2009 Safety Report on Yamaha Rhino Dangers & Accidents

February 27, 2009: A group of safety advocates and victims issued today a report warning about the safety defects of some Utility Terrain Vehicles (UTVs), also called "Side-by-Side" vehicles, that are causing a mounting toll of death and severe injury to their users. The report calls for basic changes in the design of these rollover-prone off-road vehicles to substantially increase their ability to protect occupants in rollovers.

The report focuses particular attention on the safety defects with the Yamaha Rhino UTV. Identified in the report are 38 deaths, many of them to children, believed to have occurred in Yamaha Rhino accidents since the end of 2004. One of these was the nine-year old son of Heidi Crow. Although her son was belted, he was ejected in a rollover and crushed underneath the half-ton Rhino, which was not equipped with doors or safety netting to contain occupants.

A Legacy of Death and Disfigurement Linked to the Yamaha Rhino UTV

The authors of the report include three individuals who suffered catastrophic injuries while driving or riding in the Yamaha Rhino as well as parents of two children who died in horrific accidents involving the Yamaha Rhino.

The authors believe that none of their injuries or family members' deaths would have occurred if Yamaha had incorporated in the design of the Rhino readily available safety measures that would have protected occupants in the event of a rollover accident.

Summary of the Report

The report calls for significant measures to be undertaken to improve UTV safety, including:

• Minimum Occupant Containment Standards: It is essential for the safety of occupants that they remain inside the vehicle during a tip over and rollover accident. The report requests that the NHTSA, CPSC, ROHVA and/or manufacturers establish tests that evaluate and ensure adequate occupant containment for legs, arms, hands and heads in rollovers and rollovers, standards which all UTV vehicles must pass before being sold.
• Supplementary Safety Restraints: The safety envelope of UTV vehicles must be substantially improved through supplementary restraints that prevent excursion of the feet/legs, hands/arms, and torso. The report calls for the installation of partial doors, roll cage cushions and netting on all UTV vehicles.
• Effective Seat Belt Restraint Systems: The report seeks all UTV vehicles comply with the standards set forth in the United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to ensure that occupants are not ejected from the vehicle during a tip over or rollover. The report charges that one of the reasons for the large number of fatalities and injuries associated with the Yamaha Rhino is due to a deficient seat belt system.
• Redesigned Roll Cages With Roll Cage Padding: In many cases, when occupants have been ejected from their UTV vehicle, they have suffered a fatal or catastrophic injury from being struck by the vehicle's heavy, unpadded, steel roll cage. The report calls for moving of the roll cages further from the occupants, re-designing them with minimal crush points and adding padding.
• Improved Stability And Handling: The report's authors call upon NHTSA, CPSC, ROHVA and/or manufacturers to establish stability and handling standards, including minimum resistance to rollover, for UTV vehicles in order to substantially reduce the likelihood of tip over accidents.
• Specific Yamaha Rhino Safety Recommendations: In addition to its general recommendations for all UTVs, the report includes recommends action specific to the Yamaha Rhino.

The report's authors call upon CPSC, ROHVA, Yamaha and/or all UTV manufacturers to require Yamaha to recall the Rhino to equip it with full doors and/or netting to protect occupants from needless and continued injuries and fatalities and asks the CPSC to mandate the recall if Yamaha fails to act. In addition, the report calls for design changes to the Rhino, including adding roll bar padding, increasing its axle width, lowering its center of gravity and/or adding a rear differential, to improve stability and handling.