Search Results

Successful development of a product requires the consideration and balancing of many design parameters. Proposals to modify designs that have been fully implemented and put into production are often made by people who were not involved in the original design process. Such proposals, commonly focusing on a specific aspect of the product, must be evaluated in the context of the overall product and its intended use by consumers; a design change may improve performance in one area but compromise performance in another, or even introduce new problem areas. As a case in point, several proposals have been made for operator protection systems with the claim that they would reduce the frequency and severity of injuries associated with All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) operation. For example, Johnson, Carpenter, Wright & Nelson (1991) considered selected accident modes and proposed a set of design changes involving a rollover protection system (ROPS) and significant vehicle modifications.