SUV ROLLOVER TESTING - ROLLOVER STABILITY FORMULA
WHY DOES A SUV ROLL OVER ?
Rollovers
accounted for more than 10,000 fatalities in the USA in 1999. That's more than
side and rear crashes combined. SUVs have the highest number of rollovers per
100 crashes of any other class of vehicles. More than 90 percent of rollovers
occur after a vehicle runs off the road and strikes a curb, soft shoulder,
grass, pavement edge, mud, guardrail, or other object that "trips"
it, but the also shockingly rollover can happen on a flat roadway as
well. "It's
the fastest growing form of fatalities in motor vehicles today," says
Clarence Ditlow, of the Center for Auto Safety. "And it's because we have
sport utility vehicles that handle differently and we need a real world test
that distinguishes how they do in the real world."
During a normal vehicular
accident, vehicles are either rapidly slowed down by hitting an object or
another vehicle or sent into in a different direction than they were
originally heading. In these accidents the vehicle will slid, skid,spin crunch
and even tip, but normally the vehicle does not roll over, unless it has been
tripped or the design allows it to rollover due to it being top heavy.
However, if a vehicle has a high center of gravity and is redirected (as when
a driver steers in one direction and then has to quickly crank the wheel in
the opposite direction) the vehicle can topple and roll.
"The public needs the numbers
because more people are being killed, we're getting more vehicles out there on
the road with higher rollover characteristics, and we don't know which are the
good performers and which are the bad performers," says Ditlow.
All
vehicles can roll over if the right conditions are present, such as a loss of
control and sliding into a curb, ditch or other object and tripping into a
rollover event. However, SUV's can and do roll over as a result of hard
steering on flat, dry pavement, with no tripping device introduced..
SUV ROLLOVER TESTING - CENTER OF GRAVITY
FORMULA
From an engineering point of view, a vehicle's
stability is measured by the formula:
In this rollover /
stability formula, T is the 'track width' (center of the right front tire
to the center of the left front tire) and h is the vehicle's center of gravity.
When this number is 1.2 or greater, the vehicle is unlikely to roll. However,
the further the ratio dips below 1.2, the greater the likelihood of roll over .
Rollover
occurs because of the absence of a lower center of gravity and a wider track
width, which allows automobiles to skid, spin and recover. In a normal evasive
maneuver that passenger car drivers safety complete every day, rapidly
corrective action (also called oversteering by police officers) causes SUVs
to trip and roll. Rollovers occur with all sports utility vehicles but the
condition seems is to be worse with the earlier Japanese vehicles. As
the ratio approaches 1.0 the tendency for the vehicle to roll is increased. A
ratio above 1.2 is considered safer.
The T/2H
ratio for one Japanese SUV is approximately 1.05, when computed by the
manufacturer with 80% gas, one driver, and no cargo. It is fair to assume that
the test driver is 150# or less. Obviously the vehicle is designed to seat
more than one and with all seats filled the T/2H ration is very close to 1.0.
Add a full tank of gas and some cargo, in back, plus a roof top carrier and the
likelihood of a roll at freeway speeds is assured when a driver makes an abrupt
corrective move.
All current SUVs
contain a rollover warning, but the warning provided do not mention that
every bit of weight added to the passenger compartment, roof racks, and
excessive passenger baggage increases the likelihood of a roll.
BASIC REASONS FOR SUV ROLLOVERS &
INJURIES:
- Advertised to Carry Too Much Weight
- SUV's High Center of Gravity / Narrow Track
width a Dangerous Combination
- SUV Absence of Roll Protection, Roll Bar or
Roll Cage
- Faulty Seat belt protection in many SUVs
- Ejections in SUV Rollovers Due to bad
door latches and lack of window glazing
- Seat Back Failures that allow occupants to
come out of their seatbelts
- Lack of Rollover Warnings
SUV ROLLOVER &
ROOF CRUSH DEFECTS LAWSUIT EVALUATION
 If
you or a member of
your family has been involved in a SUV rollover accident, van
rollover, truck rollover with a severe roof crush, roof pillar
collapse failure or any other serious accident or failure and
you have questions about whether the vehicle or roof design may
caused or contributed to the accident or injuries, then call us now. Mr.
Willis is a Board Certified Personal Injury Attorney with over 20 years of
product liability and Rollover litigation experience.Call the Willis Law
Firm at 1-800-883-9858 for a Free & Confidential
Consultation or Click Here
PLEASE NOTE: The statements and information provided on this web site are for the informational purposes only. This law firm is not affiliated in any way with any trademark owner. The use of any trademarks on this site is for product identification and information purposes only .This webpage is provided to you to assist in SUV Rollover accidents, passenger van rollovers, 15 passenger van rollover accidents, recalls, truck accidents & rollovers, tire tread defects, tire separations, roof crush and roof pillar collapse, seat belt failures, fuel fed fires and other related rollover accident issues, including rollover injuries and deaths.This site is not intended to provide legal advice to the reader and NO attorney-client relationship shall be deemed to arise from the receipt this page and/or its associated pages or any oral or e-mail communication to or from with the Willis Law Firm. There will be NO lawsuits filed, claims made, letters or phone calls made for a prospective client, until that person is represented by the firm. An attorney client relationship only arises after the attorney and client have signed a written attorney client contract.
Mr. Willis is licensed attorney in New York and Texas. He is a Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Lawyer, certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Read more about Board Certification, Click Here. Principle office is Houston, Texas.
Mr. Willis has represented clients in personal injury, auto accident, suv rollover, van & truck rollovers and other product liability and negligence cases from across the United States, including clients from Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin & West Virginia.
Further, any statement or reference to past personal injury, products liability or SUV rollover lawsuits, settlements or verdicts should NOT be relied upon in one's own case or in your decision on which law firm to hire. All client's cases, facts, injuries, damages, venues and lawsuits are different and there is NO way to predict the outcome of a particular case, verdict of a jury or judge or the strength of a case before a judge, jury or the appellate court system. The client is responsible for all of their own medical expenses. All cases are handled on a contingent fee basis. NO attorneys fees or case costs charged to client, unless a recovery is made for the client. Often in very serious and catastrophic injury and death cases Mr. Willis may associate with another products liability attorney as co-counsel and in other matters, the case may be referred. In cases where a legal matter is referred, Mr. Willis will continue to maintain joint responsibility with the handling attorney or lead counsel and actively monitor the progress and development of the case. Due to his 22+ years of experience in personal injury and products liability cases, Mr. Willis will often continue to assist in working with the hired experts and engineers and in research of the defective product or other related legal matters in the case.
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