ATV Snowmobile Investigations

THINGS TO WATCH
Owners of Yamaha Raptors have
been reporting the loosing up of
axle nuts. Several "fixes" have
not worked, but there are reports
of aftermarket products
eliminating this problem. If
you've covered a recent crash
with unexplained causes,
looking at owner reported
reoccurring problems may help
define the cause.

POLARIS RECALL
Polaris has recalled certain 2004
and 2005 Sportsman and 2005
Scrambler 500 ATVs that were
assembled with potentially
defective Electronic Control
Modules (ECM) which may fail
and overheat. Excessive heat
could cause a fire, possibly
resulting in serious injury or
death.

With the growing popularity of all terrain and off road vehicles (ORV) there
has been a proportional increase in injuries, property damage and claims.

Until recently many of these "accidents" went unreported as most riders felt
that it was part of the sport; a risk taking that is inherent in off road riding
and racing. But these sports have gone past the backyard, gravel pit or
deep woods trail and are quickly becoming a major economic and tourist
boom for many rural areas of the country.

With this boom comes inexperienced riders, rental companies, congestion
on trails and occasionally, product failures. The one constant that remains
is the thrill associated with risk taking behavior. While not always the
cause in these collisions, often times it is a contributing factor - and not
always on the part of the injured.

Serious injury accidents or crashes that involve rental companies, large
private landowners or others, where the potential for major civil liability
exists, should be thoroughly investigated. Likewise, the causes of the
collision need to be identified. Was it an issue of risk taking, lack of
machine maintenance, improperly installed aftermarket products, poor trail
design, or a product failure.

Contact Cedarbyrne Consulting at (207) 423-3175 or email at
info@cedarbyrne.com for answers to your questions or inquires about your
case.