Important Info - SUV Rollover Accidents Overview
With SUV rollover accidents, the vehicle is usually turning too sharp around a curve at a fast rate of speed. This causes the vehicle to turn over on its side or on the roof of the SUV. Because this vehicle has a high center of gravity, it is more likely to roll over when speeding or driving on slick roads and cause car accidents.
About 35% of passenger fatalities are attributed to SUV rollover accidents. These rollover accidents got noticed when the Ford Explorers started having accidents. They were using tires that were manufactured by Bridgestone/Firestone. In some of the accidents, the tires were not durable enough to withstand the drivers’ high rate of speed.
The Federal Government made SUV rollover accidents a priority several years ago. The recommendation was to have the SUVs are made to have a lower center of gravity and have the wheel track widened. However, auto manufacturers have not quickly obliged due to the cost to make those adjustments to the SUV design. Nowadays, there are more vehicles that are called “crossovers”. This is a vehicle that is a combination of an SUV and a regular vehicle. These vehicles have a lower gravity and plenty of other features.
There are also rollover air bags that protect drivers and passengers’ heads if there is a side impact crash. They can also protect them from being injured or ejected if there is a SUV rollover accident.
These vehicles are now equipped with electronic stability control. This uses braking that is controlled automatically by a computer. This feature allows the driver to keep control of the vehicle and prevent it from skidding out of control and run off of the road. This feature has reduced SUV rollover accident fatalities by 63% (2004 report). By the year 2012, this feature will be required in every SUV per mandate of the Federal Government. There are other mechanisms and features that can help to reduce the amount of accidents on the road.
Another thing that will help to prevent fatalities in SUV rollover accidents is wearing a seat belt. This can help at least reduce fatalities by 75 percent. For more information please contact one of our personal injury lawyers in Sacramento.