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Accident Reconstruction Research: SUV's and Rollovers

If you have written any articles or papers on SUV's and/or Rollovers and would like to share them with the ARC Network, please email them to us.

The following models of sport utility vehicles offer an electronic stability enhancement system:

• Lexus RX300

• BMW X5

• Cadillac Escalade

• Toyota Sequoia

• Mercedes-Benz

• M-Class Acura

If your SUV does not have the this anti-rollover technology — and even if it does — here’s what Rusty Haight, professional accident investigator, recommends you do to reduce the risks of a rollover:

• When you first buy your SUV, drive it around in a parking lot, for example, so you get the feel of driving it. Remember, it handles differently than a sedan.

• Avoid sharp turns. Buckle up and use age-appropriate baby and child seats that are installed properly.

• Strap down big stuff inside the vehicle so it won’t fly in the event of a rollover.

SUV Posting Boards:
This link provides a source for the many discussion boards relating to SUV's.

SUV News:
This link provides many news articles on SUV's.

Rollover, SUV and Roof Crush Information:
Browse through various articles, fact sheets, legislation news and more.

SUV's and Rollover Articles and Features

• Physics of Automobile Rollovers
  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administratio n (NHTSA) of the Department of Transportation of the United States government recently promulgated rollover resistance ratings for automobiles. A parameter called the Static Stability Factor (SSF) is assigned to each vehicle. It is defined as one- half the track width divided by the height of the center of gravity. It is called "static" because SSF is essentially the tangent of the slope angle for a vehicle to just roll over while sitting on the slope. Another, slightly less static, way to look at SSF is "equal to the lateral acceleration in g's at which rollover begins in the most simplified rollover analysis of a vehicle represented by a rigid body without suspension movement or tire deflections" Note
  the words "at which rollover begins".

• Crash Test Results: Good Performance From 5 of 11 Midsize SUVs Tested this Year; None of 11 is Rated Poor. - December 11, 2001
  Among 11 midsize SUVs with new or modified designs that were crash tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety this year, 5 are rated good: Acura MDX, Ford Explorer/Mercury Mountaineer, Toyota Highlander, Suzuki Grand Vitara XL-7, and Mitsubishi Montero Sport. The MDX and Explorer/Mountaineer also earn the Institute's top designation, "best pick."

• Jeep Liberty Rolls Over in Test - November 21 , 2001
  You know the sun visor labels that warn SUV owners that such vehicles don’t handle like cars in emergency maneuvers? AutoWeek contributing editor and test-track driver Pete Albrecht experienced firsthand the seriousness of that warning on Oct. 16. He was driving a Jeep Liberty in a slalom test when it rolled over twice, landing back on its wheels
  

• SUV's, Ford, Firestone, and physics versus statistics - July 11, 2001
  With charges of blame being spread around, each side of the issue seem to use statistical accident data to make a case. Statistics do have a place and in the right place are legitimate analytical tools. Statistics, however, unless the number of samples is extremely large, are lacking in many ways....
  
  

• SUV Design Changes May Increase Safety - February 6 , 2006
  According to a study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the number of side-impact SUV accident deaths decreased by nearly half when automakers were forced to lower SUVs from the ground by as little as half an inch and/or equip them with hollow impact-absorbing bars below the bumpers.

• Industry seal on SUV rollover documents challenged - December 2 , 2005
  Trial lawyers for Public Justice and consumer watchdog group Public Citizen filed a legal challenge today to a Florida court order sealing “smoking gun” exhibits from a SUV rollover case decided last spring involving fatal injuries. At the request of Ford, documents showing that throughout the late 1990s Ford weakened the roof of its popular Ford Explorer SUV and has an extremely low margin of safety in rollover crashes have been sealed.
  

• Overview of Vehicle Compatibility/LTV Issues: NHTSA
  Since the early 1980s, the category of vehicles referred to as light trucks and vans (LTVs) has grown dramatically. LTVs consist of trucks of 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight or less; pickups, vans, minivans, truck-based station wagons, and sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Between 1980 and 1996, the number of vehicles in the U.S. fleet grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2 percent. LTV sales grew at a 7.8 percent (CAGR) rate and represented 34 percent of the fleet and 44 percent of new vehicle sales in 1996. During this same time period, the mix of vehicles comprising LTVs has changed, primarily due to the popularity of minivans and SUVs.
  

• Consumer Union: Nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports "SUV Rollover Articles"
  This link takes you to the Consumer Union's web site. This section has links to many great articles on SUV Rollovers.
  

• Vehicle Dynamic Rollover Propensity:
  NHTSA Vehicle Research and Test Center - CRASH AVOIDANCE RESEARCH

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