Texas Personal Injury Lawyers – Jim Adler & Associates – Blog

While new models of SUVs have been improved to combat the vehicle’s propensity to rollover, thousands of older SUVs are still on the road, exposing drivers and passengers to catastrophic injuries, killing and maiming those who bought the vehicles for “safety.” While the SUV created the illusion of safety on the road because of its size compared to other vehicles, the image was deceiving. The older SUV is three times more likely to rollover than any other passenger vehicle, according to SUV Rollover Statistics www.onlinelawyersource.com. SUVs had the highest rollover rate of any vehicle involved in fatal crashes and the highest rollover rate for passenger vehicles in injury crashes. And rollovers are the deadliest types of accidents.www.pbs.org. They frequently cause head trauma – the most serious type of fatal and nonfatal injury in a rollover, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (www.suvrollovernews.com). Adding to the danger, “…the overwhelming majority of rollovers occur during ordinary situations,” says NHTSA, when a driver swerves to avoid a stopped car or accidentally veers off the road. Because the SUV has a higher center of gravity, it is less stable on the road. Defective tires have also played a role in older SUV accidents. And particular models of older SUVs are noted for being involved in serious rollover accidents. “In 2003, almost 4,500 people died in SUV accidents, a twenty two percent increase from 2001.” www.onlinelawyersource.com. Since older SUVs have none of the new built-in safety features that make them less likely to roll over, drivers of older models would do well to consult an attorney if their SUV is involved in an accident to make sure their legal rights are protected.