I know alot of us have Side X Sides so this is the press release from Yamaha.
MEDIA ALERT – YAMAHA RESPONSE TO CBS NEWS STORY
Go to TruthAboutRhino.com for Accurate Information
CYPRESS, Calif. – August 4, 2009 – The following is an official statement from Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A., in response to the recent CBS News story. This statement can be attributed to Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A. Please go to www.TruthAboutRhino.com for more information.
Safety drives everything we do at Yamaha. We are proud of the safety record and safety features of the Yamaha Rhino, which has skyrocketed in popularity due to its exceptional reliability, safety and versatility.
Over 150,000 Rhino owners have used the vehicles safely, including the U.S. military, border patrol, and a growing number of law enforcement agencies, fire fighters and other first responders. In fact, more than 99 percent of Rhino owners have operated their vehicles safely and responsibly over millions of hours of use. The Rhino has won virtually every “first in class” award and top safety ratings in independent reviews since its introduction.
The popularity of the Rhino, and the fact that it represents a new category of off-road motorized vehicles, has made it a target for some plaintiffs’ lawyers who increasingly use the Internet, television advertisements and the news media to attract clients. As the first trial dates approach in personal injury litigation in various courts, some law firms have embarked on a misleading publicity campaign to influence potential jurors and/or the outcomes of these cases, and to solicit potential clients. Yamaha will properly deal with these cases in the courtroom based on all the relevant evidence and a fair opportunity to be heard.
Unfortunately, these law firms successfully convinced CBS News to help further their disingenuous publicity campaign, and the network aired a story on the Rhino that included inaccurate, incomplete and false information.
To begin with, CBS featured an incident involving Justin Miller, but failed to mention that Mr. Miller was driving a heavily modified Rhino. As the photo of that Rhino posted on CBS's own website reveals and the investigating officer testified -- the Rhino Miller was driving had an extended cage structure, and what looks to be a back seat bolted to the rear cargo bed. The vehicle's owner signed a waiver for his purchase of a "Custom Rhino" stating that the vehicle has "additional third party parts and accessories not offered by the manufacturer" and releasing all claims against the dealer and "all other persons and entities" related to the purchase of the vehicle.
The CBS story also shows security camera footage of an incident involving Zach Murray, a former employee at a Yamaha dealership who is currently a plaintiff with his own pending lawsuit. In a post-incident letter to his employer, Mr. Murray wrote that he intentionally stepped out of the overturning vehicle. Although CBS was made aware of Mr. Murray's letter, they neglected to include mention of it in their story.
In addition, Mr. Murray was not wearing a seatbelt or a helmet. He was operating the vehicle on pavement then made a sharp, high-acceleration turn, and did not stay inside the vehicle.
A more complete version of the security camera tape shows two other vehicles being driven recklessly on the same stretch of pavement where the accident occurred, suggesting that an atmosphere of horseplay existed just prior to Murray's crash, and that the only reason for Murray to be making a sharp, high acceleration turn was to also engage in horseplay.
In a separate part of the story, CBS cites documents that discuss an early pre-prototype vehicle that had a different design than, and no relation to, the Rhino that is on the market today. Despite being told weeks ago that it would be false to imply that these documents relate to the Rhino in any way, CBS chose to include this misleading information in its report.
Yamaha was contacted for the CBS segment two months ago by Myron Levin, a freelance reporter with a long history of writing news stories that favor the plaintiffs’ bar. Yamaha provided a great deal of information to Mr. Levin, including responding to more than 40 written questions. Mr. Levin also conducted an hour-long interview with a Yamaha representative at Yamaha's offices in California. Yamaha did not agree to an on-air interview with the reporter, Armen Keteyian, because we could not be assured that such an interview would not be selectively edited and used in misleading ways with statements taken out-of-context given the obvious plaintiffs’ slant with which the CBS producers were developing their story.
Like the CPSC, Yamaha takes very seriously any reported Rhino-related accident, and Yamaha has fully cooperated in the agency’s investigation of the Rhino and its request for modifications. Yamaha will continue to work to promote safe and responsible use of the vehicles, including the active, ongoing development of standards for all recreational off-road side-by-side vehicles, including the Rhino.
Yamaha stands firmly behind the Rhino and will continue to vigorously defend the product against baseless claims and distortions, whether they be from plaintiffs’ law firms or biased, inaccurate media reports parroting these lawyers’ claims. The Rhino is a safe and useful off-road vehicle when driven responsibly by licensed operators aged 16 or older and according to the instructions and warnings in our on-product labels, owner’s manuals, and other safety materials.
About Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A.
Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. (YMUS), a leader in the motorsports market, offers the toughest, most capable and versatile ATV and Side-by-Side vehicles. The company’s ever-expanding line of products also include motorcycles, outboard motors, personal watercraft, snowmobiles, boats, outdoor power equipment, race kart engines, accessories, apparel and much more. YMUS products are sold through a nationwide network of more than 4,000 dealers in the United States.
Headquartered in Cypress, Calif., since its incorporation in 1977, Yamaha also has facilities in Wisconsin and Georgia, as well as factory operations in Tennessee and Georgia. For more information on Yamaha, visit www.yamaha-motor.com.
###
SxS Vehicles are recommended for use only by licensed drivers age 16 years and older.
Terry, Vickie
Life Time CORVA members
Crew Cab Duramax 4x4, 2000 Kenworth T2000 Tow Vehicle
400DS Coachmen Adrenaline TH.
104hp Banshee
2006 Honda CRF450X
2001 Roadking
2009 Polaris Razor
Home Skillet wrote: Didn't CBS rig explosives on the Chevy pickup fuel tanks back in the eighties?
That was in fact "Dateline NBC" in 1993.
They ended up issuing a retraction and paying GM's legal costs. link
Unfortunately there are always a handful of lawyers and reporters ready to try to make a case against the "Big Guys".
I hope Yamaha prevails in this one.
Keith J, Retired from GM Engineering
1999 Sunnybrook 27RKFS Fiver
2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD SLE 2WD/CC/SB/DA, 52 gal Titan tank, Bilsteins, Line-X, Westin steps, Prodigy, Retrax, 16K Superglide, 5th-Airborne pin box, Multi-vex mirrors, TST TPMS.
everything we play with is dangerous if not done properly, Rhinos included, just too many lawyers and idiots looking for a free lunch. Also the general malais in our society that "it's someone else's fault".
Missed the show... thanks on the update...Everything is dangerous for sure..Just like mom used to say..." Don't touch anything. You will break it or get hurt.."
People are ready to sue someone at any moment.. Alot of the midwest's private parks are closing, People sign the waivers and then sue the park when they break a leg or arm... Resulting in the park closing or being in lawsuit limbo forever... Bummer
Wish they would just tell the truth in these type of stories and let buyer beware...Take responsibility for your actions people. Come on..
There is an idiot in all of us... Just don't prove it ... LOL
Boy Ole Boy, this is going to be an interesting topic for sure. I will just say one thing and leave at that, 90% of the time we Americans want to blame someone else for something that happened to us when in actualilty it's our own fault. So what I'm trying to say is we need to take responsibility for our stupidity & not blame someone like Yamaha for roll overs. I have a moded Teryx, if I go out and do something stupid, you won't see me go after Kawasaki.
Ok I actually have two things to say, I think if we are going to sue a company or someone, we should have to put up a 10% bond, if I sue a company for lets say a million dollars then I have to put up a $100,000.00 and if I loose the case, I would have to cover all of there lawyer/court costs. Imagine how many stupid lawsuits we would get rid of.
Lol, every one of those rollover videos shows you exactly what NOT to do in any vehicle:
1. Do not turn the wheel so sharply and quickly that the tires dig in, especially in soft sand or mud.
2. Do not attempt a fast, off-camber, right hand turn directly after jumping over a hill.
3. Do not attempt to climb really steep inclines in a short wheelbase vehicle while simultaneously giving it enough throttle to lift the front wheels off the ground. Double idiot points if you keep your foot "in it to win it."
4. Do not swerve on asphalt in a high CG vehicle. Just because the wheels can turn that far, doesn't mean you should turn them that far. Double idiot points if you're not wearing a helmet or safety belts.
With enough practice, I can probably roll just about any vehicle at less than 20mph.
Sorry to see that attorneys are attempting to ruin this sport as well. The hotlapping/amateur racing community is still reeling from the CA Speedway Porsche Carrera GT crash years back.
Offline
