Weak Roofs And Rollovers

Roof strength to protect occupants in most rollovers without imposing significant weight penalties.

Weak roofs and rollovers.

The government roof strength standard is weak and its static test is unrealistic. Three top ford truck types have documented roof crush incidents in rollover accidents. The government routinely gives passing rollover test grades to manufacturers that receive failing grades in real world rollover accidents. 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.

Additionally the typical suv tends to have a weak roof and insufficient crash protection putting passengers at a higher risk for death and paralysis. Roof integrity is the most fundamental element of occupant safety in a rollover crash. A rollover is a series of impacts that can involve the front side roof and rear of the vehicle. Finally we discuss an approach to dynamic roof strength testing that is based on what occurs in an actual serious injury producing rollover.

Introduction structurally weak roofs are the primary cause of. Lack of stronger roofs to prevent roof crush injuries in a chevrolet tahoe rollover or gmc yukon rollovers. The safety administration said roof crush appeared to figure in an estimated 596 deaths and 807 injuries a year among front seat occupants who wore seat belts. 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.

However all older ford trucks could have weight imbalances and weak roofs that compromise customer safety. 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. The discussion reflects continued concern at the nhtsa over injuries and deaths from suv rollovers amid a new wave of litigation targeting allegedly weak roofs.

Moreover a weak roof will transmit force onto the windows as it strikes the ground ensuring that windows break and. If the roof is weak it will collapse into the cab as the vehicle rolls. Because of the huge popularity of top heavy pickups and suvs rollover fatalities have risen to more than 10 000 per year out of about 42 000 total highway deaths. Motorists particularly as rollover prone suvs and pickups proliferate.

Roof crush continues to be a severe risk to people in rollovers. Some common safety problems with the chevrolet tahoe gmc yukon include.