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How to Avoid Dangerous Vehicle Rollovers
A vehicle rollover is among the worst things that can happen to you on the road. Although rollovers occur in only about 3 percent of all serious crashes, they account for about 30 percent of all the people killed while riding in a passenger vehicle. At Frank's Collision Ctr II, we fix many cars that have been damaged by rollovers, so that’s why we’re providing this useful information about how to avoid them or what to do when you’re in the middle of one.
The news is not all bad. When viewed in terms of rollover-fatalities per every million registered vehicles, all vehicle types have improved, and SUVs have improved the most. According to the IIHS, the rollover driver-death rate among newer (1 to 3 year old) passenger vehicles dropped from 27 in the year 2000 to 6 in 2012. The newest SUVs have lower rates than the newest cars.
Rollovers are obviously frightening, but it does not mean they have to be fatal or result in serious injury. If you’ve ever been in a rollover, you know how scary it is. Rollover-avoidance technologies, improved vehicle design, better safety systems, more stringent government regulations and the increased use of safety belts have cut down on the number of rollovers in the United States, but there is still much to do.
How Do Rollovers Happen?
Some people believe that because they own a small, compact car that is low to the ground, they will never encounter a rollover—but they’re badly mistaken. Any vehicle can roll over at any time. It is definitely true, however, that taller, narrower vehicles such as SUVs, pickups and vans are more likely to rollover, due to their higher center of gravity and the simple fact that they’re top heavy.
Side-to-side forces that develop when a vehicle comes around a curve shift the car’s center of gravity to one side. These lateral forces increase with speed and also with rapid changes of direction. For example, when a driver makes a sharp a turn one way and then overcorrects the other way that causes a pendulum effect, with larger and larger swings and an eventual loss of total control.
A single-vehicle rollover is rarely caused by a steering maneuver. Instead, the vehicle usually has to "trip" on something, such as when it swerves into a curb, pothole, or a soft roadside shoulder. The government has estimated that 95 percent of rollovers result from these trips. Some observers say that number is too high. If a vehicle leans in such a way that a tire's sidewall deforms and the wheel rim strikes the pavement and provokes a tip-up, then the government counts that as a tripped rollover.
How to Avoid a Rollover
Stay firmly on the road and stay rollover-free by adhering to these tips, brought to you by Frank's Collision Ctr II.
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