Philadelphia Car Accident Lawyers Blog

The Institute for Highway Safety tested 2010 small pickup trucks and not one model was named the institute's best pick for safety. In order to achieve that honor the vehicle has to score "good" in front, side, rear and rollover tests. The vehicle also has to be equipped with electronic stability control.

Across the board small pickups scored "marginal" in roof strength, one of the most important safety features when a vehicle rolls over. This is the first year that the IHS is testing vehicles for rollover and the institute boosted its roof strength requirement across the board. A roof crush test is conducted by driving a metal plate against the roof at a constant speed. For a "good" rating the roof must not buckle more than five inches by a force four times the vehicle's weight. The Nissan Frontier was the only pick-up to achieve a "good" rating in the roof crush and failed to be named the top safety pick because it scored "acceptable" when protecting occupants in a rear crash.

The most startling discovery came when the side curtain airbags in the Dodge Dakota failed to deploy in a side-impact test. Chrysler has identified the problem as a technical one and is currently working on a solution. It should also be noted that the Dakota is the only pick-up that does not have standard side curtain airbags. Chevrolet Colorado scored the lowest in the roof crush test and the institute was unhappy with its protection of the driver's chest and pelvis in a crash.

Related Sources:
Small Pickup Trucks Lag in IIHS Crash and Roof Crush Tests

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released its annual list of its safest vehicles and the list is significantly smaller than in years past. In 2009, the institute awarded 94 vehicles compared to only 27 vehicles in 2010. In order for vehicles to qualify they needed to achieve the highest possible score in the roof strength evaluation, something that was never required before. With the increased attention to roof strength the institute now covers the four most common types of crashes: front, side, rear and rollover.

While rollover accidents are the least common of the four they do result in the highest number of fatalities. A roof crush limits the amount of head room in vehicles and detrimentally impacts the way safety devices such as seat belts and airbags protect the occupants. The windows are also routinely broken during a roof crush which substantially increases occupant ejection from the vehicle resulting in higher degrees of injury.

Ford and its Volvo unit received the most top awards from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety with six and Subaru and Volkswagen received five awards. Chrysler had four vehicles awarded with Honda and General Motors receiving two awards. Toyota, Mazda and Mitsubishi vehicles did not achieve any awards. The Honda Accord and Ford Fusion, winners in 2009, were left off the list because they did not score high enough on the roof test.

Related Web Sources:
Insurance Industry Picks Safest Cars

The Chrysler Group LLC has agreed to accept product liability claims on vehicles manufactured before June 10, 2009. As part of the bankruptcy deal struck with congress Chrysler Group did not have to accept liability for cars manufactured before the bankruptcy deal was approved.

Stewart Eisenberg previously appeared on 6 ABC to discuss the ramifications the deal would have on injured consumers. That deal has changed and injured consumers will once again be able to fight the automaker for the compensation they deserve. If you believe you or a loved one has been harmed as a direct result of an auto defect in a vehicle please do not hesitate to contact our experienced crashworthiness attorneys to discuss your potential case.

Chrysler's Press Release:

Auburn Hills, Mich. - In a letter sent today to Members of Congress, Chrysler Group LLC announced that the company will accept product liability claims on vehicles manufactured by Chrysler LLC (now OldCarco LLC) before June 10, 2009, and involved in accidents on or after that date. On June 10, 2009, Chrysler Group purchased substantially all of the assets of Old Carco.

"We want our customers to feel comfortable and confident buying, driving and enjoying one of our vehicles," Bozzella said. "Chrysler Group vehicles meet or exceed all applicable federal safety standards and have excellent safety records."

Hugh DeHaven is considered the 'father of crashworthiness research'. In 1952 he concluded that occupants of a vehicle could endure the forces of a brutal crash without sustaining serious injuries and death if basic principles were adhered to when designing the car. These were:

• The car should not collapse under reasonable or expected force


• Car structures should not be made with brittle or weak materials as they need to be able to absorb the force of a crash


• Passengers should be immobilized within the vehicle and securely held

Unfortunately for consumers, manufacturers are often reluctant to adhere to basic crashworthiness principles, because it makes the car slightly more expensive to produce. As a result, thousands of correctly restrained occupants are killed every year as they are literally crushed by the roof during an accident.

Roofs crushing are almost always associated with vehicle rollovers. Sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and large passenger vans are the most prone to rollovers due to their higher weight and center of gravity. As a result, rollovers injure and kill approximately 10,000 people every year in the United States alone, more than side and rear crashes combined.

The strength of the roof is essential when trying to prevent injuries and deaths in rollovers. However, manufacturers, such as Ford, have long argued that there is no correlation between the strength of the roof and head and spine injuries sustained in rollovers. They allege that the injuries are sustained when the occupants 'dive' into the roof during the accident. This has been proved false by several reports and subsequent SUV rollover lawsuits.

In an attempt to cut costs and shed pounds from their vehicles, manufacturers are cutting inches from the supporting roof structure, which in turn eliminates critical 'survival space' needed for passengers to have optimum chance of surviving the effects of a rollover. The results of such 'cuts' can and are catastrophic. Some common roof crush injuries can include:

• Death


• Traumatic brain injury


• Paralysis


• Quadriplegia


• Spinal Cord Injuries

Continue reading "About SUV Rollovers and Rollover Accidents" »