/rueziffra.com/Allan Ziffra- ATV Defect Attorney/ 04/20/2009
Daytona Beach, FL – First introduced to the United States in 2003, Yamaha hoped to sell an all-terrain vehicle that was fun, sporty and versatile. Unfortunately, Yamaha sacrificed safety in an effort to design and manufacture an ATV that would meet aesthetic goals and achieve a profitable sales margin. In the recent half-decade, the Rhino has been known to be quite susceptible to rolling over and causing severe injuries and deaths. Due to the ATV’s poor design, even those ATV riders who were operating the Rhino in a safe and non-negligent manner while travelling at a low speed on a flat surface were being injured when attempting basic turns.
There are a number of design defects that contribute to the Rhino’s propensity to roll-over. Specifically, the Rhino has a top heavy design which makes it difficult to safely negotiate a turning maneuver. Further, both the wheel base and the wheels themselves were designed extremely narrow which has a profound, adverse affect on a vehicle’s stability that is already top-heavy to begin with. Additionally, the ATV has a high-center of gravity which adds to its overall instability. Not to mention, the Rhino’s steering is unsteady, making it increasingly difficult for even the most experienced riders to keep the vehicle upright when it starts to lose its center of gravity. Finally, when the Rhino does roll-over, the lack of safety padding on its steel cage vastly increases the chances of sustaining a serious injury for obvious reasons. Among the most common injured body parts of Rhino drivers and passengers are the arms and legs. This is so because most ATV roll-over accidents result in the vehicle landing atop the occupants’ limbs with a great amount of force and pinning them underneath the entire weight of the vehicle.
It took three years before Yamaha even recognized the fact that there were an abnormally high amount of customers getting injured while riding the Rhino ATV. When Yamaha finally took action, it came in the form of issuing a statement to Rhino owners notifying them of the vehicle’s propensity to tip on “sharp turns.” This statement was misleading insofar as numerous customers were sustaining roll-over accident related injuries while driving the Rhino in a safe and reasonable manner. One year later, Yamaha announced an offer to improve the safety of the Rhino by making a few much needed modifications. Specifically, these safety changes included new doors and additional passenger handholds for the accident-prone all-terrain vehicle. Additionally, Yamaha put out its second modified warning label that was to be placed on the Rhino vehicles. This label cautioned against the risk of roll-over accidents and crushing injuries even on flat, open surfaces.
Manufacturers of dangerous, hazardous and otherwise defective products should be held liable for the harm their products cause to the innocent public. The Yamaha Rhino Defects attorneys at Rue & Ziffra are available to assist you in filing an action against the responsible party or parties if you or a loved one has been injured by a defective product. Visit our website today at www.RueZiffra.com for more information on our firm’s experience, qualifications and background.
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