In a move designed to help stop needless deaths and injuries in rollover crashes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has adopted a new safety standards for both light vehicles (weighing up to 6,000 pounds) and heavier vehicles (weighing from 6,000 - 12,000 pounds) that will result in dramatically stronger vehicle roof structures.
Under the new standard, light vehicles weighing up to 6,000 pounds will have to withstand a force of three times the vehicle's weight on both sides of the vehicle's roof. The old standard required the roof to withstand a force of 1.5 times the vehicle's weight on only one side of the roof. Heavier vehicles, weighing from 6,000 to 10,000 pounds, will now have an actual roof safety standards they will have to meet - there is no such standard now. Their roofs will have to withstand a force equivalent to 1.5 times the vehicle's weight.
The phase-in period will start in September 2012 and must be completed for all vehicles within these weight ranges by the 2017 model year. This new standard should increase passenger protection during rollover crashes and we, like most product liability and safety advocates, are pleased with this development. But, we agree with the NHTSA that making roofs stronger is only way to help prevent injuries and deaths in rollover crashes. According to the NHTSA, about 10,000 people are killed in the US each year in rollover crashes, and roof strength was a factor in only 667 of those deaths. The NHTSA estimates that the new roof safety standards will prevent another 135 rollover fatalities each year.
The best way, of course, to prevent injuries and deaths in rollover crashes is to prevent vehicles from rolling over in the first place. The NHTSA says electronic stability control (ESC) can reduce rollover deaths by anywhere from 4,200 to 5,500 fatalities each year. Wearing your seat belts is another effective way to protect yourself in rollover crashes - the NHTSA estimates seat belts reduce fatalities in rollover crashes by as much as 80% in trucks and 74% in passenger cars, largely by reducing the likelihood of occupant ejection. In most instances, just meeting the minimum federal standards doesn't mean a manufacturer has done everything it should to make a vehicle safe in rollover crashes or any other kind of car accident.
When manufacturers sell vehicles that have defects in safety systems that cause personal injuries or death, the injury victim may be entitled to compensation under a product liability theory. If you have questions about rollover accidents or product liability in general, call the rollover accident attorneys at Champion Law LLC at 651.766.5886 or visit our web-site for more information
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