Causes of Rollover Accidents

Rollovers are one of the biggest risks facing any driver of an SUV, minivan, or truck. While these vehicles are at the highest risk of this type of accident, other, lower vehicles are not completely safe from the risk.

Rollover accidents are, most frequently, tied to a vehicle’s center of gravity. The center of gravity is the point on the car where the weight is equal on both sides of the point. In higher vehicles, the center of gravity is higher up because the car is higher.

Another thing that influences whether a car will rollover is its stability in turns. Stability is tied to a vehicle’s center of gravity and track width. The track width is the distance between the left and right wheels. A high center of gravity can be partially neutralized by a large track width. Unfortunately, a car with a high center of gravity and a narrow track width is not going to be very stable in turns at all.

Because of the center of gravity and relatively narrow track width, SUVs, minivans, and trucks are all very likely to roll over in an accident or when going around a turn. The problems are exacerbated when four wheel drive is added to the mix. Four wheel drive makes the vehicle even higher (extra ground clearance to avoid rocks and other things when the vehicle is not driving on a paved road) but does nothing to expand the track width. An already unstable vehicle is made more unstable by this feature.

In 2003, 35.7% of all fatal SUV accidents involved at least one of the cars rolling over.

Contact a Stevens Point Car Accident Lawyer

If you have been injured in a rollover accident, contact the Stevens Point car accident lawyer of Habush Habush & Rottier at 1-800-242-2874 to discuss your case and to determine your legal options.