What Causes a Rollover Crash? A Rockford Car Accident Lawyer Describes the Mechanism

With a fatality rate higher than any other type of passenger vehicle accident, a rollover crash is arguably the most dangerous kind of crash. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 2010 data, only 2.1 percent of passenger vehicle accidents involved a rollover. However, these rollovers accounted for 35 percent of all deaths from passenger vehicle accidents. More than 7,600 people died in rollover crashes in 2010.

Although any motor vehicle can rollover, those that tend to be top heavy—pickup trucks, SUVs, and vans—have the greatest propensity to do so. These types of vehicles have a high center of gravity and a short distance between the driver and passenger wheels, causing them to be unstable during a fast turn or sharp change in direction.

Depending on the angle of the turn and the speed at which the vehicle is traveling, the center of gravity can change rapidly, causing it to become unbalanced. When the driver overcorrects, making a sharp turn in the opposite direction, the center of gravity shifts rapidly to the other side. If, at the same time, the vehicle “trips” on something—a soft shoulder, median, or pothole, the combination of events is likely to cause the vehicle to skid sidewise and tip over.

Following are a few of the ways in which a rollover car accident in Rockford may be triggered by the reckless behavior of another driver:

• A wrong-way driver causes another motorist to make a sharp turn to avoid a head-on collision.
• A driver clips another motorist from behind.
• A driver cuts in front of another motorist, causing him to swerve and slam on the brakes.

Rollovers are dangerous, causing serious injuries such as traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, limb amputations, disfiguring burns, severe fractures, or even death. If you have been involved in a rollover accident or any other type of Rockford car accident, a knowledgeable and experienced Rockford accident attorney at The Fisk & Monteleone Law Firm may be able to help you to obtain compensation for your injuries. Contact our office at 815-962–0044 to schedule a free case evaluation. We are standing by to help.