatory radar since the early 1980s, when they debuted on the U.S. market. Sales have crept steadily upward since their introduction, but have exploded in the last 2 years. An alarming rate of serious injury and death has accompanied the skyrocketing ATV sales.

To help mitigate the problem, the CPSC is also cracking down on the import of defective Chinese-made ATVs. The agency recently seized a shipment of Chinese ATVs at the port of Houston because they did not meet U.S. safety specifications.

Sadly, China has emerged as a leader in the production of cheap ATVs for children, making more than 83 percent of the vehicles sold children ages 6 to 16 years. Often, these vehicles, which can sell for as little as $250, lack even the most basic safety features, such as front brakes.

The CPSC estimates that more than 100 children are killed every year in ATV accidents and 40,000 sustain injuries serious enough to require hospitalization.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › ATV rollover kills 6-year-old Oklahoma boy

The boy was off-roading with his father, each of them driving separate vehicles, when the accident occurred. Authorities said that Quarles fell off of his ATV and landed in a ditch, but did not elaborate on the cause of the accident.

Reports indicate that the boy and his father followed the usual precautions. Quarles was wearing a helmet, he was driving an age-appropriate “small four wheeler,” and was operating the ATV under adult supervision. Still, though, the safety measures were not enough to prevent the boy’s death.

Quarles was rushed to Self Regional Medical Center in Greenwood but was pronounced dead in the emergency room, according to the Index Journal. Autopsy reports revealed that the boy died from blunt force trauma to the chest area, which caused cardiac arrest. Legally required toxicology tests were still being processed as part of the autopsy, but doctors did not expect abnormal results from them.

Students, teachers, and school administration mourned Quarles’ death on Monday. Ware Shoals Primary School principal Frank Cason told the Index Journal that Monday morning was difficult for Quarles’ classmates and others who knew him.

“He was a nice young man,” Cason said. “He was well-mannered and the kids liked him a lot. He was the kind of kid you would want in your class. It has been a sad, sad morning,” Carson told the paper.

The boy’s mother Ashley Quarles told Spartanburg’s News Channel 7 that Erik “was just the sweetest little boy and if you ever met him, you’d remember him. He was a good ‘ole country boy. His dream was to be a bull rider.”

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › despite safety precautions, ATV accident kills south carolina boy

Authorities said that Lyle was wearing a helmet at the time but that she suffered from internal injuries. She was rushed to Johnson City Medical Center Hospital, where she died from her injuries shortly after arriving. The Washington County Sheriff’s CRASH team is investigating the cause of the crash.

In North Carolina, authorities in the town of Hope Mills, just southwest of Fayetteville, responded to a report of an ATV crash just before 6:00 Sunday night. According to the Hope Mills Police Dept. report, the accident occurred in a wooded area within the city limits.

Authorities identified the victim of the crash was 21-year-old Heather Nicole Campbell, who had just celebrated her birthday 3 days prior to the accident.

According to reports, Campbell was driving the ATV through a wooded area off of Legion Road when she hit a tree. The ATV rolled over into a ravine, ejecting Campbell, and then landed on top of her. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Source: Fayetteville Observer

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Weekend ATV accidents claim the lives of 2 young women

Reports say that 15-year-old Danny Tyler Corn was the driver of the Honda TRX300 ATV. 14-year-old Tyler Noles was a passenger. Corn was driving the ATV west along Holland Chattoogaville Road and had crossed Georgia Highway 114 onto Johnson Cemetery Road, where he lost control of the vehicle.

According to the Rome, Georgia, State Patrol, the ATV sideswiped a parked car, hit a mailbox, and then crashed into a tree head-on. Both boys were ejected from the vehicle.

The crash occurred at approximately 7:15 pm. A nearby resident said he heard a loud bang when it happened.

Responding officers called for a medical airlift. According to Chattooga County’s Summerville News, Corn was pronounced dead at the helicopter’s landing zone and was not airlifted. Noles was flown to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, where he was admitted with serious injuries and remains in stable condition.

Georgia is one of the few states that has no laws governing ATV operation or safety. The only existing rules require off-road vehicles to be equipped with brakes and a muffler and that drivers obtain permission before using the vehicles on private property.

Because ATV manufacturers have done little to enhance the safety features of their vehicles, the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission announced last month that it would begin the process of regulating ATVs.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › ATV crash kills one Georgia teen, seriously injures another

Seven game wardens and other authorities from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department and the Ellsworth Fire Department launched a search of Seymour’s hunting grounds that evening. A state trooper spotted Seymour’s truck parked on a rural road in the town of Ellsworth, allowing the search party to narrow its search in the broad region.

Game wardens discovered Seymour pinned underneath his ATV just before midnight. He was found dead at the scene, the victim of a rollover accident.

According to the Daily News, the Maine Warden Service said that Seymour had been riding on a steep trail with a granite edge when he apparently lost control of the vehicle, causing it to roll over on top of him.

Alcohol was not believed to be a factor, according to the Daily News report. Seymour was not wearing a helmet, but reports do not say whether he died as a result of head injuries.

Like other states with large swaths of wilderness and several rural communities, Maine has seen a dramatic upswing in the number of ATV related deaths and injuries in recent years. The rise in the number of ATV accidents reflects a national trend that has prompted the U.S. Consumer Safety Products Commission to initiate the process of regulating all-terrain vehicles. The CPSC has stated that ATV manufacturers have failed to hold themselves to adequate safety standards, therefore creating the need for government regulation.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Maine hunter dies in ATV rollover

According to the boy’s older brother, Garret left to take out the trash and drove the ATV around a barn located about 75 yards from the family’s home. The brother went to look for Garrett after he failed to return for about half an hour. After the boy found his brother pinned underneath the overturned Polaris, he ran back to the house to tell his father what had happened.

When first responders arrived at the farm about 1 p.m., they found that the boy’s father, Christopher Malone, had lifted the ATV off of his son and was performing CPR on him.

Medics airlifted the boy to Christus St. Michael Hospital in Texarkana, where he succumbed to his injuries.

The staggering number of children who die each year in ATV-related accidents is one of the reasons propelling major changes in the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s governance of off-road vehicles. Earlier this month, the CPSC announced that it had found a draft of safety standards proposed by the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association (ROHVA) “did not adequately address the deaths and injuries associated with ROV rollovers and collisions.”

CPSC Chairman Inez Tenebaum, a staunch child safety advocate, urged all ATV drivers and passengers “to strap on a helmet, use the seat belt, know the terrain, and never allow anyone under 16 to drive these vehicles.”

According to Concerned Families for ATV Safety, more than 40,000 children are seriously injured and killed in ATV accidents every year.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › ATV rollover kills Arkansas boy

The recalled vehicles were sold by authorized dealers across the country from June 2007 through July 2009 and retailed for about $10,000. Bad Boy Enterprises has received 32 reports of unintended acceleration involving the vehicles since their appearance in the market.

According to the CPSC report, some of the incidents resulted in injuries such as “a fractured toe, rotator cuff injuries and sore muscles.” The agency advises all consumers to stop using the vehicles immediately and contact their Bad Boy Buggy dealer for a free repair.

Models included in the recall have serial numbers between 85004828 and 95010404, which are printed on a sticker in the driver’s side cubby. The Bad Boy Buggy Classic ATV is the only model included in the recall. The all-electric vehicles have an open, side-by-side design that requires occupants to sit on a bench.

Bad Boy Enterprises can be reached toll-free at (866) 678-6701 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday. The company’s website is http://www.badboyenterprises.com/.

Last week, the CPSC announced that it voted to publish an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to confront the safety issues commonly associated with recreational off-road vehicles (ROVs).

According to the CPSC, “the ANPR invites written comments from the public regarding the risks of injury associated with ROVs and ways in which these risks could be addressed. Following publication of the ANPR, the public will have 60 days to provide comments to the Commission. Comments can be submitted at www.regulations.gov.”

CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum issued a brief statement on October 21, in which she said “the need for federal rulemaking on ROVs” comes from “not having a voluntary standard that effectively safeguards consumers.”

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Bad Boy ATVs recalled after reports of unintended acceleration

“As physicians, we are seeing far too many children with serious injuries caused by the use of ATVs,” said OMA president Dr. Suzanne Strasberg in a statement. “Ontario’s doctors firmly believe that there is nothing more important than protecting the health and safety of children in the province.”

Statistics show that in Ontario, like in other parts of the world where ATVs are popular, children ages 5 to 19 account for one-third of ATV injuries and fatalities. From 2005 to 2006, 5,584 Ontarians went to the emergency room with ATV related injuries. The number of people hospitalized with injuries sustain in ATV crashes continues to rise sharply year after year.

One reason the OMA says that children make up such a high percent of the injured is their “lack of physical and cognitive ability to operate ATVs.”

“Research demonstrates that ATVs require considerable muscle strength, as well as proficient cognitive, motor and coordination skills, and experience in making split-second judgments; generally these skills are underdeveloped or critically lacking in children,” the OMA report states.

Some restrictions governing ATV use by children already exist in Ontario, but the OMA believes the present laws are inadequate. The association proposes that no children under age 14 should be permitted to drive an ATV of any size within Ontario. Older children 14 to 16 years should be allowed to drive only low power ATVs that cannot exceed 30 km/hour. The OMA wants to see these rules go into effect on both public land and private property throughout Ontario.

The association also asks “that the ATV manufacturers respond to medical community concerns and voluntarily discontinue their marketing to children without waiting for legislative restrictions …”

To help protect against traumatic brain injury and death, the OMA wants government-approved helmets to be compulsory for ATV drivers of all ages.

The Ontario Safety League (OSL) backs the OMA’s proposal. “The risks and dangers that children face when they operate an ATV are overwhelming and can’t be ignored any longer,” said OSL President Brian Patterson. “That’s why the Ontario Safety League fully supports the OMA’s recommendations to strengthen existing ATV legislation and we hope to see swift implementation of these long overdue regulations.”

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Ontario Medical Association wants children banned from ATVs

Fayette County Sheriff’s officers and the Northeast Iowa Medical Transport arrived at the scene, where they found Rios had died of unspecified injuries.

Rios was a resident of West Union, a small town in northeastern corner of the state. The Daily Register described him as “an experienced outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting, fishing and ATV riding.” He leaves behind his wife Tina, his daughter Destiny, and three stepchildren.

At least 107 people died in Iowa last year in ATV rollovers and other accidents. 2009’s ATV death toll is expected to be significantly higher as the number of offroading injuries and fatalities escalates alongside their popularity. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which monitors ATV statistics in every state, Iowa had reported 112 ATV-related deaths in the entire period spanning 1982 to 2007.

ATVs are not only popular forms of recreation for outdoor enthusiasts; they are also used widely on American farms for traversing crops and other wide tracts of land and for hauling animals and equipment. Although some ATVs can reach speeds of up to 60 mph, some, such as the Yamaha Rhino, are criticized for their instability, even at low rates of speed and on flat surfaces.

When all safety precautions are followed, ATVs are still highly susceptible to accidents and should be handled with extreme caution.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Rollover kills experienced ATV driver in Iowa

According to the WKYC report, the four boys were riding the ATV in a wooded area near the Cleveland Metroparks South Chagrin Reservation when the accident occurred. Police in the nearby Solon community received a call reporting the accident around 3:30 p.m. on Saturday the 19th. When emergency workers arrived, they found student Dan Murphy, who had been driving, had died at the scene.

Daniel Loyke, also a sophomore at St. Ignatius, received serious injuries to his head and leg. He was airlifted by Life Flight to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. The other two boys were released to their parents at the scene, having received only minor injuries. All of the boys were members of their school’s rowing team.

A request for prayers appears on the St. Ignatius website. “Daniel Murphy will be remembered as a great friend, strong student, loving son and faithful brother. The Saint Ignatius High School Community is in shock and grieving tonight,” the statement reads.

“Known as ‘Murph’ by his friends and teachers, he was a quiet leader who showed his heart through his work ethic. He loved being a student at Ignatius; he was always seen in his Ignatius sportswear. Murph was an honor student.”

The family of Daniel Loyke also released a statement on Monday, published by WKYC.

“As you can only imagine, this is the most difficult time for our family. While we are grateful that our Danny only suffered relatively minor injuries, all of our thoughts and prayers go out to the Murphy family on their incredible loss.

We are grateful and overwhelmed by the support we have received from family, friends, and particularly from the Ignatius community.

We need to extend a special thank you to the Ignatius crew team and coach Matthew Previts for their ongoing support.

We also want to thank the Solon Fire Rescue personnel and the Metro LifeFlight, trauma, and surgery teams at MetroHealth for the wonderful care they have given Danny.”

WKYC reports that the students used the homecoming dance just after the accident on Saturday evening as an impromptu prayer service. Police continue to investigate the cause of the accident.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › ATV accident claims the life of Ohio teen, seriously injures one other

“Tractors and all-terrain vehicles that can roll over. Machines with fast-moving parts that can tear off a limb. Animals that can gore, crush or bite. Chemicals that emit toxic fumes,” the article begins, underscoring the dangers that threaten Nebraska’s farmers every working day.

Dan Neenan, manager of the National Center for Agricultural Safety in Iowa, told the World-Herald that the number of agricultural injuries and fatalities could be drastically reduced if tractors were equipped with a rollover protection system and seat belts. Tractor rollovers have been the leading cause of death on Nebraska’s farms for many years.

As with tractors, rollovers are a serious problem with ATVs, especially those with narrow track widths and high centers of gravity, such as the Yamaha Rhino. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission continues to investigate reports of Rhino rollovers because so many of them appear to happen on level ground and at low speeds.

ATVs can become even more unstable when used for more utilitarian purposes, such as farming. Neenan told the World-Herald that “farmers also need to remember that attaching equipment to ATVs, such as sprayers or hay-bale racks, changes ATVs’ center of gravity and makes them unstable.”

The report notes that the number of deaths and injuries involving ATVs is increasing. In Nebraska, six people were killed in ATV accidents this year, and half of those were farming related.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › ATV rollovers contribute to Nebraska farming injuries and deaths

Dr. Steven Socransky, medical director of Sudbury Regional’s Trauma Program, urged area residents to exercise every caution when riding on an ATV.

“People must recognize that ATVs are heavy, powerful machines that can be difficult to operate safely, particularly by children and young adolescents. They require strength, training, special skills and knowledge that must be learned over a period of time,” he said in a press release.

According to Sudbury Northern Life, “loss of control” is the most cited cause of ATV accidents. Driver error and negligence sometimes contribute to collisions and rollovers, as do ATV design and defects. The Yamaha Rhino, for instance, has claimed as much notoriety in the ATV world as it did fame for the abnormally high number of injuries and fatalities associated with it. Safety advocates and consumer groups assert that the Rhino’s narrow stance and lack of safety features, among other shortcomings, cause it to roll over unexpectedly on flat terrain and at low speeds. Earlier this year, the CPSC and Yamaha announced a recall of all Rhino models for a series of safety upgrades.

According to Sudbury Northern Life, the Canadian Institute of Health Information reports that “the number of ATV-related injuries severe enough to require hospitalization jumped 50 per cent in Canada between 1996 and 2001, with 36 per cent of hospitalizations occurring among children and youth.”

Moreover, “Stats Canada numbers show ATV and other off-road motor vehicles rank as the fourth most common cause of injury-related deaths among Canadian children and youth aged 5 to 19 years.”

According to Canadian government records, children are six times more likely to receive a significant injury riding an ATV than they are in a conventional motor vehicle.

The ever-growing popularity of ATVs in Canada, combined with the vehicles’ inherent dangers, amount to a serious threat to public safety in Canada. Pleas such as the one made by Sudbury Regional Hospital will likely become more common as growing numbers of people experience first hand the devastation and trauma the vehicles can cause.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › ATV injuries skyrocketing in rural Canada

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Kentucky leads the nation in the number of ATV-related fatalities. Records compiled by the state and federal governments reveal a dramatic upward swing in the number of ATV deaths in recent years. For the 23-year period spanning 1982 to 2004, a total of 299 ATV deaths were reported statewide. However, in 2006 alone, 367 ATV deaths were reported in Kentucky, and incomplete numbers for the following years show that ATV fatalities continue to escalate.

Tragically, about one-third of all the reported ATV deaths in Kentucky are children. Kentucky law requires all children 16 years old and under to wear helmets while on an ATV, at all times, regardless of whether the ATV is on public or private land. For adults, helmet use is optional. Unfortunately, many parents continue to disregard the helmet law and seat restraints, which effectively make a deadly machine even deadlier in the event of a collision or rollover.

Counties in Kentucky reporting the most deaths are Pike, Breathitt, Floyd, Harlan, Letcher, Clay, Leslie, Pulaski, Bell, Laurel, Perry, Trigg and Whitley.

Also topping the CPSC’s list of states with the most ATV deaths were California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. ATV accidents are almost always higher in rural areas, where off-roading can be a way of life, whether for farm work, recreation, rural transportation, or all three.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Kentucky leads the nation in number of ATV deaths

Safety in any moving vehicle, be it a bicycle, boat, car, or ATV, begins with the driver. There are also some things passengers can do to protect themselves, such as using the seat restraints and wearing a helmet. But the fact remains that ATVs are exceptionally dangerous (many consumer and safety advocates argue they are excessively dangerous) forms of transportation in any circumstance.

On the night of August 8, 2009, 24-year-old Myles Virgil took 21-year-old Brenda Strizek, a native of Valparaiso, Nebraska, and two other passengers out for a ride in a Kawasaki ATV. While driving along a bike path, Virgil lost control of the vehicle. He and all three passengers were thrown from the vehicle as it rolled into a ditch. Strizek died at the scene.

Virgil has since been arrested and charged with unintentionally causing Strizek’s death by illegally operating a motor vehicle. Is this a case in which the driver is solely to blame? Or might the ATV also be at fault?

The Journal Star writes, “In a risk-averse age in which kids ride in massive car seats and are ordered by their parents to put on helmets for a bicycle ride down the block, there are odd exceptions to the public’s apparent obsession with safety.

A glaring example is the all-terrain vehicle.”

ATVs are fast, heavy, and unregulated motor vehicles. Some, as the Journal Star notes, can reach speeds in excess of 60 miles per hour and many, such as the Yamaha Rhino, weigh more than a thousand pounds. These characteristics leave little room for error. One bad move on an ATV and you could lose an arm, a leg, or possibly your life.

“In rural Nebraska, ATV accidents have become the leading cause of agricultural fatalities,” the Journal Star writes. “From 2004 through 2007, one-third of ag fatalities involved ATVs, which are handy for many tasks on farms and ranches, as well as for recreation.”

The escalating number of ATV accidents and injuries prompted the University of Nebraska to conduct ATV training sessions throughout the state last year. The trend in Nebraska represents the larger trend nationwide. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, serious ATV-related injuries have increased for eight consecutive years. At least 542 ATV fatalities have been reported in the U.S.

Every year, scores of people hop aboard as passengers without any knowledge of ATV safety, only to find themselves the unwitting victims of a serious accident. Children easily fall into this category. One third of ATV injures and deaths involve kids age 16 and younger.

A government website that compiles data relating to ATV injuries and fatalities strongly recommends that ATV owners not allow passengers on most ATV makes and models.

“ATVs are designed for interactive riding – drivers must be able to shift their weight freely in all directions, depending on situation and terrain. Passengers can make it very difficult to control the ATV,” the website says.

Source:  Journal Star

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › ATV fatality calls attention to offroading safety in Nebraska

Ralich’s 20-year-old son Steven discovered his father’s overturned ATV on the path near the field where he had been driving. Some time later he discovered his father laying unresponsive in the soybean rows. Emergency medical professionals from a LifeFlight helicopter attempted unsuccessfully to revive Ralich. They could not determine a time of death but estimate that Ralich likely died instantly from the multiple injuries he sustained in the accident.

According to the Chronicle-Telegram, the Lorrain County Sheriff’s Department is conducting an investigation and will forward the results to state safety officials. The County coroner, Paul Matus, told the paper that “there was some damage to the ATV from overturning, and there may have been some other issues with the machine.”

The accident is puzzling to authorities because Ralich was known a skilled and responsible driver, the terrain was flat where the accident occurred, and investigators believe that speed was not an issue.

The sheriff’s department is analyzing Ralich’s ATV for signs of mechanical failure, but they are also investigating whether Ralich may have hit an animal.

Besides his son Steven, Ralich leaves behind his wife Holly and their 23-year-old daughter Carla.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Ohio man’s death in atv rollover puzzles investigators

Jurors deliberated for about 2 hours before reaching their verdict.

During the trial, Mike Burleson, who works for System Engineering & Laboratories, testified on behalf of the plaintiffs. The engineering expert said that the Rhino’s narrow stance, high center of gravity, stiff suspension, and other characteristics amounted to problems with its lateral stability, meaning that it is prone to roll over even at speeds lower than 12 mph.

Many ATV enthusiasts applauded the jury’s decision, saying that it sets a precedent in Yamaha’s favor. But does it? Approximately 500 lawsuits have been brought against Yamaha by Rhino victims and their family members. The number of federal and state lawsuits continues to climb.

The case may not set a precedent for all Rhino lawsuits, but it may set a precedent for similar Rhino lawsuits – those that involve child drivers, especially if the children weren’t wearing safety helmets or seat belts. In such cases, Yamaha’s defense will undoubtedly have an easier time blaming operator error and perhaps the oversight of the parents.

Eddie Ray’s father, Johnny Ray, told the court that his son had years of experience riding ATVs and dirt bikes.

“If I’d thought it was dangerous, I’d have put a helmet on him,” he told the court. “I figured it was like a golf cart, the same thing I drove as a kid. Buckle up and it will keep you safe in there. I didn’t think I would be putting my son in danger,” Ray testified.

Eddie Ray’s tragic death will likely underscore how important it is for parents to take every possible precaution when allowing children to drive or ride in ATVs, especially ones known to have instability problems.

Basic physical restrictions should be followed, including wearing helmets and safety restraints, allowing minors to drive age-appropriate ATVs only, and staying off of paved roads. Additionally, some safety advocates recommend that parents also gauge their child’s intellectual and emotional maturity before allowing him or her to drive an ATV.

Even with all the safety measures taken, it’s still important for parents to realize that ATVs can still roll over, behave unpredictably or fail to keep occupants safe, even when driven responsibly.

For a guide to child safety and ATVs, click here.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Texas jury clears Yamaha in Rhino rollover case

“Parental supervision was present he had a helmet on and apparently he has ridden the ATV several times in the past,” Capt. Ron Luttrell of the Troy Police Department, told Fox 2 News of St. Louis, Ill. The boy’s father says that he suspects the throttle on the ATV jammed, causing his son to accelerate uncontrollably. The ATV hit a curb, throwing Austin into a tree, and then rolled into the side of a house where it burst into flames.

A neighbor performed CPR on Austin before an ambulance rushed him to a local hospital, but the boy succumbed to injuries he received in the accident. The Madison County Coroner’s Office says the cause of death was head and chest trauma.

Most consumer and safety advocates say that Chinese ATVs are poorly made and unsafe to drive. Austin was driving a SunL Cool Sport gas-powered four-wheeler at the time of the accident.

An attorney who has experience with cases involving Chinese ATVs told Fox 2 News that many consumers are attracted to the poorly made ATVs because of their low price and remain unaware about their risks.

“To hear about this child dying just breaks my heart because these Chinese made ATV’s are just accidents waiting to happen,” he told Fox 2 News.

According to the Fox report, Troy police who investigated the accident believe the parents took every precaution and that fault lays entirely on the manufacturer.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Illinois boy dies while riding Chinese-made ATV

Tyler Chase said that his wife Jennifer wanted to drive the family Rhino in November 2005. Tyler was a passenger as Jennifer drove with their 2-year-old son seated in the back. The family was traveling down a road in Rocky Point, Arizona, when Jennifer attempted to make a left turn and flipped the Rhino. The vehicle rolled over onto the driver’s side, causing Jennifer to hit her head on the roll cage. The impact killed Jennifer instantly.

Tyler suffered three skull fractures and a broken pelvis bone in the rollover, and he did not learn of his wife’s death until weeks after the accident when he regained consciousness.

“It was just overwhelming,” Tyler told KPHO. “I had lost a person that I loved.”

Tyler is raising his son, who is now 6 years old, on his own.

Tyler disagrees with Yamaha’s stance that all Rhino accidents are the result of driver error. “For Yamaha, I think they need to improve the vehicle,” Chase said. “I think they need to make it safer. Whatever they need to do to make it safer.”

The Consumer Products Safety Commission continues to closely monitor reports of injuries and death involving Yamaha Rhinos, especially rollovers that occur on flat surfaces and at low speed. In the U.S., the Rhino has been a factor in 59 deaths and 440 injuries.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › CBS Yamaha Rhino report prompts victim to recount rollover

An attorney for the plaintiffs told the jury that the company chose to put profits over people when it made the Rhino, a vehicle he described as a cross between a golf cart and an all-terrain vehicle.

“Yamaha knew for years it was a defective design and would roll over and kill people,” he told the courtroom. He also described the design flaws that many critics say make the vehicles unstable, namely their narrow track width, disproportionate height, and lack of a rear differential.

“It’s too small and too narrow and goes too fast to be safe,” he said.

Yamaha’s lawyers vigorously defended the Rhino, saying that they are safe when handled properly.

“Accidents and injuries occur because of the operator’s unsafe conduct,” one of Yamaha’s attorneys said in a sweeping statement that contradicted a body of evidence that shows Rhinos can easily roll over even when driven at low speeds and on flat terrain.

The Rhino’s propensity to roll over first came to light in July of 2002, when the vehicle was in its prototype stage and being test driven by Yamaha executives. That was when a Yamaha vice president injured his foot when the Rhino he was driving with a colleague rolled over. Company minutes obtained by CBS News showed that Keisuke “Casey” Yoshida, the President of Yamaha’s U.S. operations, requested an “update on instability of vehicle for future liability cases.”

Earlier this month, the Consumer Products Safety Commission issued a special advisory urging the owners of Rhinos and other all-terrain vehicles to exercise extreme caution while driving them this summer.

In March, the CPSC said it was investigating about 50 incidents involving the Yamaha Rhino, including 46 driver and passenger deaths. The announcement was made at the same time the agency issued a recall notice of all Yamaha models.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Jurors in first Rhino rollover case hear accusations against Yamaha

“As side-by-side recreational of-highway vehicles continue to gain in popularity, so does the number of reports to the [CPSC] of injuries and deaths involving these vehicles,” the reminder says, adding that roll cages and seat belts aren’t enough to prevent serious injuries or death from occurring in the event of a rollover or other accident.

“CPSC’s safety message is especially targeted at Yamaha Rhino drivers and passengers,” the advisory states.

The CPSC also took the opportunity to remind Rhino owners of the free safety upgrades and free helmet offer that Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. announced on March 31, 2009. The upgrades are offered on all Rhino models (450, 660, and 700) and are intended to reduce the Rhino’s propensity to roll over. Yamaha dealerships are not to sell new Rhinos without upgrading their inventory of vehicles first. Additionally, Rhino owners can get a $100 coupon for a new helmet by going to their dealership and watching a Rhino safety video.

“CPSC believes that in order to provide a safer ride, all Rhinos must have half-doors, additional passenger handholds, spacers on the rear wheels, and the rear anti-sway bar removed. Consumers should immediately stop using Rhino ROVs until the repairs are installed by a dealer,” the advisory states.

“While these repairs will improve the safety of these vehicles, the repairs alone are not enough,” the CPSC announcement added.

To mitigate the risk of a rollover or other accident, the CPSC recommended that Rhino drivers and passengers:

• wear their seat belt properly every time
• strap on their helmet every time
• follow on-product warnings
• never remove the half-doors
• never allow a child younger than 16 to drive
• never allow a child to be a passenger if he/she is unable to place both feet on the floorboard with his/her back against the seat
• only operate off-road—the Rhino is not designed for use on public roads or paved surfaces.

The CPSC also said that as of June 23, 2009, the agency received nearly 60 fatality reports involving Rhinos. “A number of very serious injuries have also been reported, including injuries to the head and neck, and incidents requiring surgical amputation of victims’ arms, legs, and fingers. Many of these cases appear to have involved rollovers at relatively low speeds and on level terrain,” the CPSC said.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › CPSC reminds Rhino riders to exercise caution this summer

Van Beveren, a resident of Holland, Mich., was thrown from the vehicle when the Rhino struck the tree. According to a report in the Grand Haven Tribune, Dietrich called some residents of a nearby house, who rushed to the scene before calling 911. Emergency responders had trouble spotting the scene of the accident at first because it was located nearly a mile off the main road in an apple orchard.

The emergency workers transported van Beveren to a landing zone and then airlifted her to Spectrum Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids. On June 26, the morning following the accident, doctors said van Beveren was in critical condition with multiple, unspecified injuries.

The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department is still investigating the crash.

Yamaha Motor Corporation vigorously defends the safety of its Rhino UTVs, which have become the subject of numerous lawsuits involving Rhino drivers and passengers who are seriously injured or killed. The manufacturer announced a repair program on March 31 and suspended all Rhino sales until the vehicles were equipped with a series of safety upgrades. Although Yamaha says that the repair program is not a recall, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission urged Rhino owners to avoid using their UTVs until the upgrades could be made.

Approximately 120,000 Yamaha Rhinos have been sold in the U.S. since they debuted here in fall 2003. Many Rhino enthusiasts say the vehicles are perfectly safe to drive and accidents are strictly the driver’s fault. However, critics of the UTV say that the vehicles’ numerous design flaws, such as narrow track width, narrow wheels, and high center of gravity, make them highly unstable and more prone to roll over than other all terrain vehicles.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Michigan woman in critical condition after Rhino accident

The boy’s parents, James and Bonnie Spencer, needed a UTV for farming chores. They bought a Rhino 450 from their local Yamaha dealership on May 20. Having heard about the Rhino’s propensity to roll over, the Spencers had their dealership make the recommended safety upgrades, including installing spacers on the rear of the vehicle to give it added stability. The Spencers received their Rhino last Thursday after the proper work had been performed, according to a report by the Times Union.

Wyatt, as the boy was called by family and friends, was anxious to test drive the new Rhino. Having grown up on a farm, he had a lot of experience driving four wheelers and dirt bikes. So when the Rhino was delivered, he and a friend were eager to give it a spin.

The boys rode the Rhino around for most of the afternoon, took a break, and then decided to ride one more time in the early evening, around 5 p.m.

The Rhino rolled when it hit a patch of wet grass about 500 yards from the Spencers’ home. The vehicle, weighing more than half a ton, landed on top of Wyatt. His friend, 14-year-old Brian Pitts, was able to push the vehicle off of his friend. He then ran home and called 911.

Paramedics rushed Wyatt to an ER in Albany, where he was pronounced dead from severe head trauma. Wyatt was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. It is not known whether the Spencers received a free helmet from Yamaha as part of the recommended safety recall.

Most of the Rhino-related deaths – about 50 in the U.S. so far – were caused as a result of injuries sustained in a rollover. According to the Times Union, a certified mechanic will inspect the Spencers’ vehicle to make sure the safety upgrades were installed properly.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Rhino rollover claims life of 13-year-old boy

The rollover occurred on Monday evening when Camarillo apparently lost control of the Rhino. According to the local coroner’s investigator, Camarillo was thrown from the vehicle. He was not wearing a safety belt. Investigators do not yet know what caused the driver to lose control of the UTV and roll over.

The Desert Sun reports that aside from Camarillo and the passenger who was airlifted in critical condition, four others received injuries as a result of the rollover. All were transported to area hospitals.

The accident occurred nearly two months after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Yamaha Motor Corporation issued a safety recall of all Rhino models (450, 660, and 700). The CPSC announced the recall after investigating 50 Rhino accidents. Although many of the reports investigated by the CPSC involved unbelted passengers, the agency found that several of the accidents appeared to result from design flaws that critics claim make the UTVs unstable.

120,000 Rhinos have been sold since the vehicles first appeared on the U.S. market in the fall of 2003. Since then, Rhinos have been blamed on nearly 50 deaths and hundreds of injuries. Consumers have filed approximately 200 lawsuits against Yamaha in U.S. courts, alleging the Rhinos to be dangerously unstable, even when driven on flat terrain and at low rates of speed.

The CPSC has advised all Rhino owners to stop using the vehicles until a local dealer has made the appropriate safety upgrades to the vehicles. Additionally, Yamaha has instructed its dealerships to stop selling Rhinos until the improvements are made. Yamaha is also giving free helmets to Rhino owners who schedule their vehicles for the safety upgrades.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Rhino rollover kills California man, injures 5 others

The CPSC’s investigation of Rhino accidents found that an unreasonably high number of rollover-related deaths and injuries occurred while the vehicles were driven at low speeds and on flat terrain. Since 2003, when the Rhino first debuted on the U.S. market, it has been blamed for 46 deaths and hundreds of injuries, many of which are serious and life-altering. Consumers have filed some 200 lawsuits in U.S. courts.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Rhinos are not just popular recreational vehicles in Australia. Farmers, Surf Life Saving patrols (a national association of lifeguards), and Rural Fire Brigades also use them in their daily tasks.

Surf Life Saving Australia told the Daily telegraph that Yamaha assured them that “there are no safety concerns with the Rhino” and that it’s not offering the repair program in Australia because “when the user guidelines are followed, the Rhino is a safe and extremely capable side-by-side vehicle.”

The SLSA also told the Daily Telegraph that it implements driver training programs developed specifically for the Rhino. However, Yamaha told the association that “typical use” of the vehicles in the U.S. differed significantly from the SLSA’s use, and that “safety issues are not replicated here.”

So, in other words, Americans are irresponsible (if not reckless) Rhino drivers, the CPSC’s concerns are unfounded, and there’s nothing whatsoever wrong with the Rhino’s design, even though more people are killed or maimed while using them than any other UTV?

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Yamaha Australia offers no Rhino safety recall

Both lawsuits allege that Yamaha Rhinos have fundamental design flaws such as a high center of gravity, narrow track width, and narrow wheels, which make the vehicles highly unstable. The problematic design, combined with a lack of safety features that would help contain passengers and their limbs inside the vehicle, make riding in a Rhino exceptionally dangerous.

Yamaha warns consumers that Rhinos are susceptible to roll over if driven aggressively and on uneven ground. Most lawsuits, however, are filed by victims and their families who allege that the vehicles turned over on flat ground and at a low speed. Yamaha also advised drivers to keep their limbs inside the vehicle in the event of a rollover, yet Rhinos lack the necessary features to make doing so possible.

Both of the West Virginia complaints assert that injuries caused by the Rhino accidents led to medical expenses and lost wages in addition to permanent physical impairment, pain, mental anguish, and a loss in quality of life.

The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) responded to all of the complaints against Rhino by launching an investigation last year. The agency found that the vehicles to be unreasonably dangerous and urged consumers to avoid driving their Rhinos until the appropriate safety upgrades were made by a local dealer.

The CPSC and Yamaha jointly announced the “voluntary repair program,” effectively a recall, on March 31. Safety critics applaud Yamaha’s willingness to add safety features to all vehicles sold since 2003, but say that the company still needs to address the Rhino’s fundamental safety flaws.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Rhino’s fundamental design flaws form basis of more lawsuits

The family of Wyatt Bauer of Rimbey, Alberta seeks $400 million CA (about $316 million US). The boy was killed while vacationing with his family in 2007. He received multiple injuries in the rollover, including severe head trauma.

Because the Rhino has a propensity to roll over during normal, safe operation, Yamaha and the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) jointly announced a “voluntary repair program” (effectively a recall), which allows owners of all Rhino models to take their ATVs to their dealership for a series of safety repairs and upgrades. Additionally, Yamaha Motor Co. has told all of its dealers to cease selling new Rhinos until they perform the same safety upgrades to their showroom vehicles.

The safety repairs include the installation of doors, hand grips, and a rear wheel spacer and the removal of the rear anti-sway bar. Several people throughout the US and Canada have been severely maimed or killed while riding in Rhinos because the vehicles have a fundamental design flaw. A narrow track width and a high center of gravity make the vehicles prone to roll over during normal operation. Rhinos also lack some key safety features that would help keep persons contained in the vehicle during a rollover.

The Canadian class action also includes allegations made by a Canadian man whose foot was trapped and crushed under the weight of his Rhino when it rolled over. If his Rhino had been equipped with safety doors, his leg likely could have remained inside the vehicle. Instead, the man’s leg was crushed under the Rhino’s unpadded roll cage, causing injuries that required multiple surgeries.

Acting CPSC chairman Nancy Nord said the Rhino recall was “a critical step toward increasing family safety. “I personally have been so concerned about the number of deaths and injuries associated with these vehicles that I directed staff to step up their investigative efforts,” she said in a statement.

Sources: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aS0pYstKqSYg

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Canadian-Class-Action-prnews-14815334.html?.v=4

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Death of boy in Rhino rollover prompts Canadian class action suit

The dealer told the couple that it would call them back when it had time to perform the safety repairs. Yamaha designed the new safety enhancements to prevent and minimize injury during a rollover. Rhinos are notoriously narrow and unstable vehicles, and every year people become maimed or killed when their Rhinos roll over because there is little, if anything, to prevent one’s head, arms, and legs from protruding during a rollover.

Which is just what happened to the West Virginia couple while they were waiting for a call from their Rhino dealership. In October 2007, the male was driving the Rhino. When the vehicle started to topple, the driver reacted by sticking his leg out to prevent a full-scale rollover. Although his reaction was a natural one, it did not prevent the Rhino from rolling over and crushing the driver’s leg. He now suffers from severe and permanent injuries.

Last month Yamaha and the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a “voluntary repair program” which effectively recalled all Rhino 450, 660, and 700 models for safety upgrades. Yamaha Motor Corp. agreed to install passenger doors, hand grips, and rear wheel spacers on Rhinos already sold. Additionally, the manufacturer plans to remove the rear anti-sway bar on the vehicles, which will give them more stability.

Yamaha headquarters also told its dealerships to discontinue Rhino sales until all safety upgrades were made. While so many repairs are being performed on showroom Rhinos for sale, many dealerships have little time to perform recall repairs.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › West Virginia couple sues Yamaha dealership

The Sands lost their 10-year-old daughter Ellie when the Rhino she was a passenger in rolled over, crushing her head between the ground and the vehicle’s unpadded roll cage. The accident occurred when the driver, traveling at 15 mph on flat terrain, attempted to make a right turn. Ellie suffered a massive brain injury and died the following day.

Since Ellie’s death, the Sands have courageously turned their grief into a positive effort to call attention to the dangers of the Yamaha Rhino. They forged alliances with families of other victims who were killed or injured in Rhino rollovers and they flooded the CPSC with testimonies. Then, after months of investigations, the CPSC announced what is effectively a recall of the Rhinos.

The CPSC has advised all Rhino owners to immediately stop driving their UTVs until Yamaha makes a series of repairs and improvements to the vehicles, free of charge, at a Yamaha dealership. Yamaha Motor Co. has advised all its dealerships to discontinue selling additional Rhino 450, 660, and 700 models until those same modifications have been performed. The modifications are intended to give the Rhino more stability and reduce the chances of being maimed or killed in a rollover.

John and Tammy Sand can now share a sense of accomplishment, and they are pleased that the CPSC pushed Yamaha to take a step in the right direction.

“It made us feel good,” Sands told the Middletown Journal. “I don’t want to take credit for this, but it’s a fight we took up for Ellie.”

Resources: Ellie’s Mission Page; Yamaha Motor Co.; CPSC; Middletown Journal

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Parents of Yamaha Rhino victim happy about ‘recall’

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced just last week that owners of Yamaha Rhino 450, 660, and 700 models could take the vehicles to their dealership for free safety repairs and upgrades. Although Yamaha clearly denies on its website that this is not a recall but a “voluntary repair program,” the CPSC believes the vehicles are a substantial risk and advises the public to avoid operating Rhinos until the proper improvements have been made. Yamaha has also told its dealers to refrain from selling Rhinos until the repairs have been made.

Yamaha Rhinos have been under investigation by the CPSC for months. The commission analyzed more than 50 Rhino accidents that involved 46 driver and passenger deaths. Two-thirds of the accidents resulted in a rollover.

Yamaha’s complimentary “repair campaign” addresses some of the issues that make the Rhino so unstable. It will modify the rear wheels with spacers, giving the vehicle a wider track. It will also remove the rear anti-sway bar, which Yamaha expects will reduce the chance of a rollover and improve the vehicle’s stability and handling.

Because hundreds more people have been seriously maimed in Rhino rollovers, Yamaha is also installing half doors and handholds. Those improvements are intended to reduce the number of people who suffer from crushed or amputated arms and legs. Additionally, Yamaha is offering owners free helmets when they update their Rhinos.

Despite the improvements, critics of the vehicle say that they still don’t adequately address the vehicles’ design flaws. Maneuvers that can be performed safely on other ATVs are still unreasonably dangerous when done on a Rhino.

The Canadian lawsuit was filed in Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Dec. 12, 2008 and served to Yamaha last week.

Source: Bloomberg.com

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Rhino lawsuit moves forward as Yamaha launches repair campaign

The recall involves all Rhino 450, 660 and 700 model vehicles. According to an official news release, the CPSC staff has investigated more than 50 incidents involving 46 driver and passenger deaths related to the Rhino. They report more than two-thirds of the cases involved rollovers, and many appear to involve turns at relatively low speed and on level terrain.

Beasley Allen attorney and Product Liability section head Cole Portis has reviewed over 75 Yamaha Rhino rollover claims in the past two years. He says,”We are concerned that this recall, while a good first step, does not address the inherent design flaws that make the Yamaha Rhino so susceptible to low-speed rollovers. However, I remain hopeful that this government recall will serve as a wake-up call and that Yamaha will re-evaluate their practice of putting profits over people. ”

The recall originally only included the 450 and 660 models, but within a day of the announcement the CPSC added the 700 model as well. The recall includes about 120,000 of the 450 and 660 models and 25,000 of the 700 models.

Yamaha will suspend sales of the vehicles until they are repaired, and consumers are urged to stop riding the vehicles until repairs are made.

Yamaha’s recommended repair includes the installation of a spacer on the rear wheels and removal of the rear anti-sway bar to help reduce the chance of rollover and improve vehicle handling. The repair also includes installation of half doors and additional passenger hand-holds, which Yamaha already recommended after earlier reports of rollover injuries.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › CPSC, Yamaha recall Rhino vehicles

Earlier this week we featured J.T. Crow, a 9-year-old boy who died when the Yamaha Rhino he was a passenger in rolled onto its side, throwing him from the ATV and pinning him underneath its unpadded roll cage. Since the accident, which occurred in June 2007, J.T.’s mother, Heidi Crow, embarked on a mission to “help save others from a tragic fate like J.T.’s.”

ACCORDING TO THE PRESS RELEASE: One result of Ms. Crow’s work is the “Citizen Report on UTV Vehicle Hazards,” a compilation of information, statistics, and evidence underscoring the dangers of the Yamaha Rhino and other utility terrain vehicles (UTVs). Ms. Crow collaborated with family members of other Rhino victims, the Trauma Foundation, and the Center for Auto Safety in publishing the report, which is dedicated to the memory of J.T.

“The Yamaha Rhino and some of the other sport-based UTVs have a much greater propensity to roll over than any passenger vehicle or truck on the road,” the report states in its opening. “There are, however, no governmental minimum safety performance standards currently applicable to these vehicles,” the report says.

The authors believe that “such standards are vitally important to prevent occupants from being seriously injured during rollover. Yamaha Rhinos lacking adequate occupant protection have injured, maimed or killed literally hundreds of consumers.”

The report was released to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the Recreational Off Highway Vehicle Association (ROHVA), and key members of Congress.

“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,” said Ms. Crow in releasing the report.

The report focuses on the safety defects of the Rhino that make it one of the most dangerous UTVs in the world. It also identifies 38 people who lost their lives in Rhino accidents.

“A national tragedy is occurring. Scores of adults, teenagers, and children have been left permanently disabled after their hands, arms, feet, and legs have been crushed in Yamaha Rhino rollovers, and many innocent children have been killed,” Ms. Crow said.

“We call upon Yamaha and other UTV manufacturers to incorporate key safety features necessary to protect occupants from accidents, injuries, and deaths.”

The report calls for many improvements to the Rhino, including better occupant containment methods so that passengers remain inside the vehicle during a rollover; supplementary safety restraints such as partial doors, padded roll cages, and netting; effective seat belt restraint systems that comply with US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; improved stability and handling; and other safety upgrades.

The entire report can be viewed here.

SOURCE: http://www.yamaharhinorolloverandrecall.com/news_articles/2009/20090227-press.htm

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Families devastated by Rhino rollovers release safety report

Some 75 percent of the ATV accidents result in serious damage to the head or spinal cord of the accident victim. Head injuries are a major cause of serious life threatening or lifelong physical problems and ailments. Injury to the spinal cord can result in paralysis of the entire body for life.

Most of the deaths and injuries to children are the result of youngsters riding adult-size ATVs, and consumer groups say the agency needs to do more to keep kids off ATVs that are too big and too powerful for them. Consumer advocates have called on the CPSC to ban the sale of adult-size ATVs for use for children. The agency has declined to do that.

There is only a voluntary agreement in place with major ATV distributors in which they require dealers not to sell adult-size ATVs to people who might allow children to ride them. Consumer groups say few dealers abide by the rule.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Report Outlines Danger