Rollover Car Accidents

Rollover car accidents are responsible for 35% of passenger fatalities.

Rollover accidents cause more than 10,000 deaths in the United States every year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Even though rollover accidents represent only around two percent of the total number of crashes in the U.S., they account for around 35 percent of passenger vehicle deaths.

Types of Rollover Accidents

A rollover accident occurs when a vehicle turns upside down or topples onto its side due to sudden braking, turning, or a collision with another vehicle. It takes some time to bring a speeding car to a stop. If you do not allow a speeding vehicle enough time and use harsh braking or take a quick turn at a high speed, it could result in rollover of the car. If you apply a sudden brake, the tires of the car stop moving forward immediately, but the vehicle’s momentum tips the vehicle over. Whether the vehicle will tip onto its side or turn upside down depends on a number of factors, including its amount of inertia and the direction of the car.

Rollover accidents can be of two types. One type, called a tripped rollover, is more common than the other type called an un-tripped rollover. A tripped rollover occurs when a speeding vehicle comes off the roadway to the side of the road. As the tires of the vehicle come in contact with soft soil or get obstructed by a pothole or solid object on the road, the force of the tires causes the vehicle to tip over. On the other hand, an untripped rollover occurs when the tipping over is not caused by any obstruction from an object of the road.

Common Causes of Rollover Crashes

Knowing the cause of a rollover accident would help you determine who was at fault for the accident and who is liable to pay compensation any losses suffered. If you are aware of the common causes of rollover accidents, you’ll be able to take precautions to prevent this type of accident.

• Speeding – A speeding vehicle is more likely to be involved in rollover accidents. Do not exceed the posted speed limit while driving.
• Drunk driving or drowsy driving – Drivers who are tired or driving under the influence of alcohol are susceptible to make sudden decisions behind the wheel, causing accidents. Overcorrection by intoxicated or tired drivers is a leading cause of rollover accidents.
• Tire problems – Driving a vehicle with bald or flat tires is dangerous and often results in rollover accidents.

Common Injuries Caused by Rollover Accidents

Common injuries from rollover accidents include spinal cord injuries, broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, and internal injuries. Wearing a seatbelt could prevent 75 percent of rollover fatalities, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

SUV Rollover Crashes

Many people believe that if they are driving an SUV and get into a crash with a smaller vehicle such as a passenger car, they are less likely to feel the impact and suffer injuries. However, this may not be true in all cases, because SUVs are generally taller than other cars and may be more prone to rollover car accidents.

SUV Rollover Crashes

When a SUV rolls over, the passengers inside the vehicle can suffer serious injuries. If the roof collapses and is crushed, this can lead to serious head injuries. In SUVs, the seatbelts may not tighten automatically in the event of a rollover as it would in other types of crashes. The door latches may not secure properly, exposing the passengers to the risk of being ejected and getting seriously injured or even killed upon impact.

Common Injuries Suffered in SUV Rollover Crashes

• Head and brain injuries: If the roof of an SUV collapses or gets crushed, it can result in serious head and brain injuries. The victim may sustain facial lacerations from broken glass or skull fractures.
• Chest injuries: If the airbags fail to deploy, the victim may experience bruised or broken ribs.
• Neck injuries: If the head and neck jerks in a way that causes the neck to overextend, the victim may suffer whiplash. The victim may also suffer a slipped or herniated disc that can cause immense pain and nerve damage.
• Back and spinal injuries: Herniated or slipped discs are common injuries reported in SUV rollover crashes. A broken or bruised spinal column is also a serious injury that can result.
• Broken bones: Forceful impact can cause the bones to break. Broken legs or arms can be painful and take a very long time to heal.
• Bruises, cuts, and scrapes: These can be serious and disfiguring.
• Soft tissue injuries: SUV rollover crashes can cause ligaments, tendons, and muscles to stretch or become torn, and this can affect the victim’s ability to move the affected limbs, interfering with daily activities.

Are SUVs Safer Vehicles?

Most of us are cautious when driving and we do are best to prevent and avoid auto accidents. When choosing a car to buy, safety is often a top priority. According to studies conducted, SUVs are the safest type of vehicle because of its size. Nearly all vehicles today have safety features such as airbags and anti-lock brakes. (Discover – New Safety Technology for Cars) Yet when it comes to high-impact accidents, smaller cars like sedans and hatchbacks tend to crumple, especially in side-crash and rear-crash collisions. SUV’s have more metal between the passenger and the road, making it very difficult to ‘crumple’.

What the Studies Say

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety notes that while over the years car have become safer with good safety systems in place, smaller cars are more dangerous compared to SUVs, especially in high-impact collision accidents. The study found that SUVs are also safer when it comes to collateral damage. In addition, only 8% of SUV accident fatalities involved backseat passengers.

Fatalities and Head-On Collisions

Another study conducted by the University of Buffalo compared the fatalities of head-on collisions involving SUV and smaller cars. The possibility of death for the driver of the smaller car was 7.6 times higher than the driver of the SUV. According to the reports, the type of car is an important factor to consider. Its size is equally important as the safety features one chooses to invest in. The more gap between the passengers and the road, the better it is for safety.

Regardless of the size of a vehicle, safety features that include front and side airbags can significantly reduce the risk of injury during a crash. Practicing good driving habits and using proper safety equipment like seatbelts, maintaining safe speeds, avoiding driving under the influence and prohibiting the usage of cell phones while driving is of paramount importance. It is better to avoid an accident than looks for ways to survive it!

Are Bigger Vehicles Safer in a Collision?

Considering the fact that more than 30,000 fatal car accidents occur every year in the U.S., the safety of a vehicle becomes a very relevant question. It is believed that the bigger or heavier a vehicle, the safer it is for passengers in the event of a crash. Whether an accident involves two or more vehicles, the size of the vehicle is an important factor that determines any fatalities or the severity of the injuries. Larger vehicles usually prove to be safer, with passengers sustaining less serious injuries and a lower chance of fatality.

Safety Collision Categories

Vehicles are categorized into four safety collision categories determined by crash performance tests. The rating categories and corresponding tests are:

1. Frontal offset crash test – This category tests for outcomes of head-on collisions that hit a barrier at a speed of 40mph.
2. Side-impact crash test – This category tests for outcomes of crashes where a vehicle is hit on the side by another vehicle weighing more than 3,330 pounds (approximately a vehicle as heavy as an SUV) at a speed of 31 mph.
3. Roll-over test – In the roll-over test, a corner of the vehicle is hit with a metal plate to determine the amount of force that will cause a vehicle to roll over.
4. Rear-impact test – The rear-impact test checks if the seat belts in a vehicle that is hit from the rear-end can save a passenger from whiplash.

Disadvantages of Smaller Vehicles

The test results show that smaller vehicles are more likely to be compromised than larger vehicles. Smaller vehicles have an inherent disadvantage when compared to large vehicles such as SUVs and trucks.

• Smaller cars have a higher probability of suffering more damage than larger cars.
• The physical dimensions of a smaller car hamper the ability of the car to be safer, making safety equipment like airbags and seatbelts more important as safety measures.
• A smaller car has less space between the passenger and the colliding vehicle than larger cars, making smaller cars more dangerous in head-on collisions.
• In collisions, a larger vehicle will push a smaller car backwards due to more force (mass X acceleration). Because of a smaller crumple zone, the accelerated force will then transfer to the occupants in the car, causing more severe damage.