As reported by Wright and Carpenter (1) and others, the number of accidents resulting in serious injuries and deaths associated with All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) use increased dramatically during the 1980s. It was decided that a safer, more stable ATV should be and could be built. Three-wheel and four-wheel ATVs were considered. Two three-wheel ATVs and a four-wheel ATV were modified and fabricated as prototypes. While improvements of the three-wheel ATVs were realized, there were still considerable stability problems that could not be sufficiently corrected. The four-wheel prototype, denoted as RCX 250 (roll cage experimental vehicle with a 250 cc engine), demonstrated feasibility with clear improvements in safety. Analysis of the dynamics of the RCX 250 along with the description of the features and the test results are discussed.
