Why did Yamaha call its Rhino Side by Side a UTV instead of an ATV?
Posted by
Armand RossettiJanuary 20, 2009 5:23 PM
The answer is simple. A Utility Terrain Vehicle or UTV designation places the Rhino in a netherworld of unregulated motor vehicles. I have used the word netherworld because a Rhino UTV can look as innocent as this, or it can look like this, or even like this. There are hundreds of after market suppliers and modification services that can turn a very unsafe factory basic vehicle into a really unsafe modified monster.
In fact, Rhino owners can purchase a typical basic factory Rhino, with a narrow track, small tires and a high center of gravity, modify the vehicle accordingly, and subsequently perform some very dangerous maneuvers with a modified version, such as this hill climb,
these types of jumps,
or these extreme maneuvers (not all participating vehicles are Rhino UTVs)
If anyone told me that Yamaha could not reasonably foresee the misuse that its unclassified Rhino UTV would be undergoing, I would not believe them for a minute. In fact, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) should also have refused to believe Yamaha.
On a related matter in December 2006, the CPSC requested public commentary on its regulation entitled, Standards for All Terrain Vehicles and Ban of Three Wheeled All Terrain Vehicles. During the period for commentary, the Commission received a substantial number of responses (which begin on page six).
In any event, Yamaha has succeeded in circumventing ATV rules. As a result, the Rhino is neither a car nor an ATV. And as an unregulated “emerging hazard,” the Rhino provides children and unsuspecting adults with the unbridled freedom to drive a Rhino normally, and receive an all too frequent opportunity to create a netherworld of horror for themselves and their families.
Strangely enough, one of the few differences between a regulated ATV and an unregulated UTV is that a UTV has a steering wheel instead of handles. Therefore, the CPSC terms a UTV as an “emerging hazard.” Some in the industry have commented that crafty manufacturers have created the emerging hazard vehicle category to work around existing safety regulations.