Yamaha Rhino Under Cpsc Investigation After Atv Accidents

A string of ATV-related accidents and injuries linked to the Yamaha Rhino is forcing the Consumer Product Safety Commission to investigate the vehicle that promises to "go anywhere."

Technically, the Rhinos are classified as a "utility terrain vehicle", and are not really ATVs. There are differences in the design, like the fact that the Rhino has a steering wheel, while ATVs tend to include handlebars in their design. At the other extreme, Rhinos are not really subject to the safety regulations that govern, say for instance, cars. You don't have to register your Rhino. However, these vehicles have come under the scanner after a series of accidents that have left drivers, both adults and children, with amputated limbs, and other severe injuries. ATV's in general, since they have been introduced and caught the public fancy, have been linked to at least 100 deaths in the country. One name that keeps coming up when the talk turns to ATV accidents is Yamaha's Rhino.

That scrutiny has led to the filing of more than 200 ATV accident lawsuits relating to the Rhino, against Yamaha. Plaintiffs claim that there is a design defect in the Rhino that causes the vehicle to rollover even at low speeds. There have been instances of people driving the Rhino on flat surfaces at very low speeds, and belted in as necessary, and still suffering massive injuries when the vehicle tips over. This machine is 1,100 pounds of steel, and the crushing force on the driver's limbs is enough to sever them in many cases.

Yamaha on its part has refused to admit that there is any design defect that makes the Rhino extra susceptible to a rollover. Executives at the company point to a number of other factors that cause the vehicles to rollover – failure to wear seat belts, removal of the roll cage. However, they haven't been able to explain away instances like Texas resident Chris Hewett, who had his leg crushed when his Rhino tipped over and fell on his leg. Hewett says he was driving slowly on a flat surface, and was belted in at the time of the ATV accident.

The only response that Yamaha has made has been to send out safety stickers warning drivers of the dangers that the vehicle poses during "abrupt maneuvers" or "aggressive driving," which hasn’t really been a path-breaking step.

To make matters worse for the CPSC, the company is now forming an association with its competitors that will reclassify these utility terrain vehicles as a "Recreational Off Highway Vehicle." CPSC members say the renaming will add to the present confusion about this under regulated segment of the market. As the CPSC begins its investigation, it remains to be seen whether it will take steps to recall the Rhino in its current design, because of the number of ATV accidents it's involved in.