Any type of car accident can be dangerous and cause serious injuries, but rollover accidents are particularly terrifying and even deadly. Rollover accidents happen when the car flips onto its side or roof, often resulting in serious injuries and death. These accidents happen fast, leaving drivers and passengers disoriented and vulnerable to ejection, crush injuries, and other injuries. 

While no one wants to think about their car flipping over, knowing what leads up to these accidents and how they happen can help prevent them from happening and understanding your legal options afterward. 

How do vehicle rollover

Types of Vehicle Rollovers

There are two types of vehicle rollovers: 

  1. Tripped Rollovers: Rollover accident statistics reveal that these account for roughly 95% of all single-vehicle rollovers. Most rollovers happen when a car’s tire hits something, interrupting its forward motion. Things that can cause this are uneven surfaces, curbs, guardrails, sliding sideways, driving down a steep slope, or something else in the road. 
  2. Untripped Rollovers: These are far less common but can happen when you’re going really fast and trying to avoid a collision. For instance, a vehicle might roll over when a driver attempts to avoid a collision by swerving abruptly at high speed. This rollover type is more common in top-heavy vehicles, as sudden steering at high speeds shifts the vehicle’s center of gravity. 

Factors Contributing to Rollovers

Many factors can increase rollover fatalities. Knowing these factors will help you make informed decisions as a driver and avoid these dangerous or deadly situations.

Vehicle Design and Stability

How a vehicle is designed plays a huge role in its stability and susceptibility to rolling over. Some key factors of a car’s design and stability are: 

  • Track Width: The distance between the left and right wheels. A vehicle with a wider track is usually more stable and less likely to roll over. 
  • Center of Gravity: The height of the vehicle’s center of gravity is arguably the most critical factor in a rollover accident. High-sided vehicles, like SUVs and trucks, are more likely to roll over because they’re slightly more unstable when making sudden moves or sharp turns. 
  • Weight Distribution: How the vehicle’s weight and everything in it is distributed can impact the stability. When the weight is uneven, unbalanced, or heavily loaded, it can lead to a vehicle rollover accident. 
  • Suspension Design: A vehicle’s suspension system affects how well it handles during turns and while driving on uneven surfaces. A poorly designed suspension system can increase the risk of flipping over. 

Speed and Maneuvers

How someone drives the vehicle can drastically impact its risk of rolling over. Some of the factors that relate to maneuvering or speed include: 

  • Sharp Turns: Abrupt turns, especially at high speeds, can cause the vehicle to be unstable. This instability usually happens when a driver overcorrects after drifting or avoiding something on the road. 
  • Excessive Speed: High speeds increase the force acting on the vehicle and reduce the driver’s reaction time. Speed is generally dangerous, especially on highway exits and curves where the posted limit might be too fast for some vehicles. 
  • Oversteering and Understeering: These can lead to loss of control, especially for newer drivers. Oversteering occurs when the rear wheels lose traction, and understeering is when the front wheels lose traction. Both can result in the vehicle sliding sideways, increasing the risk of a tripped rollover. 
  • Sudden Maneuvers: Emergency maneuvers or swerves can shift a vehicle’s weight, potentially leading to a rollover. This risk increases the faster the car is driving. 

Road Conditions and Hazards

You could be doing everything right, like following the speed limit, and there’s still a car accident risk because of road conditions. Some road condition factors that contribute to a higher rollover risk are: 

  • Potholes and Road Damage: Hitting a pothole or a damaged road area can cause the vehicle to be unstable and then roll over.
  • Uneven Surfaces: Roads that slope from the center to the edges or with sudden elevation changes can increase the risk of rollovers, especially in top-heavy vehicles. 
  • Weather Conditions: Rain, snow, and ice can pose considerable threats to drivers in general, but they can also lead to rollover crashes, especially when the driver overcorrects or isn’t paying attention. 
  • Debris on the Road: Obstacles in the road can cause drivers to swerve or tip if they hit an object. 
  • Poor Visibility: Any condition that reduces the driver’s ability to see well on the road can lead to rollover crashes. 

Collisions and Impacts

Collisions with other vehicles or objects can trigger rollovers, particularly at high speeds or when the impact occurs at certain angles. A lot of rollover accidents are single-vehicle incidents, but there are times when rollovers result in a crash with another vehicle or several: 

  • Collision Avoidance: When a driver swerves suddenly to avoid a collision, the vehicle can flip over, especially if the driver overcorrects or the car is top-heavy. 
  • Side Impacts: Any strong impact on the side of the car or truck can cause it to flip over, especially if the hit is higher on the vehicle’s body. 
  • Glancing Blows: Even the most minor collisions that happen at an angle can cause a vehicle to become unstable and then roll over. 
  • Guardrail Impacts: Hitting a guardrail or barrier at a fast speed or angle can make the vehicle climb the barrier and flip. 
  • Multi-Vehicle Pileups: In accidents involving more than two cars, the forces of the different vehicles can lead to rollover accidents. 

Vehicle Types Prone to a Rollover Accident

Any vehicle can be involved in rollover accidents, but several kinds are more prone to them than others. 

SUVs and Trucks

Trucks and SUVs are at a higher risk of rollovers due to: 

  • Heavy Roof: The heavier the roof, the more the vehicle can roll once it starts to flip. 
  • Higher Center of Gravity: Since these vehicles sit higher off the ground, they are more prone to tipping with sharp turns and sudden moves. 
  • Narrow Truck Width: Most trucks have narrow track widths compared to their heights, especially older models. 
  • False Sense of Security: Because these vehicles are larger, people automatically assume that they’re safer than smaller options, which can lead to more aggressive and reckless driving.  
  • Off-Road Capability: Since these vehicles are usually made for off-road and on-road use, they have a higher ground clearance and softer suspensions. While these characteristics enhance off-road performance, they also increase the risk of rollovers during on-road driving conditions. 

Newer truck and SUV models often come with advanced safety features and stability control systems to help limit the risk of rollover accidents or collisions. Still, drivers must remain vigilant and understand how these vehicles are inherently more prone to these accidents. 

Smaller Cars and Sedans

Just because they’re less prone to rollover accidents than trucks and SUVs, smaller cars and sedans are still at risk under certain circumstances: 

  • Tripping Hazards: Smaller cars tend to be prone to tipping over if they slide sideways when encountering uneven roads or something in the way. 
  • Overloading: Though less common, improper car loading can lead to rollovers. 
  • High-Speed Collisions: Vehicles can be forced to roll over in severe car accidents, especially side impacts. 
  • Tire Blowouts: When you suddenly lose tire pressure, especially when driving at high speed, the car can destabilize and flip over. 
  • Steep Inclines: Driving up steep hills or mountains can cause a rollover in any vehicle. 

Safety Features and Vehicle Rollover Prevention

As technology advances, so do the safety features in many cars on the road. Newer vehicle models come with safety features that can help prevent rollover accidents and protect you, your passengers, and other vehicles on the road. 

Knowing what features can help prevent these accidents can help you make informed decisions about vehicle safety. 

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

One of the most critical safety features to help prevent rollovers is Electronic Stability Control (ESC). ESC monitors a vehicle’s steering and motion, so when it detects a loss of steering control, it applies brakes to individual wheels to reduce engine power and help the driver maintain control.   

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), ESC can help reduce single-car crashes by 59% for SUVs and 34% for smaller vehicles [1]. Since the technology emerged, ESC has become standard in all newer model vehicles in the United States since 2012. 

Rollover Protection Systems (ROPS)

Rollover Protection Systems are also essential in helping prevent or mitigate the damage in these accidents. Some of the protections in place with this feature include: 

  • Side curtain airbags along the windows that stay inflated longer than front airbags
  • Stronger roof pillars and supports prevent the roof from crushing vehicle occupants in the event of a rollover accident
  • Advanced rollover sensors to help detect when one is imminent or happening so it can activate the proper safety features 
  • Crumple zones to absorb the impact energy

These features help reduce the severity of impact in rollover collisions, but the best strategy for preventing these accidents is still to be vigilant on the road. 

Seat Belts and Proper Restraint Use

While high-tech features like rollover detection and ESC can help make roads safer, there’s nothing like wearing your seat belt. Seat belts remain the most important safety feature in any accident, including rollover accidents, to reduce the risk of injury. They help by: 

  • Restraining the injured occupants so they aren’t ejected from the vehicle 
  • Keeping occupants in the best position possible for other safety features like airbags to work correctly 
  • Absorbing the forces experienced by occupants during a rollover or other crash

Using age-appropriate child car seats and belts is the best way to mitigate the damages in a rollover accident or collision for young children.

Determining Liability in Rollover Accidents

Determining who’s liable in a rollover insurance claim can be complicated because there is usually more than one factor or party involved at the accident scene. Some things to consider when establishing liability in these accidents include:

  • Driver Negligence: If the driver was speeding, driving under the influence, or recklessly driving, and the vehicle tips over, they can be liable. 
  • Road Conditions: Poor road maintenance or design that causes an accident can mean government officials are liable. 
  • Vehicle Defects: Any design or manufacturing flaws in the vehicle that contributed to the accident can make the manufacturer liable. 
  • Cargo Loading: Improperly loading cargo, particularly in commercial vehicles, can contribute to rollovers, and the person who loaded the car can be liable. 
  • Other Drivers: In multi-vehicle accidents, another driver’s actions might make them liable if they caused the rollover. 

Seeking Compensation for Damages

If you’ve been a victim of a rollover accident, you might be entitled to different types of compensation. The amount and which kind of compensatory damage you’re entitled to will depend on the specific circumstances of your rollover accident: 

  • Medical expenses for current and future costs related to injuries
  • Therapy costs
  • Lost wages if you can’t work due to the injury 
  • Property damage costs associated with repairing or replacing your vehicle 
  • Pain and suffering
  • Punitive damages 
  • Loss of consortium 

Seeking compensation can be complex, especially when liability isn’t clear. That’s why hiring a great car accident attorney is vital. They’ll be able to walk you through the process and secure a fair settlement. 

Taking Legal Action with an Experienced Team!

If you or someone you love has been involved in a rollover accident, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers are here to protect your rights. We’ll build a strong case to ensure you get fair compensation based on injuries you’ve sustained. Contact a Chicago rollover car accident lawyer today for your free consultation and to learn about your legal options. 

Call (888)-424-5757 or fill out our contact form.

References: [1] NHTSA