Rhino Rollover
#41
07-29-2006, 10:03 PM
Rhino Rollover
Originally posted by: Alexandria
Hi my name is Allie,
I saw your post about your accident. I was in the same kind of accident. We were driving a little under 20 miles an hour and the rhino rolled pinning my foot underneath it. I to faced amputation. I chose to keep my leg also. After 13 operations and a few months in the hospital I kept my leg but it is severly disfigured and like your always in pain. I was just wondering how your case was coming along? I just got a lawyer and I am new to this but I was wanting to talk to people who have been through the same experiance. Please let me know how your doing? Thank you.
Hi my name is Allie,
I saw your post about your accident. I was in the same kind of accident. We were driving a little under 20 miles an hour and the rhino rolled pinning my foot underneath it. I to faced amputation. I chose to keep my leg also. After 13 operations and a few months in the hospital I kept my leg but it is severly disfigured and like your always in pain. I was just wondering how your case was coming along? I just got a lawyer and I am new to this but I was wanting to talk to people who have been through the same experiance. Please let me know how your doing? Thank you.
I suppose someone like you always has their seatbelt in a car and prolly had a helmet and eye protection on in every atv ride right?
#42
07-29-2006, 10:33 PM
Rhino Rollover
Originally posted by: DesertViper
Anyone notice that there is a plastic piece that sticks back about four inches from the front of the "door" opening on the passenger side of a Rhino, to help keep the passengers feet inside the vehicle better, and that this same piece of black molded plastic is not on the driver's side? Kind of makes me think Yamaha did do something to help keep people with less Rhino experience (passengers) feet inside the vehicle.
[edit] I think I read somewhere that the aftermarket sells half doors for the Rhino. If someone were concerned they could buy a set. Alternatively, Yamaha could equip the Rhino with them (for a price of course), and people that didn't want them could remove them.
Anyone notice that there is a plastic piece that sticks back about four inches from the front of the "door" opening on the passenger side of a Rhino, to help keep the passengers feet inside the vehicle better, and that this same piece of black molded plastic is not on the driver's side? Kind of makes me think Yamaha did do something to help keep people with less Rhino experience (passengers) feet inside the vehicle.
[edit] I think I read somewhere that the aftermarket sells half doors for the Rhino. If someone were concerned they could buy a set. Alternatively, Yamaha could equip the Rhino with them (for a price of course), and people that didn't want them could remove them.
How many people lose arms and legs mowing their grass while doing something your NOT suppose to with a rider mower ?? The mower rolls over from trying to mow areas that are TOO STEEP for it's intended purpose. It rolls....you put out an arm or leg to stop the impact of it hitting you without thinking, and there goes the limb [arm/leg]
I guess they need to put roll bars and cages on our mowers so we IDIOTS can cut our grass.
Not meaning to direct this towards anyone particular,.....but get a grip on YOUR life without getting SUE HAPPY !!!!!!!!!!
Not saying the problems shouldn't be addressed with the manufacturer. It surely needs something to be done to prevent it in the future.
YOU PLAY.......YOU PAY...........eventually.
#43
07-30-2006, 02:51 PM
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Rhino Rollover
Wow, I am really sorry to hear about some people's injuries.
As the son of a trauma surgeon, I have seen horrible, awful things. My mom (the surgeon) always used to say "you should see the ones that never make it to me".
Oh well, anytime you do something that we (as humans) weren't designed to do, injury or death can result. Driving, flying, going fast or high or underwater.
Given that I started this thread, I don't think the Rhino is inherently dangerous, but is it more tippy than a Ranger, sure. But it's also a lot more capable.
Now comes the question, Yamaha obviously knows about the lawsuits coming in from these particular types of injuries, so they must be talking about this at some level up in management, and the conversation probably goes like this:
"Should we put half-doors on the Rhino"
"Might make it look like we are fixing a safety flaw, expose us to even larger lawsuits, can't you just hear the lawyer now: 'why are there now doors on the Rhino, and why didn't you recall my client's Rhino to put doors on it?'"
"But I would really like to put these doors on, maybe we should make them an option, for 'mud protection' or something"...
Usually it just boils down to, what would it cost vs. how much lawsuit money has to be spent. Companies (advised in huge part by attorneys) actually do make these calculations all the time. Airlines, car companies, etc. It's a delicate balance in this country between liability and profits. I'm almost certain that if they had predicted the lawsuits that are coming in before they finalized the Rhino design it would have had little half doors or a bar or something. For now they will probably stick with another sticker.
As the son of a trauma surgeon, I have seen horrible, awful things. My mom (the surgeon) always used to say "you should see the ones that never make it to me".
Oh well, anytime you do something that we (as humans) weren't designed to do, injury or death can result. Driving, flying, going fast or high or underwater.
Given that I started this thread, I don't think the Rhino is inherently dangerous, but is it more tippy than a Ranger, sure. But it's also a lot more capable.
Now comes the question, Yamaha obviously knows about the lawsuits coming in from these particular types of injuries, so they must be talking about this at some level up in management, and the conversation probably goes like this:
"Should we put half-doors on the Rhino"
"Might make it look like we are fixing a safety flaw, expose us to even larger lawsuits, can't you just hear the lawyer now: 'why are there now doors on the Rhino, and why didn't you recall my client's Rhino to put doors on it?'"
"But I would really like to put these doors on, maybe we should make them an option, for 'mud protection' or something"...
Usually it just boils down to, what would it cost vs. how much lawsuit money has to be spent. Companies (advised in huge part by attorneys) actually do make these calculations all the time. Airlines, car companies, etc. It's a delicate balance in this country between liability and profits. I'm almost certain that if they had predicted the lawsuits that are coming in before they finalized the Rhino design it would have had little half doors or a bar or something. For now they will probably stick with another sticker.
#44
07-30-2006, 06:43 PM
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Rhino Rollover
Originally posted by: Alexandria
I was in a horrible rhino rollover accident and I almost lost my leg. For the people on here calling other's stupid for sticking there leg out during a rollover need to rethink their assumptions. In a fast, unexpected rollover the natural human reaction is to put your leg out to break your fall, you do not have time to think in a time like this. I am a 23 year old girl that trusted in yamaha due to the design of a rhino, doesn't look like something that would tip going 20 miles in hour and that seems to be just whats happening to alot of people. I have had 13 operations, 3 months in the hospital and my body is forever disfigured now. If this was do to one person's stupidity I could understand the rude remarks of calling other people idiots for sticking there leg out in attempt to save themsleves from something terrible. But that's not the case, it seems to me that alot more people are coming forward with thier stories of how unsafe and unreliable these things really are. As a respectable and trusted compay yamaha needs to step up for what they have done and modify thier machines to ensure this doesn't screw up other unsuspecting people's lives like it has to mine.
I advise everyone to get door's put on both sides and to not assume these vehicle's are safe in anyway.
If you have had a simular accident w/ a rhino please contact me at alliedacosta@hotmail.com. Thankyou
I was in a horrible rhino rollover accident and I almost lost my leg. For the people on here calling other's stupid for sticking there leg out during a rollover need to rethink their assumptions. In a fast, unexpected rollover the natural human reaction is to put your leg out to break your fall, you do not have time to think in a time like this. I am a 23 year old girl that trusted in yamaha due to the design of a rhino, doesn't look like something that would tip going 20 miles in hour and that seems to be just whats happening to alot of people. I have had 13 operations, 3 months in the hospital and my body is forever disfigured now. If this was do to one person's stupidity I could understand the rude remarks of calling other people idiots for sticking there leg out in attempt to save themsleves from something terrible. But that's not the case, it seems to me that alot more people are coming forward with thier stories of how unsafe and unreliable these things really are. As a respectable and trusted compay yamaha needs to step up for what they have done and modify thier machines to ensure this doesn't screw up other unsuspecting people's lives like it has to mine.
I advise everyone to get door's put on both sides and to not assume these vehicle's are safe in anyway.
If you have had a simular accident w/ a rhino please contact me at alliedacosta@hotmail.com. Thankyou
I did have a similar accident on my quad when I place my leg out on a roll, didn’t get hurt to bad but I did however learn not to ever stick my leg out again. That’s how most of us learn, but some learn to sue at the same time but I bet they never stick their leg out again. My daughter experienced this on her first quad and has been told not to stick her leg out on any type of leaning or fall. One day she did however put her leg out going over a hump thinking she was going to fall off and the quads rear wheel pulled her off the bike and she got confused and held on to the thumb throttle at full speed. It drug her about 50 yards before she realized what she had to do and let off the throttle. She was hurt and thought she broke her leg. She was scared of the quad and didn’t want to ever get back on it again. About 2 months later she got back on and has never set her feet off the pegs after that. She has now owned three new quads and she just turned 14 years old. I say if you cant be told to keep your legs in you then will have to live and learn by YOUR mistakes. There are all kinds of warning labels on the Rhinos and Quads, and the manual explains it the best. A lot of people don’t realize to read the manual. If you don’t respect the machine, then you will be hurt.
There are all ways two sides to a story, some will agree and some will disagree. I think that if you purchase a vehicle then you must adhere to its capability.
Again, sorry to hear about the accidents but I would say, learn to keep your legs on the pegs or in the cab on any machine. If you can’t do that, you will get hurt. I would hate to see a quad in the future all caged up with seatbelts. Where is the fun in that?
#45
07-30-2006, 08:09 PM
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Rhino Rollover
I think the danger from a Rhino that a quad doesn't have is that "pinning" effect.
I still think the Rhino is safer than a quad, if everything is kept inside and it isn't ridden past it's capabilities (however low those might be in certain situations, as with any specialized vehicle).
I think that's why you see a lot of new quads with a full plastic shield behind the pegs to prevent the injuries people were having when their feet fell off the pegs and went backwards.
I don't think you'll ever see a quad all caged up with seatbelts, that doesn't make sense for that design, but more or less keeping everything inside a rollcaged, seatbelt-type vehicle does.
I still think the Rhino is safer than a quad, if everything is kept inside and it isn't ridden past it's capabilities (however low those might be in certain situations, as with any specialized vehicle).
I think that's why you see a lot of new quads with a full plastic shield behind the pegs to prevent the injuries people were having when their feet fell off the pegs and went backwards.
I don't think you'll ever see a quad all caged up with seatbelts, that doesn't make sense for that design, but more or less keeping everything inside a rollcaged, seatbelt-type vehicle does.
#46
08-01-2006, 03:22 PM
#47
08-01-2006, 03:24 PM
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#48
08-01-2006, 05:33 PM
Rhino Rollover
Yes I was on a team that raced go-carts and a buddy flipped out cart going only 15 mph.....I know it is possible even on a go-cart that looks alot more stable....same go-cart pulled a few fingers off another driver cause he panicked and went under a truck...but niether driver blamed it on the machine....
and yeah they could of sued the employer cause it was a work sponsored event and was on the employers property during a training event and was the employers go-cart- and we never signed waivers.....
and yeah they could of sued the employer cause it was a work sponsored event and was on the employers property during a training event and was the employers go-cart- and we never signed waivers.....
#49
08-02-2006, 02:27 AM
#50
08-02-2006, 04:21 AM
Rhino Rollover
I have been doing my best to not respond to the rebuttals to my post and others like mine. However, I think you guys are (perhaps inadvertantly) dodging my main point. The vehicle rolled over when one should be able to reasonably assume (and yes, I do know what happens when you assume) that it should NOT roll over. At a very slow speed while driving very much within the capabilities of the vehicle. The Rhino has very little body damage because of how slow the vehicle was moving. On top of that, the roll over itself was not the issue. Had my passenger just had a scrap on his arm or some bruises, I would not see an issue at all. The issue arises at the fact that when the vehicle rolled over, again I say that it was at a very slow speed, my passengers feet were not at all protected and were actually swept out of the vehicle due to the design of the vehicle. Even in an offroad vehicle, there should be a benchmark of safety. That is why a rollcage is installed on these type of vehicles and seat belts are installed from the factory as a base feature. In this instance, I feel that from the factory as a base feature some sort of device should be installed to make sure that in the event of a rollover, the passenger and drivers feet should not be able to be swept out of the vehicle to be crushed by the vehicle in that low speed of a rollover. A simple bar at a 45 degree angle connecting the verticle rollbar and the horizontal floor board, measuring only 6 to 8 inches long would fix the problem. Such a bar would be extremely inexpensive to install and would save these kind of accidents (or at least it seems to me). We have since installed half doors on the Rhino so that this does not happen again with a young child in the seat.
A member of this board also made mention that by Yamaha realizing their error in design and implenting a fix, they would be admitting fault and open themselves up for more law suits. If this is an argument against fixing an error, that is a bad argument. If Yamaha has created a "dangerous at any speed" vehicle and refuses to fix it for fear of it costing them money, they SHOULD be sued. A very similar circumstance happened in the 70s with the Ford Pinto when Ford decided it woudl cost less to pay off the families that suffered a loss of a family member due to their faulty design than to actually implement a recall and FIX their problem. In these circumstances, I believe the manufacture also has a responsibilty that they seem to opt out of. That is why we have the ability to sue. Not because we are greedy for money, but because if we do not these issues which could be potential very dangerous are not fixed. If greed of money did not trump safety in corporate America, we would not need to sue in these circumstances. However, that is obviously not the case.
That is just my opinion, but that could just be me.
A member of this board also made mention that by Yamaha realizing their error in design and implenting a fix, they would be admitting fault and open themselves up for more law suits. If this is an argument against fixing an error, that is a bad argument. If Yamaha has created a "dangerous at any speed" vehicle and refuses to fix it for fear of it costing them money, they SHOULD be sued. A very similar circumstance happened in the 70s with the Ford Pinto when Ford decided it woudl cost less to pay off the families that suffered a loss of a family member due to their faulty design than to actually implement a recall and FIX their problem. In these circumstances, I believe the manufacture also has a responsibilty that they seem to opt out of. That is why we have the ability to sue. Not because we are greedy for money, but because if we do not these issues which could be potential very dangerous are not fixed. If greed of money did not trump safety in corporate America, we would not need to sue in these circumstances. However, that is obviously not the case.
That is just my opinion, but that could just be me.