ATV Deaths Top 15,000 Threshold in Latest Government Report
Federal officials concede that the death toll is an undercount. Fatalities involving some trail machines are not included.
Consumer Protection
Tag: Off-Road Vehicles
Consumer Protection
Industries Turn to Bracewell Lobbyists to Scuttle Product Safety Rules
Business groups call on well-connected lobbying firm to help thwart unwanted federal standards. They have not been disappointed.
Consumer Protection
Safety Agency Nixes Tracking Deaths Involving ROVs
Despite mounting casualties from crashes of recreational off-highway vehicles, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has shot down a proposal to track injuries and deaths involving the popular trail machines.
Warning Wire
Courtroom Battles Loom Over Climate Change
The Ocean State v. Big Oil: Rhode Island, which has more than 400 miles of coastline, has become the first state in the country to sue oil companies for the cost of protecting itself from rising seas. More than a dozen cities and counties in four other states have filed similar [...]
Consumer Protection
Despite Hazards, Drive to Open Public Roads to Off-Road Vehicles in High Gear
ATVS are not designed to be operated safely on roads, yet officials in small towns and rural areas around the country, at the urging of riding enthusiasts, have been approving the use of off-road machines on public roadways.
Consumer Protection
Off-Road Industry Looks to Congress to Put Brakes on Safety Regulation
Manufacturers of off-road vehicles have mounted fierce resistance to proposed federal rules aimed at reducing rollover crashes that have killed hundreds of riders.
Consumer Protection
Showdown With Industry Looms as Safety Rules for Off-Road Vehicles Advance
Rebuffing off-road vehicle manufacturers, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission voted today to move forward with rules aimed at preventing rollover crashes that have killed hundreds of riders.
Consumer Protection
Battling Safety Rules for Off-Road Vehicles, Industry Gets Boost From Senators
Manufacturers of off-road vehicles have enlisted the help of a dozen U.S. senators to try to block regulations intended to prevent rollover crashes that have killed hundreds of riders.
Public Health
Consumer Advocates Urge Banning ATVs From Roadways, Citing Crash Hazards
A leading consumer group is warning that the increasing use of all-terrain vehicles on the nation's roads poses a “growing public health crisis" and is calling for immediate action by U.S., state and local officials. Despite these warnings, ATV riders’ clubs across the country are pushing state and local laws that would open more roads to the vehicles.
Public Health
Despite High Death Toll, Push Is On To Open More Public Roads to ATVs
All-terrain vehicles' high center of gravity and low-pressure tires mean they’re likely to tip over or go out of control on pavement. What’s more, the vehicles aren’t held to federal safety standards for cars and trucks, such as the requirement for seat belts, even though they can reach highway speeds. Nevertheless, a push is under way in states, counties and towns across the country to open more roads to ATVs.
Consumer Protection
Georgia Court Restores Yamaha’s Perfect Record in Defending Rhino Cases
Yamaha Rhino (Credit: CBS News) Yamaha Motors once again stands undefeated in court battles over injuries and deaths in crashes of its Rhino off-road vehicles. In a unanimous ruling, the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed a May, 2010 jury verdict favoring a rider who suffered a serious leg [...]
Warning Wire
Size, Not Risk Taking, Accounts for Many Child ATV Deaths
Young riders long have made up a big share of the people killed in all-terrain vehicle crashes. As FairWarning reported in March, 2010, children under 16 accounted for more than 2,500 of the 10,000-plus fatalities recorded in ATV accidents since federal authorities started keeping track in the 1980s. But the [...]
Consumer Protection
Yamaha Rolls to Another Victory in Defense of Embattled Rhino
Yamaha Motors won a key round in defense of its Rhino off-road vehicles Monday, when a state court jury in a closely watched case in Orange County, Calif., absolved the company of responsibility for a serious injury in a rollover crash. In a 9-to-3 decision, the jury rejected the claims of [...]
Consumer Protection
Yamaha Adds a Courtroom Victory in Defense of Its Rhino Off-Road Vehicles
Yamaha Motor Co. has won another round in its battle to stave off lawsuits involving rollover crashes of its Rhino off-road vehicles. A 12-member jury in Montgomery County, Ala., unanimously cleared Yamaha of responsibility for injuries sustained by Jacklyn McMahon when her Rhino rolled over in July, 2007. McMahon, then 47, suffered two broken arms and a serious foot injury when [...]
Consumer Protection
Safety Agency Decides to Keep Yamaha Rhino Repair Data a Secret
Alarmed by dozens of reports of deadly rollovers of Yamaha Rhino off-road vehicles, the Consumer Product Safety Commission took action early last year. The agency pressured Yamaha to announce a "free repair program" -- a recall by another name -- to make fixes aimed at improving the vehicles' stability. The [...]