120,000 Yamaha Rhino ATVs Recalled After Scores of Driver-Passenger Deaths

About 120,000 Yamaha Rhinos are being recalled after federal product safety officials received dozens of reports of deaths and injuries to people driving or riding in two models of the popular but accident-prone off-road vehicles.

Yamaha Motor Corp. U.S.A. also has agreed to suspend all sales of the Rhino models until repairs can be made in an effort to make the vehicles safer. Owners of Yamaha Rhinos are urged to immediately stop using the vehicles until the necessary repairs are made by a dealer.

The Yamaha 450 and 660 models were sold across the United States, beginning in 2003. Some of the vehicles were equipped with half doors and passenger handholds, both before and after sale.

Dozens of Operator and Rider Deaths, Injuries

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said it has investigated more than 50 incidents involving the deaths of 46 drivers and passengers. About two-thirds of the incidents involved the Rhino rolling over and many involved occupants who were not wearing seatbelts, officials said.

Some of the roll-over related deaths and reported injuries, including broken bones and severe head injuries, were reported while the Rhinos were being driven at relatively low speeds and on flat land, the CPSC said.

Necessary Repairs Are Needed

Yamaha intends to install a spacer on the rear wheels of the Rhino and remove a rear anti-sway bar to help reduce the risk of rollover, officials said. Also, half doors and additional passenger handholds will be installed on Rhinos that have not already had the extra safety measures installed, officials said. Many of the deaths and injuries have been reported when passengers were thrown from a Rhino during a rollover accident or pinned beneath the vehicle in such an accident.

Rhino Linked to Deaths, Serious Injuries

The Yamaha Rhino has been linked to roll over accidents resulting in death and severe injuries for years. In 2006, an estimated 555 people – including 100 children – were killed in accidents involving ATVs. Another 146,600 people – more than one quarter of them children — were treated in United States emergency rooms for ATV-related injuries, according to the CPSC.

Yamaha designed half doors and passenger handholds for the Rhinos and previously offered them free of charge to owners of the 2004-2007 models. The doors and handholds were made available only as special features and were not made standard equipment in future Rhino models. However, the company has not addressed the top-heavy design of the Rhino, which has been blamed for many of the rollover accidents.

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