| Large SUV's built on truck chassis present a serious | | | | height means it can ride over the car's door-frame |
| danger to others (DTO) on the road. A truck-based | | | | and T-bone directly into the passenger compartment. |
| SUV provides about 5% greater safety for its | | | | In rollovers, SUV's are also DTS, danger to self. Large |
| occupants than a car does in a front, rear, or side | | | | SUV's are at much higher risk of rollovers than other |
| crash, and deals about a 300% greater risk of death | | | | vehicles. Again, it's simple physics. Its height and |
| to the people in any vehicle it hits. The Insurance | | | | resulting high center of gravity make it much more |
| Institute for Highway Safety looked at deaths per | | | | likely for the vehicle's rear end to fishtail, or slide |
| million miles driven and found that large SUV's | | | | sideways in a tight turn or an emergency braking |
| involved in two-vehicle accidents inflict far more | | | | maneuver. The SUV's height and high weight |
| damage on other vehicles and their occupants. The | | | | distribution mean that once the vehicle is moving |
| reason is simple physics. | | | | sideways, it's much easier for it to flip and roll over |
| Full size SUV's and pickups weigh about 1000 pounds | | | | once or multiple times. |
| more than the average car. A vehicle that weighs a | | | | When a pickup or SUV rolls, it exposes its occupants |
| half ton more delivers a far greater destructive force | | | | to much more danger of roof crush, the collapsing of |
| on impact. Add to that a significant difference in the | | | | a roof under the weight of the vehicle. Physics again: |
| vehicles' construction. SUV's and pickups are built with | | | | The vehicle's weight, including that extra thousand |
| stiff frame rails. When an SUV or truck rams another | | | | pounds, is now on top, crushing down on a roof that |
| vehicle, it doesn't give. It transfers the force of | | | | too often is simply not designed to support it. Most |
| impact to the other vehicle. Cars, minivans, and small | | | | pickup and SUV roofs are not unibody construction. |
| SUV's built on car frames are designed with | | | | The incremental cost of a unibody roof and sturdier |
| energy-absorbing structures. They're built to absorb | | | | metals would run about $50 per vehicle, but |
| and the force of impact, and because the SUV isn't, | | | | manufacturers have chosen not to make this simple |
| the smaller, more flexible vehicle absorbs more force. | | | | improvement. |
| SUV's are taller than cars, with higher road clearance, | | | | If you or a loved one has been seriously injured, or |
| and their height makes them more dangerous to | | | | your loved one has been killed in a crash involving an |
| other cars. The modern car bumper is a superbly | | | | SUV, you will want to consult with an experienced |
| designed energy absorption system. But in front and | | | | SUV crash attorney to determine whether you may |
| rear end collisions, the tall SUV is likely to ride up over | | | | have a case against the manufacturer. It is important |
| the other vehicle's bumper. When the SUV rides over | | | | to do this as soon after the crash, to assure that the |
| the bumper and pushes its way into the engine | | | | SUV involved is not destroyed, as it will be vital |
| compartment or the trunk, the bumper's energy | | | | evidence in your case. |
| absorbing value is lost. In side crashes, the SUV's | | | | |