The Yamaha Rhino has been under great scrutiny over the number of accidents and deaths related to the vehicle rolling over.

The Rhino was tested back in 2002 while it was still in development.  The tests took place in 100 miles of rugged trails in Kentucky.  Keisuke Yoshida, the president of a U.S. subsidiary of Yamaha Motor Co., was test driving a Rhino with Ike Miyachi, a company vice president, riding in the passenger seat.  The Rhino rolled over and gave Miyachi a foot injury.
Now years later, we see that the crash was a good indicator of what would come.

Yamaha has sold more than 150,000 Rhinos since it was introduced in 2003.  People love the narrow Rhino and its ability to crawl over and between rocks.  But with these benefits also came negatives.  The narrow body and a high center of gravity of the Rhino make it prone to rolling over while turning even at safe speeds.  The seat belts also tend to unspool during rollovers and the passengers are ejected.

Inez Tenenbaum is the chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.  She stated that the Rhino has “significant problems,” and that, “The public needs to be aware that, already, 59 people have been killed in these vehicles.”

She also added that if the Rhino is still unsafe even after they make changes, then she might seek a ban.
Yamaha announced a “free repair program” after all of the complaints.  They agreed to install spacers on the rear axles of the vehicles to make them a few inches wider, to remove their rear anti-sway bars, and install protective half-doors.  Also people who watched a safety video would receive a $100 coupon to purchase a helmet.

Yamaha maintains there is nothing wrong with the Rhino.  They say that rollovers only occur when drivers do not follow instructions or warnings.  The Rhino is “a safe, reliable and versatile vehicle,” and “virtually every Rhino-related incident involves at least one warned against behavior,” according to a statement issued by Yamaha Motor Corp. USA.

A man and boy died in a vehicle accident in July.  Gervious Hinkle, 63 of Fort Worth, and his grandson, 13 year old Casey, were both killed when they were stuck in a traffic jam and an 18-wheeler drove into the back of the sport utility vehicle they were in.

Melissa Hinkle, the boy’s mother,  filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Texas Department of Transportation, the truck driver Randy Crume, the owner of the truck Refrigerated Delivery Services Inc., and KKM Construction Inc. who has a contract with TxDot.  She claims that the defendants negligently contributed to the death of her father and son.  She was also badly injured in the wreck and has received extensive medical treatments.

The Interstate 35 was undergoing repairs when the accident occurred.  The lawsuit states that repair work “created a traffic jam that backed up for miles” prior to the crash.  The wreck happened when the truck drove upon the traffic jam and slammed into the SUV according to investigators.

Another wreck has taken place since then when another tractor-trailer drove into the back of a car, which was also stuck in a jam.  Anthony and Kimberly Brandon both died in the crash.

A June 26 wreck in northeastern Oklahoma is being investigated.  The crash killed 10 people.  Donald L. Creed, a truck driver, apparently caused the wreck because of inattention to the road.

Creed had driven for 10 hours straight before the crash, but he did not exceed the federal daily driving limit.  At the scene Creed “stated that vehicles had driven underneath him while he was parked” according to the report.  Creed had no visual obstructions for at least 2,400 feet before the accident.  The cars were stopped because of an earlier wreck.

The report stated that immediately following the wreck “Creed, although injured, was able to walk and negotiate turns and have no indications of having any visual problems.  He would turn his head and look at you when spoken to or when speaking.”

The inquiry found that there was no attempt to brake or take evasive action by Creed and there are no apparent problems with his brakes or steering.  There is “strong evidence” that Creed was using cruise control driving an 18-wheeler about 69.5 to 71 mph for about 4.5 minutes prior to the accident.

Creed has a clean driving record and had his commercial driver’s license renewed in April.  The company Creed drove for, Associated Wholesale Grocers, did not comment.  Unless Creed was driving under the influence, he will most likely face misdemeanor charges of negligent homicide, which carries up to one year of prison for each count according to a County District Attorney.