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.