Rollover Accidents

People generally feel that by buying an SUV or a minivan they are helping to keep their family more safe. Unfortunately, this is often not true. Rollover is the deadliest risk facing SUV, minivan, and truck drivers and occupants. Every year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports more than 280,000 rollover accidents. Of those 280,000, 10,000 involve accidents. Of this, SUVs are more likely to roll over in more serious accidents. This fact is exacerbated by the fact that they often carry heavy loads which make them even more top heavy.

Rollover accidents are directly related to a vehicle’s stability in turns. A vehicle’s stability is influenced by the relationship between a vehicle’s center of gravity and its track width. The track width is the distance between the left and right wheels. A high center of gravity when combined with a narrow track width means that a car is going to be unstable in fast turns and during sharp changes of direction.

The rollover problem is most pronounced in 4-wheel drive pickup trucks and SUVs. This is because they have a higher center of gravity because the vehicles have a higher ground clearance for off-road driving. The majority of 4-wheel drive rollovers are single vehicle accidents on weekend nights. The drivers are generally male, under 25 years of age, and have had something to drink. In 75% of rollover fatalities, the victim is ejected from the vehicle which clearly indicates he or she was not wearing a seatbelt.

Neither cars nor trucks are subject to a federal rollover standard but there is mounting pressure for this standard to be implemented. To help consumers, the NHTSA developed a system to rate the rollover probability of a vehicle. This system was introduced in 2001 and uses a 5-star system. The rating system involves the engineering analysis of a vehicle’s track width to its center of gravity. This is then compared with police rollover accident reports. Once the vehicle’s numbers are all added up, it is given a rating. A vehicle that receives 5 stars is a rollover risk of less than 10%. A vehicle that receives 1 star has a rollover risk of greater than 40%.

If you or someone you know has been injured in a rollover accident, contact the Madison personal injury lawyers of Habush, Habush, & Rottier, S.C. at 800-822-1690 to discuss your case and to schedule an initial consultation.