ROLLOVER RISK OF CARS AND LIGHT TRUCKS AFTER ACCOUNTING FOR DRIVER AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS. IN: OCCUPANT AND VEHICLE RESPONSES IN ROLLOVERS

This chapter on rollover risk of cars and light trucks, is from a comprehensive textbook on occupant and vehicle responses in rollovers. The authors investigated all single-vehicle fatal crashes occurring in the United States during a 4-year period and all single-vehicle injury crashes occurring in three large states. Characteristics of the driver, roadway environment, and vehicle were associated with the likelihood of rollover occurrence in more than 14,000 single vehicle fatal and 78,000 single vehicle injury crashes involving young drivers or occurring on rural curves. After accounting for the effects of driver age and gender, roadway alignment and surface condition, and whether or not the crash occurred in a rural area, light trucks were still twice as likely as cars to experience rollovers. Some light truck models were much more likely than others to experience rollovers. The authors conclude that, while physical differences could explain some of this variability, other factors affecting vehicle stability may be evident only after dynamic testing.