New GM rollover crash testing facility opens

General Motors (GM) opened its new rollover crash testing facility in December 2006, the first American auto manufacturer to develop an in-house program, and pickup owners may be the biggest beneficiary. “GM understands that their customers care about safety,” the company said in a press release. It is certainly a step in the right direction, though not without a touch of irony.

Lately it has been the pickup truck owners who have been paying the price. With the growing popularity of the SUV market in the late 1990s and the sudden awareness of rollover risk, industry and government agencies alike focused their efforts on making these vehicles safer. However pickup trucks, which are just slightly less likely to rollover, have not benefited from these advances. Even Electronic Stability Control (ESC), which has been touted as the biggest safety improvement since seat belts because it helps prevent deadly rollover situations, is not available on most American-made pickups.

So how will GM’s new rollover test facility help pickup truck owners? First, it’s a sign that the company – and perhaps the industry as a whole – is making definite steps towards making all vehicles safer from rollover. The NHTSA has already mandated that ESC be available for all passenger vehicles by 2012. And in GM’s announcement, it specifically mentioned that pickup trucks would be equipped with special rollover air bags by 2012 that remain inflated for up to five seconds, protecting its occupants.

Rollover accidents are rare – less than 3% of all traffic accidents – but they are responsible for 25% of all traffic accident deaths. Many of the 10,000 Americans killed in rollover crashes each year are pickup truck owners, who are now finally getting some of the same safety equipment that SUV and passenger car owners have relied upon for years.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a rollover accident, you may be able to seek compensation from the automaker. Failing to equip a vehicle with widely-used safety features could be seen as negligence. We can help you reach a settlement to pay for your medical bills, lost time away from work, and pain and suffering. Call a personal injury lawyer at Jim S. Adler & Associates for a free case assessment, or fill in the form on this page to start your free case review.

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