According to IHS.org, less than three percent of all crashes lead to a vehicle rollover. However, those rollover accidents account for more than a third of all deaths. In 2009, for example, 56 percent of SUV occupants killed in crashes were traveling in vehicles that rolled. By comparison, 47 percent of pickup fatalities and 25 percent of auto fatalities occurred in rollovers.
Turn stability is a major contributor to rollover accidents, according to HowStuffWorks.com. Narrow vehicles with a high center of gravity, generally characterized by SUVs and 4WD pickups, are more likely to tip over and roll following a sideways skid or a sharp turn. Heavy loads carried on roof-top luggage racks compound the risk by making the vehicles even more top-heavy.
Although federal rollover standards are not required for cars or trucks, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) introduced a rollover rating system in 2001 to inform consumers about a vehicle's risk of rollover in a one-car accident. The five-star system rates each vehicle's width and center of gravity to determine its rating, and compares the rating against police accident reports, according to NHTSA.com. To achieve a five-star rating, a vehicle's rollover risk must be 10 percent or less, while vehicles with one-star ratings have a risk of 40 percent or more.
Manufacturers Creating More Stable Vehicle Designs
To avoid the deadly risk of rollovers, manufacturers are increasingly turning to electronic stability controls, electronic monitoring devices that, according to IIHS.org, have been proven to lower rollover risk by 75 percent in SUVs and by 72 percent in autos.
Roof strength, another long-debated topic, has also drawn more scrutiny since Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) testing revealed a link between roof strength and injury risk. In 2008, an IIHS study determined that strong roofs reduced the risk of injury and death in rollover crashes. This finding was confirmed in a second study using different vehicles. Similar studies by the NHTSA back these findings, indicating that strong roofs reduce the risk of ejection, intrusion and may allow windshields, windows and doors to remain intact.
As a result, the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard announced in 2009 that manufacturers will be required to double roof strength on all cars, SUVs and pickup models beginning in 2013, thus replacing 1973 standards.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a rollover accident, contact an experienced personal injury attorney to discuss your situation and review your options.
