SUVs run risk of rollovers

By BETH LUCAS
Collegian Staff Writer

As sport utility vehicles increase in popularity, safety concerns about how people use the large vehicles also are on the rise.

In 1997, 1,482 people were killed in accidents involving SUVs. More than 60 percent of those deaths were due to the vehicles rolling over, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

SUVs roll over more than twice as frequently as do other vehicles, according to the administration. This problem has increased with the popularity of the vehicles. In 1990, 5 percent of registered vehicles were SUVs, but by 1995, that figure had risen to 12 percent.

Roll over occurs when the vehicle is steered or pulled to one side and it loses its equilibrium, tips and then falls. This could occur as the result of an impact with another vehicle or object, a ditch in the road or a swerving maneuver.

"SUVs have higher centers of gravity so they have these higher roll-over rates," said Julie Rochman, spokesperson for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "When they go into a curve and something happens, a car would spin out, but SUVs roll over. If people were aware of this, maybe they wouldn't enter a curve as quickly."

Beginning with the 2000 models, SUVs will be equipped with updated tipping-danger warning labels on a visor or windshield, said Liz Neblett, spokesperson for the administration. The stickers will warn drivers to avoid abrupt maneuvers, to buckle up and to read their owner's manuals.

The stickers are bright yellow and written in shorter statements than their 19-year-old counterparts with the hope more people will read them, she said.

"More salespeople should explain what people can do with their (SUVs)," said Tony Padgett, salesperson for State College Ford Lincoln Mercury Inc., 169 W. Aaron Drive.

The vehicles have designs that are between those of cars and trucks, Padgett said.

"They give you the best of both worlds, for people who want to stay as close to a car as they can but still get some of the features of a truck," he said. Because of this, though, there is a chance people may treat them as though they are heavy-duty trucks, or drive them like cars, which can handle the curves better because of their lower weights.

Smaller SUVs appear to be more damaging than larger ones. According to the institute, SUVs weighing less than 2,500 pounds accounted for 105 deaths per million between 1990 and 1995, only four deaths less than per million cars. SUVs more than 5,000 pounds accounted for 29 deaths per million during this time.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has been trying for 20 years to create federal roll-over regulations, Rochman said. With such regulations, all vehicles would be tested to see if they roll over when the steering wheel is turned.

"No vehicle should roll over no matter how far the wheel is turned," she said. "Auto manufacturers always talk about the human factor, but vehicles shouldn't have steering wheels that turn too far for them."