Weak Roofs And Rollovers

1 roof intrusion causing severe head and neck injuries.

Weak roofs and rollovers.

The blame often needs to be turned toward the manufacturer and designer of these potentially dangerous vehicles with weak roofs that crush during a rollover accident. Three top ford truck types have documented roof crush incidents in rollover accidents. The current roof crush standard was adopted by the safety agency in 1971 and has long been criticized as too weak. The 1999 to 2007 ford truck models have especially weak roofs due to ford removing even more material than its previous versions to save money.

Even belted occupants suffer partial ejection of their arms and heads while unbelted occupants can be completely ejected. A sudden maneuver that would not pose a rollover risk to a sedan can cause an suv rollover accident. Motorists particularly as rollover prone suvs and pickups proliferate. The major sources of the most serious rollover injuries are.

It requires roofs to withstand a force equal to 1 5 times the vehicle weight without the roof intruding more than five inches into the passenger compartment. It is the weakness of the roof structures i e the lack of resistance to stresses inherent in rollovers that allows the roof to intrude into the passenger cabin. The new findings however could provide crucial supporting evidence for federal officials seeking to strengthen a 33 year old roof strength standard that many safety advocates say is far too weak to protect u s. Additionally the typical suv tends to have a weak roof and insufficient crash protection putting passengers at a higher risk for death and paralysis.

Some common safety problems with the chevrolet tahoe gmc yukon include. Study shows weak roofs are major cause of suv rollover injuries a new study released by the insurance institute for highway safety iihs shows conclusive proof that the strength of sport utility vehicle suv roof is a major cause of injury and death in suv rollovers. And 2 full and partial ejection primarily through broken side windows. Lack of stronger roofs to prevent roof crush injuries in a chevrolet tahoe rollover or gmc yukon rollovers 2.

However all older ford trucks could have weight imbalances and weak roofs that compromise customer safety. Weak roof structures crush down on the occupants or deform to destroy the occupant s survival space. Rollover accidents are a significant contributor to highway suv fatalities each year. In 2006 alone there were 10 698 people killed and approximately 24 000 people seriously injured in rollover accidents in the united states.