|
It has long been known that Sport Utility Vehicles
(SUVs) have a higher center of gravity than regular
sedan vehicles, and therefore have a greater tendency
to roll over in accident collisions. Because
SUVs are often taller than regular passenger cars but
not wider at the wheelbase, maneuvers that would not
cause a regular car to roll over often can cause an
SUV to rollover. SUV rollover accidents accounted for
just 3 percent of all U.S. auto accidents in 2001, but
caused nearly a third of all vehicle-occupant fatalities,
and an SUV occupant was more than three times as likely
to die as a result of a rollover as an occupant of a
passenger car. SUV rollovers lead to fatalities because
passengers are often thrown from SUVs. Some SUV rollovers
undergo roof caving which increases injuries and fatalities.
Fatalities in single vehicle SUV rollovers increased
22.3 percent from 2000 to 2001 and now account for 8,400
fatalities. Some make and model years have a higher
propensity to roll over than other make and model years.
The manufacturers of Sport Utility Vehicles
(SUV) are under increasing criticism for not
improving the safety of these popular vehicles. Because
the manufacturers do not want to pay compensation for
personal injury or wrongful death, manufacturers aggressively
defend SUV rollover accident cases and attempt to blame
the driver rather than accept responsibility for the
vehicles’ defects.
More than 30 of the 2002 SUVs tested by the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration earned
just one or two stars, including the top-selling
SUV, Ford Explorer, and other SUV models such as the
Chevrolet Tahoe, Toyota 4Runner, Nissan Xterra, Suzuki
Samurai and Sidekick, Jeep, and Mitsubishi Montero.
If you or a loved one experienced
a serious injury or death in an SUV rollover accident,
contact our lawyers today for a free, confidential case
evaluation.
|
