Since 2000, on average 35,000 people died annually in auto accidents in the United States. Nearly one-third of these fatalities occurred due to rollovers. If the trend continues, by 2010, 350,000 people will have lost their lives, due to rollover accidents.
The average small city in the United Sates has a population of less than 500,000 people. In effect, the toll from rollovers is causing one small town to disappear every 10 years. The U.S. government's Fatality Accident Reporting System notes that the fatality rate for rollovers was nearly four times that of other vehicle accidents in 2007.
In every year since 2000, the number of driver deaths was nearly double that of the passengers. Without taking into account the serious injuries that rollovers cause to drivers and passengers, we can assume that the majority of these rollover fatalities involved a head of household or one of the family breadwinners.
Car manufacturers, especially those who sell Sport Utility Vehicles, are well aware of the enormous risk of death and injury from rollovers. Drivers of SUVs are particularly prone to fatal injuries. The federal government has set safety equipment standards that should protect all automobile accident victims. However, seat belts and airbags do not protect the victims of rollover accidents from being crushed by a roof that caves in and traps the vehicle occupants. Seatbelts can keep SUV passengers from being thrown from an out-of-control vehicle. If the SUV's airbags deploy, they cannot prevent the injuries or fatalities that will occur when the sides and roof of the vehicle give way to the stress of a repeated impacts that occur during rollover accidents.
How are the remaining family members supposed to survive when a rollover crash puts them in economic peril? Whose responsibility is it to see to it that the minor children and other dependents of the affected drivers have food, clothing, shelter and an opportunity to pursue their dreams? You and your family should not suffer needlessly if you lose a loved one in a rollover accident. Get advice from a personal injury attorney about compensation for your losses and damages.
See the federal government's Fatality Analysis Reporting System data.