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“Tell ‘em. Tell ‘em again. Tell ‘em you told ‘em.” It’s a formula for writing TV news stories. But no matter how many times TV carries reports about deadly accidents in SUVs, folks don’t seem to get the message: rollover wrecks are killers. So Jim Adler, a successful rollover accident lawyer, is reminding you of the danger even though the latest deadly rollover spree got plenty of news coverage.
Local TV stations in Houston reported two rollover wrecks in single car accidents between 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct 2 and 3:00 a.m. Friday, Oct. 3. Which car is most likely to be in a rollover? The SUV wins hands down.
The late afternoon rollover near Texas City, just south of Houston on Oct. 2, killed one and hurt four. When that SUV swerved to avoid another car, it flipped, traveling about 150 feet before it came to rest on the shoulder of Interstate 45 where it partially blocked the inside lane of the feeder road. One victim was thrown out of the car and traveled 20 feet in the air before his body hit a ditch. Three of the injured were taken to the hospital by medical helicopter, the other, by ambulance. Two witnesses to the accident said the SUV kept flipping before it finally came to a stop.
The early morning rollover on Houston’s Eastex Freeway on Oct. 3 killed two women and seriously injured two others. The driver and front seat passenger survived the wreck in serious condition. The back seat passengers were killed.
What makes rollovers so deadly and why do SUVs flip so easily? The answer is in the design. The SUV has a narrow wheel base and a high center of gravity, making it prone to “trip” even at a low rate of speed when it swerves, hits a soft shoulder or even grazes a curb. Review these facts at www.iihs.org , the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s web site.
Roof crush is another deadly feature of the SUV. With no roll bars or other reinforcement, the top of the car easily crushes down on the heads of passengers when the full weight of the vehicle lands on it. Every year in the United States, there are some 250,000 rollover crashes, killing 10,000 Americans. So, far Detroit has refused to reinforce SUV roofs despite pleas from numerous consumer groups.
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