Yamaha Rhinos are popular but dangerous vehicles
Posted by
Armand RossettiFebruary 21, 2009 11:34 AMIf Ashlyn Vargas were still alive, she would be telling us about her experience driving a Rhino. Reportedly, Ashlyn was operating a Rhino in her home town in Paso Robles, California on Thanksgiving Day, and she was traveling slowly when her Rhino just rolled over, pinning her underneath the vehicle.
Why would a Rhino, traveling at a slow rate of speed just turn over suddenly? Well, Yamaha produced the Rhino with a short distance between the driver and passenger front and rear wheels (called the “track”), and a short distance between the front and rear sets of wheels (called the “wheelbase”), and then combined those two dangerous dimensions with a high center of gravity (making the Rhino top heavy) and fitted the Rhino with small wheels. In addition, Yamaha installed a very powerful engine in the Rhino and sold the vehicle with a wide door entry way, and without any doors.
If Yamaha was not thinking about the Rhino being prone to rolling over and killing and maiming drivers, some after market Rhino parts distributors were doing the thinking for Yamaha. One such after market distributor stated the following:
“The stock Rhino is very easy to get in and out of, but it is not built with a rollover in mind. The first problem is the door opening is wide open. During a roll, your first instinct is to try and stop the roll. Bad idea. No matter how strong that you think you are, your leg will not stop UTV from tipping over.
The solution is to add a barrier that will not allow you leg to get out of the vehicle. Lots of options to solve this are available from nets to aluminum leg minders, to steel tubing and full doors with aluminum.
The second problem with the stock Rhino is the "roll cage". Yamaha doesn't even call it a roll cage for liability reasons, and either do most of the aftermarket guys. In our sue happy society, calling it a roll cage would then somehow mean that you would be safe in a roll-over accident. For simplicity, we are going to call them roll cages - just try not to roll because that isn't what they were designed for. Silly, huh?
The stock cage is probably just fine for the most likely intended use of cruising around the farm doing odd jobs, but in the dunes, a bit more strength and cross bracing would be nice. New cages also add a bar behind the seats where harnesses (seat restraints) should be attached.”
Then the distributor advised the consumer what to look for:
· Material selection - Chromoly, mild steel or aluminum and thickness. Each material & thickness has pros and cons - cost, strength, weight, etc. Make sure you ask questions.
· Cage Design - Gussets and triangulation increase the strength without adding much more weight.
· Removable? - Most aftermarket cages are bolt-on. This eases the installation and also allows the customer to get their Rhino into their toy haulers. Besides mounting to stock lower bars, does the cage add any mounting locations? A custom made cage that is bolted or welded to the frame is stronger than one that bolts to the factory cage location, but cost will increase and you won't be able to get the cage off as easily or at all.
· Restraint Mounts - Make sure the cage includes a bar behind the front seats for attaching shoulder harnesses. Shoulder harnesses should be attached slightly below your shoulder level. If the cage does not allow for this, find another cage. Restraints should be as short as possible, and mounting them down on the floor seriously affects their effectiveness.
· Head Clearance - Make sure that all parts of the cage are sufficiently away from all passenger heads.
The reason why there is a market for such safety and performance add-ons is evident from viewing the linked graph. Since 2003, consumers have purchased about 140,000 Rhinos, approximately 86% of which were sold between 2006 and 2008.
However, it seems strange that an after market distributor would have more engineering sense than Yamaha's engineers. Since 2003, not only were there no doors on the Rhino, but the Yamaha provided little or no warning about roll-overs. In 2007, after Rhinos had been being sold for three years, Yamaha issued a new product label warning. Nevertheless, Yamaha chose to ignore the Rhino’s safety deficits and the manufacturer did not issue a voluntary Rhino UTV recall.
On August 28, 2008, Heidi Crow wrote a paper about the story of the death of her nine year old boy, Jeremy, during his last ride on a Yamaha Rhino. Heidi submitted that story, together with her comprehensive opinion, outlining the reasons why the Rhino is unreasonably unsafe, to The United States Consumer Protection and Safety Commission (CPSC).
It is interesting to note that because the Rhino is classified as a utility terrain vehicle (UTV), that government agency does not regulate the Rhino as it does all terrain vehicles (ATVs). ATVs and UTVs are largely similar except that an ATV has handle bars, and a UTV has a steering wheel.
Surprisingly, in her communication with the CPSC, Heidi mentioned that consumers were not the only Rhino victims. On page 5 of her submission, Heidi wrote the following about Yamaha employees who have driven the Rhino:
“Rhino tipovers and injuries have often involved Yamaha Motor test drivers and employees, including tipover and/or tipover injuries to Yamaha France employee Jean Claude Olivier, Engineering Vice President Mr. Ike Miyachi, President Casey Yoshida, test engineer Caleb Chesser, product tester Phillip McRae, and test rider Patrick Biolsi. Despite such knowledge, Yamaha has yet to modify the Rhino’s design to correct its stability problems.”
Out of grief for her own child's tragedy and a concern for the safety of others, Heidi has posted pictures on her website of some children and young adults who have died while driving or riding in a Rhino. They are: J.T Crow (9), Ellie Sand (10), Dusty Lockaby (14), Abbey West (13), Ashlyn Vargas (12), Kirsten Lake (11), Dani Bernard (18), Sydney Anderson (10), Richie Masse (14), Wyatt Bauer (13), Emily King (20), Eddie Ray (13), Lauren Dilworth (11), Emily Bates (11), Lane McCloud (8), Andrew Bahl (3),
If you have any further questions or concerns, you are welcome to visit our Rhino All Terrain Vehicle website. While there, you will find more information on ATVs and safety; including topics concerning what parents should know; operation of a Rhino on rough terrain; and the effects of speed while driving a Rhino.