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

“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