Victims and Consumer Safety Advocates Issue Report on Safety Hazards of Utility Terrain Vehicles (UTVs), Including the Yamaha Rhino
Growing Number of Fatalities and Severe Injury Accidents Occurring Nationwide
Washington, D.C., February 27, 2009 -- The safety defects of some Utility Terrain Vehicles (UTVs), also called "Side-by-Side" vehicles, are causing a mounting toll of death and severe injury to users, warns a report issued today by a group of safety advocates and victims. 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 the event of rollover accidents.
The report, entitled "Citizen Report on UTV Vehicle Hazards," has been submitted by victims of UTV rollovers, including the parents of children killed or injured in such accidents, as well as adult victims, the Trauma Foundation, and the Center for Auto Safety.
The report focuses on the Yamaha Rhino and has been sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ("NHTSA"), the Consumer Product Safety Commission ("CPSC"), key members and committees of Congress, the Recreational Off Highway Vehicle Association ("ROHVA"), which represents UTV manufacturers, and other organizations and individuals with an interest in the ATV/UTV injury problem.
In releasing the report, Texas mother Heidi Crow noted, "Utility Terrain Vehicles have fallen within a regulatory crevice. These vehicles were introduced to the market and have been sold to consumers without having to meet government safety and performance standards. It is imperative that federal and/or state safety agencies step forward to protect consumers from the growing number of fatalities and severe injuries."
The report focuses particular attention on the safety defects with the Yamaha Rhino UTV. Identified in the report are 38 deaths, many of them of children, believed to have occurred in Yamaha Rhino accidents since the end of 2004. One of these was the death of Ms. Crow's nine-year-old son. Although he was belted, her son was ejected in a rollover and crushed underneath the half-ton Rhino, which was not equipped with doors or safety netting to contain its occupants.
"A national tragedy is occurring. Scores of adults, teenagers, and children have been left permanently disabled after their hands, arms, feet, and legs have been crushed in Yamaha Rhino rollovers, and many innocent children have been killed," observed Ms. Crow. "We call upon Yamaha and other UTV manufacturers to incorporate key safety features necessary to protect occupants from accidents, injuries, and deaths."
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 the 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 readily available safety measures in the design of the Rhino that would have protected occupants in the event of a rollover accident.
Heidi Crow of Winnsboro, Texas
Heidi Crow of Winnsboro, Texas, lost her ten-year-old son Jeremy Todd, or J.T. or Bubba, Crow in a rollover involving a doorless Yamaha Rhino. J.T. was a happy and vibrant boy. He excelled at academics and sports, was compassionate, and possessed a gift for making people feel special.
On June 22, 2007, J.T. and his older sister Madison went for a ride in the family's recently purchased, new 2007 model year Yamaha Rhino. With Madison driving at a slow speed, the Rhino did a one-quarter rollover. J.T. was ejected. Pinned underneath the Rhino, J.T. sustained massive head and neck injuries caused by the Rhino's unpadded steel roll cage.
"Even though he was belted, J.T. was ejected and the half-ton Rhino fell on top of him," explained Ms. Crow. "The seat belt system failed to restrain him. Nor was the Rhino equipped with doors and safety netting that could have kept J.T. inside the Rhino and saved his life."
Several weeks after his death and too late to protect J.T., in a mailing styled as a 'special offer' that did not reach all Rhino owners, Yamaha offered to install half doors and a passenger handhold for all Rhinos free of charge. As discussed below under "Specific Rhino Safety Recommendations," by not calling the program a recall, Yamaha avoided obligations to send follow up retrofit/recall letters to owners, users, and dealers. As a result, only an estimated 50% of such Rhinos have been retrofitted and
needless catastrophic leg injuries continue to this day.
In loving memory of J.T., Ms. Crow established Bubba's Angels and the J.T. Crow Memorial Fund which seeks to educate persons on the dangers of UTV and ATV vehicles and prevent repeated accidents and fatalities. Last year, Ms. Crow and her family led an ATV Awareness Day in Winnsboro, Texas, where dozens of citizens marched for UTV and ATV vehicle safety in honor of J.T.
More information on the J.T. Crow Memorial Fund is available at http://www.jtcrow.net.
Sunny, Melanie, and William T. Chism of Buna, Texas
In the same month that J.T. Crow died in a Yamaha Rhino rollover accident, Sunny Katherine Chism's life was changed forever. Sunny attends high school in Buna, Texas, and is the youngest daughter of Melanie and William T. Chism. Sunny is a spirited individual and outstanding athlete.
While visiting family in Arkansas, Sunny, then 13, and a friend went for a ride in a Yamaha Rhino. Sunny was driving along a dirt road when suddenly the doorless Rhino rolled over, throwing Sunny from the vehicle and dragging her as it flipped over. A full cab door on the Rhino would likely have saved Sunny from injury.
Sunny's left arm was mostly severed and she was badly burned. Despite these injuries, Sunny managed to lift the overturned Yamaha Rhino off her friend whose shoulder had dislocated and left arm had been broken in five places. At the hospital, it was necessary to amputate Sunny's entire left arm.
While the initial trauma of the accident is over, Sunny continues to suffer phantom pain and mental distress. Sunny was forced to give up many of the sports she loved before the accident, including softball, basketball, and track. Yet she remains a determined athlete and competed in a limited capacity in volleyball and tennis her freshman year of high school.
The treating doctors found it miraculous that Sunny did not perish from her massive blood loss. "God let me live to warn others," Sunny explains.
Justin and Edna Miller of Northridge, California
Last May, Justin Miller, 17, also suffered a life-altering injury in a rollover accident involving the Yamaha Rhino. While camping in Northern California with family and friends, Justin took a ride on the family's 2008 Yamaha Rhino 700. The vehicle tipped over and landed on Justin's left hand, traumatically severing it. Justin underwent costly, painful replantation surgery to re-attach his hand. Despite the best effort of his physicians, the replantation procedure ultimately failed and Justin was forced to undergo surgery to amputate his left hand at the wrist.
"I had been safely driving Quads and ATV's for years. Our family's Yamaha Rhino was brand new and equipped with all of the available safety options," stated Justin. "Even though I wore a helmet and was belted, the Rhino became uncontrollable and tipped over. My left arm was thrown out of the vehicle and my left wrist and hand were crushed by the roll cage. The Rhino lacks necessary hand and arm protection."
"We call upon Yamaha to formally recall the Rhino to incorporate essential safety features like full cab doors and/or hand netting that it presently lacks," added Edna Miller, Justin's mother. "No one should lose a limb or suffer a fatal injury in an instant for simply driving the Rhino."
Billy James of Corinth, Mississippi
Billy James is the 46-year-old devoted husband and the loving father of two children. Mr. James' life was tragically and permanently altered in June 2007 when he was maimed during the rollover of a doorless 2006 Yamaha Rhino. Mr. James suffered what has become a common and devastating injury for Rhino riders, a crushed tibia or fibula.
At the time of the accident Mr. James was belted and driving the Rhino responsibly. The unpadded roll cage landed on his left leg, resulting in multiple, horrific crush fractures to his tibia and fibula. Mr. James has had to undergo seven surgeries as a result of his accident. His left leg will never be the same again. He can no longer stand for more than a few hours at a time and experiences regular pain.
Tammie and John Sand of Ohio
Ten-year old Ellie Sand loved to dance and play with her brothers and baby sister. She possessed the qualities of courage, determination and hard work.
In October 2007, Ellie went for a ride on a Yamaha Rhino. The driver made a turn and the vehicle rolled over, falling on the passenger side. Despite wearing her seat belt, Ellie was thrown from the Rhino and killed.
Ellie's parents Tammie and John Sand have joined as co-authors of the report. They state, "We have been devastated by the loss of Ellie. We hope that Yamaha will soon realize that its side-by-side must be redesigned so that other parents do not experience our grief."
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 or 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 establish 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 United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to ensure that occupants are not ejected from the vehicle during a tip over or rollover. The authors of the report believe 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 away from the occupants, re-designing them with minimal crush points and the addition of 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 recommendations specific to the Yamaha Rhino.
In August 2007, Yamaha announced that in response to the risk of injury during side rollover accidents it was offering to install half-doors free of charge for all 2004-2007 Rhinos. (For the 2008 model, the half-doors came standard.) However, Yamaha never issued a recall of the vehicle. Yamaha's offer was poorly publicized with only a single mailing. As a result, it is estimated that only half of the 120,000 Rhinos sold in the U.S. from 2004 to 2007 have been retrofitted. Moreover, the report asserts that the half-doors for the Rhino are defective and/or insufficient because they are too low and fail to safeguard occupants' hands and arms during an accident.
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.
Further Resources
The "Citizen Report on UTV Vehicle Hazards" is available to the public at yamaharhinorolloverandrecall.com/report.htm.
About Lieff Cabraser
The national plaintiffs' law firm of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, serves as counsel for Heidi Crow, Sunny, Melanie, and William T. Chism, Edna and Justin Miller, Billy James, and as additional counsel to Tammie and John Sands, who are principally represented by Michael Roberts, partner at Graydon Head & Ritchey LLP in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Lieff Cabraser is a fifty-plus attorney law firm that represents plaintiffs nationwide in product improvement claims, product recall claims, personal injury and wrongful deaths, and other litigation, from offices located in San Francisco, New York, and Nashville. In many cases, Lieff Cabraser has not only assisted clients obtain favorable recoveries, but also obtained injunctions or agreements which required the defendant to alter the product or change safety procedures for the benefit of all consumers.
Learn more about Lieff Cabraser at www.lieffcabraser.com.
About The Center for Auto Safety
Since 1970, the Center for Auto Safety (CAS) has provided consumers a voice for auto safety and quality in Washington, and to help lemon owners fight back across the country. CAS has a small budget but a big impact on the auto industry. With less than half of what General Motors spends on a single Super Bowl commercial, CAS has taken on the auto giants and won for consumers. Learn more about CAS at http://www.autosafety.org.
About The Trauma Foundation
Founded in 1981 at San Francisco General Hospital, the Trauma Foundation was established, and continues to be directed, by Andrew McGuire who was severely burned as a seven-year-old child. The Trauma Foundation works with injury survivors to bring meaning to their painful experiences by becoming survivor advocates. The breadth of activities includes data collection and research to support injury prevention policies, policy development and education, and information dissemination.
The Trauma Foundation is an internationally recognized leader in injury prevention and an "incubator" of projects and organizations committed to the prevention of traumatic injuries. Learn more at http://www.traumaf.org/.
Source | Contact
Fabrice N. Vincent
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
275 Battery Street, Suite 3000
San Francisco, CA 94111-3339
Office: 415.956.1000, ext. 2216
Mobile: 415.987.2257
fvincent@lchb.com
