| Anyone who has ever witnessed the aftermath of a | | | | road and slides sideways, hitting soft soil, a steep slope, |
| rollover accident on the freeway knows how violent | | | | or an object such as a guardrail. Just as a person |
| and destructive these types of crashes can be. | | | | might fall on unstable ground or stumble over an |
| Rollover crashes account for one-third of all deaths in | | | | object, the vehicle rolls over when its tires are |
| traffic accidents, causing more than 10,000 fatalities per | | | | subjected to these tripping forces. The majority of all |
| year. Most people know that the likelihood of a rollover | | | | rollovers are tripped. An untripped rollover is much |
| is highly dependent on particular characteristics of the | | | | more rare, and usually occurs with top-heavy vehicles, |
| vehicle involved. However, the occurrence of a rollover | | | | such as loaded pick-up trucks and 18-wheelers. When |
| crash also depends on the driving characteristics of | | | | these vehicles take a turn too sharply or swerve to |
| the motorist. An unfortunate combination of vehicle | | | | avoid a collision, the heavy weight on top causes the |
| type and certain driving behaviors can result in a | | | | vehicle to roll over. |
| rollover accident. | | | | What other factors contribute to rollover accidents? |
| What types of vehicles are most likely to roll over? All | | | | Although the type of vehicle can play a big roll in the |
| vehicles can roll over, but characteristics of certain | | | | likelihood of rolling over, other factors can cause a |
| vehicles make them less stable overall, and therefore | | | | rollover accident. In over 90% of fatal rollover crashes, |
| more likely to roll over than others. Most motorists | | | | the driver was performing routine driving procedures, |
| have been warned that SUVs have a greater | | | | meaning they were either driving in a straight line or |
| likelihood of rolling over than small passenger cars. This | | | | going around a curve. This information implies that the |
| is because vehicles that are long and narrow have a | | | | drivers in these crashes were likely distracted by other |
| higher chance of rolling over than vehicles that are | | | | factors. Therefore, driver distraction likely plays a big |
| shorter and thicker. In addition, vehicles that have more | | | | role in rollover crashes.The speed of the vehicle and |
| ground clearance are more likely to roll over than | | | | the mental condition of the driver also greatly |
| vehicles that sit low to the ground. Finally, the number | | | | contributes to the likelihood of a rollover. Excessive |
| of passengers and their distribution within the vehicle | | | | speeding was a factor in almost 40% of rollovers that |
| can affect stability. In smaller cars that sit low to the | | | | resulted in fatalities, with 75% of these crashes in |
| ground, more passengers mean more stability. | | | | areas where the speed limit was at or greater than 55 |
| However, in longer vehicles with higher ground | | | | miles per hour. If a driver is impaired by alcohol, he or |
| clearance, additional passengers can decrease the | | | | she is more likely to get involved in an accident. Alcohol |
| overall stability of the vehicle. | | | | is involved in almost 50% of rollover crashes. |
| What types of rollover accidents occur? According to | | | | To learn more about legal issues surrounding rollover |
| the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | | | | crashes, visit the website of Lake Geneva car |
| (NHTSA), rollovers are classified as either tripped or | | | | accident lawyers of Habush Habush & Rottier, |
| untripped. In a tripped rollover, a vehicle runs off the | | | | S.C. |