| While millions of Americans have bemoaned the | | | | Also, the Yamaha Rhino tends to lack side doors |
| high price of gasoline for the vital purpose of | | | | and handlebars for a driver or passenger's safety. |
| traveling to work, school or home, thousands of | | | | Because of these defects, Yamaha offered a |
| Americans drive vehicles which have no purpose | | | | "recall" of sorts, offering to add such doors and |
| in terms of going from Point A to Point B. Rather, | | | | handlebars to the ATVs of dissatisfied owners. |
| these are strictly recreational vehicles -- and not | | | | But many such vehicles remain available -- and |
| only that, but recreation that can be perilous, | | | | remain unsafe. |
| especially given the nature of the vehicles. | | | | The no-doors design also leads to riders making |
| These vehicles are known as ATVs, or all terrain | | | | the natural reaction of trying to brace themselves |
| vehicles. And they're not as recreational as their | | | | when the ATV rolls over. As a result, many |
| makers would claim, since many such vehicles | | | | riders' arms and legs have been crushed, |
| have clearly unsafe designs. | | | | sometimes requiring amputation. |
| One of the most dangerous ATVs is the most | | | | Indeed, just how bad is the carnage? According |
| popular brand: the Yamaha Rhino ATV | | | | to the Consumer Products Safety Commission, |
| manufactured by Yamaha Corporation. | | | | ATV accidents, including Rhino Yamaha accidents, |
| The Yamaha Rhino has a narrow body and | | | | cause 700 deaths and 135,000 injuries annually in |
| narrow tires and also is top-heavy. The | | | | America. (The first Yamaha Rhino vehicle was |
| narrowness enables the vehicle to be placed in the | | | | introduced in 2003.) |
| back of a pickup truck, rather than on a trailer, | | | | Also, in Arkansas alone, a decade-long study [ |
| which is the usual means of transporting them. | | | | main/art.asp?articlekey=85465] showed that |
| (ATVs are off-road vehicles which are illegal to | | | | children were particularly vulnerable to ATV |
| drive on streets and highways in many states.) | | | | accidents. The study showed that 455 children |
| But this same narrowness, combined with being | | | | aged 6 months to 19 years old suffered ATV |
| top-heavy, makes the Yamaha Rhino prone to | | | | injuries for which they were treated at hospitals. |
| rollovers, even when driven slowly and on a flat | | | | These included 77 skull fractures, 11 amputations, |
| surface. | | | | 53 brain injuries, 12 spine fractures and six deaths. |
| The problem is, ATVs are built and sold to be | | | | Overall, ATV injuries and deaths have more than |
| driven on what their name suggests: all terrain, | | | | doubled in the past decade, while traffic accident |
| including muddy slopes, bumpy surfaces and | | | | deaths overall have declined. Yet Americans |
| rocky ditches. An ATV, virtually by definition, will | | | | continue to buy costly ATVs, often sold for more |
| be driven on surfaces which invite rollovers and | | | | than $10,000, whose very design may cause |
| crashes. And the Yamaha Rhino ATV, by design, | | | | them injury or death, even when operated in |
| is more prone to such crashes. | | | | what should be a safe manner. |