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 Iron County Sheriff Mark Gower, the girls were riding the Rhino on a private ranch about 40 miles west of Cedar City in southwestern Utah near the Nevada and Arizona borders. The Rhino’s driver, a 9-year-old girl, hit the tree at a high rate of speed.

Gower told the Salt Lake Tribune that “the force of the wreck broke the bolts holding the seat.”

Gower identified the 5-year-old girl who was seriously injured as Avalon Carlisle. The girl suffered head trauma from the Rhino’s roll bar and was taken to Valley View Medical Center in Cedar City, where she was airlifted to Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City. A hospital spokesperson told the Salt Lake Tribune on Monday that the girl was recovering and in good condition.

The other girls went to private homes following the crash and Sheriff’s deputies had to track them all down. Sheriff Gower told the Tribune that the four other girls were then taken to Cedar City for medical attention.

None of the girls was wearing a helmet.

On public land in Utah, it is illegal for anyone younger than 8 years old to drive an ATV. All drivers ages 8 to 16 must have a safety training certificate if operating on public lands.

However, Utah state law does not place any restrictions on the use of all-terrain vehicles on private property. Nonetheless, police are screening the case for possible negligence charges.

Investigators were told that the girls took the vehicle on their own without permission. Nevertheless, Gower told the Tribune that the girls’ parents or guardians could be held accountable.

“It was negligent and charges could be filed against whoever allowed it or allowed them to continue riding,”

Gower told the Tribune that the owner of the Rhino lives in Colorado City, Arizona and was not present when the crash occurred.

Ann Evans, the off-highway vehicle coordinator for the Utah Division of State Parks, told the Tribune that she sees a “disturbing trend” at some popular off-roading locations with mothers holding their babies in chest carriers while riding.

Babies and children are especially prone to receive traumatic head injuries on an ATV, either from the rough, jarring motion of the vehicle or by striking their heads on a hard surface in the event of a crash or rollover. Helmet companies do not make helmets for infants.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Five girls injured in Yamaha Rhino rollover

Bloomingdale police said that Mlynarczyk was rushed to Copley Medical Center in Aurora where he was pronounced dead later that evening. They did not specify the nature of Mlynarczyk’s injuries and the accident remains under investigation.

The fatal rollover stunned Mlynarczyk’s friends and family. According to Chicago’s Daily Herald, the man’s father, Marion Mlynarczyk said his son was an experienced driver of both three- and four-wheeled ATVs and dirt bikes.

“He just loves it, it’s like he was born with that (passion),” his father told the Daily Herald, which noted that “Even the main photo on his Facebook profile includes a photo of Mlynarczyk atop an ATV.”

Mlynarczyk was the youngest of five children. He graduated last year from Glenbard North High School and was studying to become a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning specialist.

“If you knew him, you would like him right away because he was such a positive person. Everybody liked him (because) he was always willing to help and always giving good advice,” his father said.

Mlynarczyk’s father said that his son “was looking forward to graduating and working as a Union Guy.”

“We are going to miss him tremendously and I don’t know how we are going to fill the gap he left. I look at his pictures and he is so full of life and hope, and now he’s gone,” his father told the Daily Herald.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › ATV rollover claims the life of 19-year-old Illinois student

An all-terrain vehicle crash claimed the life of a 16-year-old girl from the Chinquapin community in Duplin County, North Carolina last weekend. According to NBC affiliate WITN in Washington, North Carolina, the girl was identified as Raven Kennedy, a student at East Duplin High School.

Authorities investigating the accident said Kennedy was driving the ATV on private property when it rolled over after Kennedy attempted to turn onto a dirt road. Her passenger, 20-year-old Michael Pickett, was taken to Duplin General Hospital, where he was treated and released.

In South Carolina, a 13-year-old boy died when he was riding his ATV with friends. According to Florence County Coroner Bubba Matthews, the boy, who was identified as Benjamin Byers, lost control of the ATV and was crushed when the vehicle rolled over on top of him. Byers was rushed to Lake City Hospital where he was pronounced dead just before 3 p.m. on January 11.

Near White City, Oregon, three two teenage girls were treated for injuries at a local hospital when the ATV they and another friend, also a teenage girl, flipped. Reports say that the ATV’s driver lost control of the vehicle just as she attempted to cross Highway 140 in southern Oregon just outside White City.

One of the girls of the girls was ejected when the vehicle rolled over. The other girls were trapped under the vehicle after it rolled over multiple times. All three girls survived the crash.

In Nova Scotia, Canada, a teenager died when he was ejected from the vehicle after hitting some rocks in the road. 18-year-old Alexander MacPhee of Nine Mile River was riding his ATV with two friends when the accident occurred. Halifax Royal Canadian Mounted Police said that MacPhee was wearing a helmet but that it had come off when he the rock. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

In an effort to reduce the incidence of injury and death caused by ATV accidents, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced last October that it voted to publish an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to address safety hazards associated with ATVs.

According to the CPSC, the agency’s preliminary evaluations found that ATVs may exhibit inadequate lateral stability, undesirable steering characteristics, and inadequate occupant protection during a rollover crash.

“The need for federal rulemaking on ROVs (recreational offroad vehicles) is the consequence of not having a voluntary standard that effectively safeguards consumers, said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum in a statement, adding that she believed her agency could play a vital role in making ATVs safer.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › ATV accidents turned January into a tragic month for many teenagers

In Jackson County, Alabama, where at least one person was killed in an ATV accident last year, representatives of the Sheriff’s Department, Emergency Management Agency, the Scottsboro Fire Department, AirEvac, and other emergency services are in the planning stages of developing community education and training courses for ATV safety.

“ATV safety is very needed in our county,” Michael Sims, coordinator for the Jackson County Extension Office, told Jackson County’s Daily Sentinel. According to the Sentinel, Sims said that more adults and children need to be wearing helmets while riding and often they have too many have passengers riding on the vehicles.

In Pittsylvania County, Virginia, two Pittsylvania County volunteer fire departments are hosting an ATV Safety Awareness event this weekend to “provide tips on minimizing the dangers of riding an ATV,” the Danville News reports.

Proceeds from the event, which includes a yard sale and bake sale, will benefit the family of a local teen who was killed in an ATV accident in October. The money raised will help cover medical expenses and scholarships.

Tragically, in Pittsylvania County just last Friday, a 2-year-old boy fell off an ATV that his mother was driving and died. The mother and the boy’s sister were also injured when the ATV crashed. The tragedy occurred after the fire departments planned the Pittsylvania County awareness event. The timing of the incident underscores the need for more ATV safety events.

Regardless of the safety measures a driver takes, all-terrain vehicles are by their very nature dangerous vehicles that can maim or kill even the most experienced drivers and their passengers. When drivers disregard or don’t know the laws governing ATV operation (if their state has rules), or if they fail to take the most basic safety precautions, a fairly dangerous machine becomes a very deadly one.

Some ATVs, such as the Yamaha Rhino, contain design flaws that make them unreasonably dangerous. Yamaha designed the Rhino to fit in the bed of a standard pick-up truck, giving it a narrow stance that makes the vehicle prone to roll over, even when it is driven on a flat surface and at a low rate of speed. The Rhino’s propensity to roll over, combined with a lack of safety features that adequately protect passengers, has caused hundreds of serious injuries and dozens of deaths across the U.S.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Communities offer ATV safety events to mitigate off-roading dangers

Florence County coroner Bubba Matthews told WBTW that the boy likely lost control of the ATV while riding with friends. Byers was an active and athletic child who loved fishing, hunting, and playing ball. Most of all, he loved racing.

The boy’s mother, Tamara Johnson, described her son as “an awesome athlete.”

“He played county sports and school sports. He raced all over the United States. He was just an awesome kid,” Johnson told WBTW.

“He was my baby boy, my baby boy with the big smile. Everybody he met, he left an impression on,” she said.

Byers was featured on the news last month when he competed against the station’s news director in a go-kart race and won.

The boy’s death dealt a painful blow to the family, friends, school, and community that he left behind. Those who knew and loved Byers mourned his passing during funeral services held Wednesday after classes ended at Johnsonville Middle School, where he attended.

Byers’ family established a scholarship fund to preserve the boy’s memory in his community and to help others. All donations, which can be made to any Anderson Brothers Bank, will benefit a student athlete at Johnsonville Middle School.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › ATV rollover kills 13-year-old South Carolina boy

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

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

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

Rachel A. Jollimore was in the passenger seat of the vehicle when the driver swerved to avoid hitting a tree, causing the Rhino to roll onto its side. Jollimore was pinned underneath the UTV. She sustained a fractured skull and broken hand in the accident, which occurred in a field in Silver Springs, Florida.

Jollimore told Ocala.com that she has been considerably impaired since the July 2007 accident. “I have to watch what I do. I can’t pick anything up heavy. I can bend, but I have a limited ability. I can’t sleep on my stomach,” she told Ocala.com

In addition to suing Yamaha, Jollimore has filed suit against a manufacturing division of Yamaha and the Ocala dealer that sold the Rhino. Her suit alleges the Rhino possesses a number of design flaws that make it unsafe, including high center of gravity, narrow track width, narrow wheels and tires, and side-by-side seating. all of which contribute to the vehicle’s propensity to roll over in certain conditions.

The suit is one of the latest in a growing number of lawsuits against Yamaha throughout the country. About 200 lawsuits involving the Rhino UTV have been filed to date in both state and federal courts.

The Rhino debuted in the U.S. in 2003. Since then, more than 100,000 of the UTVs have been sold nationwide.

Jollimore has accrued more than $100,000 in medical expenses related to the accident. She seeks damages for herself and for her family, according to Ocala.com.

Yamaha continues to stand behind the Rhino and its design, claiming that the vehicle is safe when it is used responsibly.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Florida woman injured in Rhino wreck sues

Fortunately, the girls were not hurt, but Uncle D ended up with a compound fracture in his arm and shoulder, with bones breaking the skin and a lot of blood loss. A family friend, the father of one of the girls thrown clear in the accident, is an EMT, and was able to free Uncle D from under the Rhino, where he had been pinned, and stabilize him until he could be transported to the emergency room. He underwent surgery, where he had rods and pins inserted to hold the bones, and a week’s stay in the hospital.

What should have been a weekend full of family fun, barbecue and camping turned into a near tragedy and serious injury. Too many people are still unaware of the dangers of ATVs, and, in particular, the Yamaha Rhino, which is believed to have a design defect that makes it more liable than most to roll over, even on flat ground.

SOURCE: Yamaha Rhino Rollover › Family 4th marred by rollover