Wednesday evening on Tidwell Road in northwest Houston, the driver of an SUV pulled out of a Wal-Mart parking lot in front of an oncoming car. The car plowed into the side of the SUV, flipping it over. Firefighters extracted the SUV driver who was trapped in the wreckage. The man received transport to the hospital for his serious injuries. Two people in the car received treatment at the scene for minor injuries.
Accident investigators indicated that alcohol was not a factor in the collision. (Kelci Johnston, KPRC click2houston.com, 5/22/14) Reports did not specify whether speeding or failure to yield might have contributed to the wreck. The Houston SUV accident injury lawyers at Denena Points, PC wish the injured driver a safe and complete recovery.
SUVs and Low Rollover Resistance
Only about 3% of serious crashes involve a rollover, but those rollovers lead to more than 10% of traffic fatalities. Over the past 15 years, rollover fatality rates have decreased some due to improved safety technologies, new rollover-avoidance systems, improved vehicle designs, and new government safety regulations, as well as to increased use of seatbelts. But our Houston SUV accident injury lawyers note that more than half of those killed in rollover accidents still die because they weren’t wearing their safety belts.
From 1998 to 2009 for instance, the rate of rollover deaths among SUV drivers declined from 43 per million drivers to 12 per million. But the number of SUVs has grown enormously, so actual fatality numbers remain about the same. The rollover fatality rate for car drivers declined from 21 to 13 per million in that same time period.
SUVs have a lower rollover resistance than passenger cars due to their higher centers of gravity on a relatively narrow wheelbase. This makes them top-heavy, and loading cargo on the roof makes the propensity for rollover even greater. Lateral forces, such as from a side impact accident or from rounding a turn or curve, shift the center of gravity to the side, which can cause the SUV to flip over. Speeding and the gripping force of the SUV’s tires can also affect the likelihood of a rollover. Tire gripping force should be neither too weak nor too strong, a difficult balance to maintain.
Around half of the deaths that result from rollover accidents occur when the victims are either fully or partially ejected from the vehicle. Many of these people weren’t wearing their seatbelts at the time of the crash. But severe rollover accidents can sometimes defeat even your seatbelts. About 75% of people ejected from a vehicle in any type of wreck die from fatal impacts. So our Houston SUV accident injury lawyers emphasize that it’s better to reduce your chances of severe or fatal injury by wearing your safety belt.
Government crash tests could help you judge the rollover resistance and overall safety of the vehicle you’re thinking about buying. Consumer reports and other data could also help you decide. Generally speaking, vehicle safety continues to improve. But hidden defects that might lead to recalls sometimes cause hundreds of severe injuries and deaths before any recall or safety problem is announced. So always do your research when purchasing a vehicle, and keep an eye on safety.
Click the link to learn about how speed affects your risks of a crash.