SUV Rollover Accidents

SUV Rollover and Collision Overview

SUVs present potentially significant hazards to occupants of passenger vehicles involved in collisions with them. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that since 1995, of the people killed in SUV vs. passenger car crashes, nearly 98 percent were occupants of the passenger vehicles.

Since 1992, collisions between SUVs and cars have resulted in more fatalities in than have car-to-car crashes. This is due to the SUV's greater weight, added height, and the tendency of the higher, heavier SUVs to ride over the safety "crumple zones" of most cars and penetrate the passenger compartment. As a result, SUV-to-car collisions are six times more likely to kill the occupants of the smaller vehicle, compared to fatalities in car-to-car collisions.

In 1975, Congress passed the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which established Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) standards to force car manufacturers to increase vehicle fuel economy. In order to comply with CAFÉ standards, auto makers gradually reduced the weight of small and mid-size passenger vehicles. Weight was reduced by substituting lightweight plastic for steel in bumpers and other impact-absorbing structures. As a result, passenger cars have become lighter and more vulnerable to SUV’s and trucks with higher clearances. Passenger car occupants have much higher risk factors for serious injury and death when involved in accidents with SUVs.

SUV's high center of gravity makes them more likely to roll over during quick maneuvers to avoid an accident at highway speeds. Insurance industry statistics show that in all but the heaviest SUV's, occupants have higher death rates in single-vehicle accidents. The principal factor is vehicle rollover.

According to NHTSA, SUVs rolled over in 37 percent of fatal crashes, compared to a 15 percent rollover rate for passenger cars. Rollover crashes account for 53 percent of all SUV occupant deaths in single vehicle crashes. Only 19 percent of occupant fatalities in passenger cars resulted from rollover crashes.

While rollover problems have been documented in the Ford Bronco II, Suzuki Samurai, and Isuzu Trooper, the risks of deadly SUV rollover accidents appear greatest in the Ford Explorer. According to a study published in the Washington Post, in 5,870 single-vehicle accidents in Florida, the Explorer had 13 percent greater risk of rolling over than other SUVs.

Ford Motor Company executives blamed the rollovers on the Firestone tires that were standard equipment on Ford Explorers until the summer of 2001. However, The Post's accident analysis revealed that Ford Explorers were equally as likely to be involved in rollover accidents when equipped with Goodyear or other tire brands, as with Firestone.

For that reason, The Post study concluded that "an unstable suspension design" and an excessively high center-of-gravity more likely caused the Explorer's rollover tendency. It was no accident that the 2002 Ford Explorer featured a re-designed suspension and ground clearance reduced by several inches.