Philadelphia SUV Rollover Information Center

In a rollover accident, the vehicle literally flips over, throwing its occupants violently against the wall and ceiling and exposing them to jagged metal and glass crushed by the weight of the overturned vehicle. Rollovers began making the news shortly after the rise in popularity of sport-utility vehicles. That was no accident: Despite marketing showing SUVs as safe and family-friendly, they’re one of the most rollover-prone types of vehicles on the market today. Because SUVs have higher centers of gravity and heavier bodies than traditional cars, they’re easier to tip over, even during normal, completely foreseeable driving maneuvers. SUVs roll over nearly three times as often as passenger cars, and nearly twice as often as pickup trucks. In fact, they are the only type of passenger vehicle whose rate of rollover fatalities is higher than any other category of fatality.

Adding to the problem with SUVs is the fact that federal laws don’t require SUVs to be as "crashworthy," or safe, as smaller passenger vehicles. Because they weigh more than passenger cars and are classified as "light trucks," they are exempt from many of the safety laws designed to protect individual motorists. For example, the roof of a brand-new passenger vehicle weighing 6,000 pounds or less must by law be able to withstand a force of 1.5 times its weight. The NHTSA has proposed new rules raising both the weight of the vehicles covered and the amount of resistance they must show, but so far, no action has been taken. Meanwhile, manufacturers of SUVs have failed to take the initiative and install stronger roofs or "roll bars" that could save lives. Until they are forced to make the change, manufacturers prefer to save money rather than save lives.

SUVs aren’t the only vehicles that roll over; 15-passenger vans are also extremely prone to tip over during routine driving maneuvers, like a sudden swerve. Like SUVs, the vans suffer from a very high center of gravity and a large weight that makes them prone to tip over. Complicating matters, 15-passenger vans are specifically made and marketed to carry large numbers of people and their luggage -- which adds to the weight of the vehicle and makes a rollover even more likely. This is especially true if the weight is concentrated in the back of the van, the obvious place to put heavy luggage. Because the vans are large, but do not require a special commercial drivers’ license, they were once a smart choice for millions of school and church groups across America -- until reports of rollover deaths in 15-passenger vans began rolling in. The picture to the right is from a real rollover case handled by Reiff & Bily, Philadelphia Rollover Accident Lawyers, in which a church van in Tennessee rolled over, killing four passengers and injuring many others. Partner Jeffrey Reiff has written a more detailed article about the dangers of 15-passenger vans.

Rollover accidents are deadly, accounting for just 2.6 percent of passenger vehicle crashes in 2000 but 20 percent of fatal crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The NHTSA has also found that victims of a rollover are twice as likely to die or sustain serious injuries as victims of a flat crash. And rollovers raise victims’ chance of being ejected from the vehicle, a deadly result of a crash that significantly raises victims’ chance of a head or spine injury. These injuries are catastrophic, life-changing events that can devastate a family and render victims unable to work just when they start receiving sky-high medical bills. If you’ve been hurt in an SUV rollover, you have the legal right to hold the manufacturer responsible for your physical and financial injuries.

If you or someone you care about has been injured or killed in a rollover accident in Pennsylvania, you should contact Reiff & Bily today for a free consultation.