Data from the U.S. NHTSA website shows that about 85% of all rollover accident deaths are from single-vehicle wrecks. Our Texas highway rollover accident attorneys also point out that more than 90% of the vehicles involved in single-vehicle rollover fatalities were engaged in routine driving maneuvers like negotiating a curve or traveling in a straight line at the times of their crashes. This means that other factors like driver fatigue, distraction, speed, or impairment strongly contributed to the wrecks. Four of the major causes of rollover accidents that you want to avoid are:
SPEEDING: 40% of rollover crash deaths are related to excessive speed, and around 75% of the fatalities occur on roads where the posted speed limit is at least 55 mph. When the wheels of your car start to lose traction and leave the road, or they dig in and slide as the car changes direction, the faster you are going, the more likely it is that ESC technology and your own reactions won’t be able to compensate, and your vehicle will trip into a deadly roll.
ALCOHOL: About half of all fatal rollover wrecks involve alcohol. Impaired drivers tend to speed more often than sober drivers, and are also more likely to lose control of their vehicles in even routine driving maneuvers.
ROAD TYPE: Undivided rural roads and narrow roads without barriers form the sites of a disproportionate number of deadly rollover crashes. Nearly 75% of rollover deaths occur on narrow rural highways where the posted speed limit is 55 mph or above.
VEHICLE TYPE: “Top heavy” vehicles that have a higher center of gravity on a relatively narrow wheelbase, such as SUVs, pickup trucks, and passenger vans, are more likely to end up in a roll during a serious crash. The Texas highway rollover accident attorneys at Denena Points, PC note that a loss of vehicle control or a sharp change in direction can simply pull the vehicles “head over heels” into a roll.
Click the link to read about a deadly rollover wreck on LBJ Freeway in Dallas near Greenville that exhibits many of the factors listed above. That terrible accident claimed the lives of two occupants of a pickup truck who got ejected during the roll. Witnesses indicated the driver was traveling at least 100 mph and was negotiating the curve of a freeway entry ramp when the terrible single vehicle crash took place.