SUV Rollover Ratings
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Rollover Resistance Rating System is an
estimate of your risk of rolling over if you have a single vehicle crash. Beginning with the 2004 model year, (NHTSA) will enhance its current rollover ratings system with the addition of a dynamic track test.
After considering a number of alternatives, NHTSA has decided that the dynamic test will use the so-called "fishhook" maneuver – a
series of abrupt turns at varying speeds. A computerized steering system will be used in each test vehicle to maintain objectivity.
In 2002, 10,666 people were killed in rollover crashes, up five percent from 2001. Sixty-one percent of all occupant fatalities in sport utility
vehicles (SUVs) and 45 percent of pickup truck deaths were the result of a rollover crash. By contrast, 22 percent of passenger car fatalities in 2002 were the result of a rollover crash.
"Consumers need to consider rollover risk when they shop for a new vehicle," said NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey W. Runge, M.D. "Our
rating system will give them the information they need to make a wise choice."
NHTSA’s current consumer program rates rollover risk based on a vehicle's "static stability factor," which is an engineering
calculation based on the track width (the distance between two wheels on the same axle) and the height of the center of gravity above the road. Starting with the 2004 model year, the rollover risk predictions will
be based both on the vehicle’s static stability factor and its performance in the dynamic test.
For more information visit these web sites:
NHTSA Rollover web-site:
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/Rollover/index.htm
NHTSA Rollover Resistance Ratings Information:
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/hot/rollover/
Detailed Information on the enhanced rating system can be found at:
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/rulings/RollFinal/3rdTREAD-for-WebSite.pdf.
For information on buying a safe car:
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/ncap/
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Dr.
R. Craig Jerner, Ph.D., PE specializes in accident
investigation and metallurgical failure analysis,
with over 30 years experience as a metallurgical
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