| Apr 05 |
Caught! CPSC nails Yamaha for its Rhino negligenceby Bruce Westbrook
After a study of 50 incidents involving the Rhino 450, 660 and 700 models — incidents which claimed 46 driver and passenger deaths — the CPSC concluded that these vehicles, as designed and manufactured by Yamaha, should not be driven by anyone, anywhere, anytime. “Owners of the affected Rhinos should stop using them,” the CPSC urged. Beyond that, the CPSC has arranged for Yamaha Motor Corp. USA to launch a free repair program for these models. Owners are advised to take their vehicle to a Rhino dealer for the free installation of a spacer on the rear wheels and for installation of half-doors and additional passenger handholds to help occupants keep their arms and legs inside the vehicle during a rollover. Yamaha also will remove a rear anti-sway bar to reduce the chance of a rollover and to improve vehicle handling, always a big problem with the dangerous ATVs it produced. Of the 50 incidents the CPSC studied, more than two-thirds involved rollovers, many of them at low speeds and on level terrain. Imagine how much greater the risk can be when the Rhino is driven on the kind of rugged off-road trail for which it’s intended. The CPSC also reports that Yamaha has voluntarily agreed to cease selling such vehicles immediately until they are repaired. Federal officials estimate that Yamaha sold 120,000 of its 450 and 660 vehicles since their introduction in 2003. Also part of the repair program are 25,000 of the 700 model vehicles. At a price of around $10,000 each, those numbers add up to roughly $1.5 billion in sales for Yamaha. Was it worth it, Yamaha? Would you be making these repairs if your vehicles were safe? Would you be cooperating with the feds if you hadn’t made significant design and manufacturing errors? The answers are clear. While amassing many millions in profits, Yamaha utterly failed American consumers, too many of whom have paid the ultimate price — death — due to Yamaha’s clearly proven negligence. If you or a loved one owns a Yamaha Rhino ATV, heed the CPSC’s advice and do not operate it. Rather, take it to your Yamaha dealer for free repairs, and even then, be sure to wear a helmet and a seatbelt, and don’t let anyone under 16 years old drive it. If, however, you or a loved one already has been harmed by a Yamaha Rhino rollover accident or other Yamaha Rhino ATV accident, get an experienced Yamaha Rhino accident lawyer on your side. Fill out the free case review form on this Web page to alert a knowledgeable personal injury attorney at Jim S. Adler & Associates, then get the legal support you need for a Yamaha Rhino lawsuit. Someone must pay for Yamaha’s negligence, and that someone should not be you. Upon issuing a statement about the repair program this week, CPSC Acting Chairman Nancy Nord said, “Today’s announcement concerning Yamaha Rhino vehicles is 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.” For that, we extend our thanks to the CPSC. For Yamaha, we continue to extend blame. Too many Americans have died or been seriously injured due to Yamaha’s negligence, and the CPSC’s ruling is just one more step in a lengthy process of setting things right. Another step is to hold Yamaha accountable for its negligence in the legal arena. Your Adler Yamaha Rhino accident attorney is ready to do just that. 7 Responses to “Caught! CPSC nails Yamaha for its Rhino negligence”Leave a Reply |
In case anyone had any doubt about the dangers of Yamaha Rhino ATVs, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission makes it clear: They kill people — even when driven at slow speeds and on level surfaces, as is often the case in a fatal Yamaha Rhino rollover accident.
Thank you for your blog and bringing attention to the dangers of the Rhino. Regretably, the CPSC’s action was too late for my only daughter but at least her death was not in vain. Dani was one of the 50 accidents investigated and hers was one of the early fatalities, a rollover that occurred her very first time on the Rhino, a low speed turn on level ground that resulted in a rollover. Unsafe at any speed, a term coined by Ralph Nader when describing the Corvair, is equally applicable to the Rhino.
Cordially
Bob Berends
Father of the late Dani Bernard 11-24-88 to 11-26-2006
While I find the title description harsh I am happy to see that the issue is being taken seriously, live being cut short in ATV accidents is nothing to take lightly.
Is this a joke? Has anyone from the CPSC actually been to Glamis or Pismo on a busy weekend? The only people that get hurt are inexperienced or people under the influence or the innocent people they crash into. Yes, there are a lot of stupid people running around on machines they have no business riding. I have seen it going on for years and years. There are people who do not supervise their children. A lot of them do not strap them into a machine improperly or even make them wear helmets. Yes, its this kind of stupidity that kills and injures people. Sorry it is not the machines fault.
Take a dirt bike for instance. If you stand to the side of it, hold it upright and let go of the bars it is going to fall over right? Now what do we for and sue the manufactuers for this as well. This is the direction we are going in. Please parents get off your butts and teach your children right from wrong. Please stop all the madness.
My Rhino 660 caught on fire behind the seats and under the dump bed yesterday evening driving in a pasture and reading other comments in other sites im not the only person this has happened to.I made it to a hose in the pasture where the cows get water and put it out .That was too close for me my 2 boys was riding with me and I only went 100 yds. doing 10-15 mph is all it took to ignite some grass and briars around the clutch plate and it flamed up big time!
My 2008 yamaha rhino 450 caught on fire inbetween the two seats while my wife an daughter were rideing just 5 minutes from the house they got out with no burns but the rhino was a total loss. My wife said she couldnt unbuckle my little girl from the drivers seat she had to get out an go around to pass side. They stopped as soon as they saw flames but the cover over the motor was all ready melting an flaming up. Thank god they are ok.
I forgot to say that the rhino was clean aroung the motor area we mosly ride on the road. My wife was on a trail/ dirt road going to the gas station the was know dry grass we traveled this trail two to three times a day the fire dept. said that the fire was hard to put out than a car fire.
My 2007 Yamaha Rhino 450 also caught on fire a few weeks ago(10/16/2009). I was out in the Camp Verde Mtns with my husband riding his Rhino ahead of me. The dirt road was well kept, fairly even and I was driving for about 5-7 minutes at approx. 25 MPH, with almost a full tank of gas. I noticed a bad plastic burning smell. I looked out to the right side and in my peripheral vision I saw a tall skinny flame coming out right behind the passenger seat between the passenger seat and the dump bed but closer to the middle area. I turned my head all of the way and in that time the entire back of my Rhino right between the bucket seats and the dump bed was an entire wall of fire 3-4 feet high! I had no time to brake or anything so I swerved a bit to the right to get away from a large tree, turned off the motor, grabbed my keys and fell out to get away…everything made of aluminum melted completely. The motor (like yours) was melted and the entire thing burned down entirely to its frame, nothing else left…