Rollover


REPORT: Ford loses appeal in rollover case, must pay $55M

According to The Detroit News, the Supreme Court has let stand a ruling that Ford Motor Company is at fault for a 2002 rollover crash involving a 1997 Ford Explorer and the Dearborn, MI-based automaker must pay $55 million in punitive damages. Benetta Buell-Wilson's Explorer rolled over four-and-a-half times after she swerved to avoid debris. When the roof collapsed on her neck, it severed her spinal cord and left her paralyzed. Ford unsuccessfully argued that it shouldn't be punished due to the fact that the Explorer complied with ... Read more →

IIHS tests roof strength on microcars, Smart Fortwo comes out on top Jeremy Korzeniewski

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has just tested the latest batch of the smallest cars on the market to determine the strength of their roofs in the event of a rollover accident. Coming ...

REPORT: Ford Explorer suit draws to close; lawyers big winners, plaintiffs less so Michael Harley

As another costly Ford Explorer rollover lawsuit finally bogs to a close, the attorneys have again emerged standing on top of the flotsam. This suit, filed in California on behalf of consumers in ...

IIHS to raise the roof on crush standards Jeremy Korzeniewski

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has commissioned a study that seems to indicate that a dramatic increase in roof safety is in order. The group's resulting newly proposed standards would ...

Bush administration needs more time for new roof strength rule Michael Harley

If you've been following the ongoing roof strength regulation saga, this will likely come as no surprise. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters has again asked for an extension to rewrite the ...

Feds to release new roof-strength regs in July 1 year ago on Autoblog

While rollover resistance is improving, current vehicle roof strength regulations date back nearly 35 years. With that in mind, Congress will be taking a careful look at federal regulators as they work on upgrading the standards early next month before they unveil a final regulation at the ...

IIHS studies effectiveness of roof strength: Surprise! It matters 1 year ago on Autoblog

There's been considerable debate between automakers, legislators and safety advocates over how roof strength correlates to deaths in rollover crashes. The majority of the focus has appropriately been heaped on SUVs, whose high center of gravity makes them more prone to rollovers, particularly when ...

NHTSA increases roof rigidity requirements 1 year ago on Autoblog

Vehicle roof crush standards have not been significantly revised since 1971. The current requirements say one side of a vehicle's roof must support at least 1.5 times the total vehicle weight. However, the strength requirements reach a maximum at 5,000 lbs, whether or not the calculated standard is ...

Ford settling class-action lawsuits related to rollovers 2 years ago on Autoblog

FoMoCo is on the brink of settling a class-action lawsuit brought by owners claiming that Ford's Explorer was prone to rolling over. The settlement covers approximately one million people in California, Connecticut, Illinois and Texas who've owned 1991 through 2001 Explorers. Ford's spokesperson, ...

NHTSA head says crash standards should be higher 2 years ago on Autoblog

Nicole Nason, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), maintains that the crash standards that have been on the books since 1973 are due for a revision. Recognizing the 9 out of 10 vehicles routinely score either four- or five-stars on the administration's tests, she's ...

SUVs improve rollover safety 2 years ago on Autoblog

New safety ratings issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for 2007 model year SUVs reveal the former deathtraps are now much less likely to suffer from a rollover at high speed. Rollovers account for 10,000 deaths in the U.S. every year, which is 30% of all vehicle related ...

Roof strength regs delayed again 2 years ago on Autoblog

Do a search for "roof regulations" on Autoblog and the No. 1 result will be a post written back on August 19, 2005. That's how long it's been since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed the latest increase to the 35-year-old federal requirements that govern the strength of a ...

Ford rollover settlement under re-review 2 years ago on Autoblog

In 2002, Benetta Buell-Wilson was driving her 1997 Ford Explorer in Southern California when she swerved to avoid debris on the freeway. The high center of gravity of the SUV and the quick steering input caused the Explorer to roll four-and-a-half times, eventually coming to rest on its roof. The ...

Michael Waltrip rolls SUV, is charged with leaving scene of accident 2 years ago on Autoblog

Embattled NASCAR star Michael Waltrip has some new problems on his plate. According to Yahoo Sports, he has been charged with reckless driving and failing to report an accident. The charges resulted from an incident over the weekend where Waltrip's Toyota Land Cruiser hit a telephone pole and rolled ...

NHTSA to require anti-roll tech on all cars by 2012 2 years ago on Autoblog

The NHTSA revealed the final rules on the mandatory installation of electronic stability control (ESC) to help prevent rollovers on all vehicles by the 2012 model year (September 2011). The legislation applies to all vehicles under 10,000 pounds, and was ushered in without dissent by automakers. ...

Safety group sues NHTSA in Explorer debacle 2 years ago on Autoblog

There's still fallout landing from the Firestone-tire-crashing-Explorer episode. Maryland-based Quality Control Systems Corporation has sued NHTSA in an attempt to gain access to any reports Ford made to the agency regarding injuries and deaths from tire-related incidents. This latest action, under ...

VIDEO: Corvair to Nader: Kiss my unsafe quarter panel! 2 years ago on Autoblog

YouTube serves up another cool video. Corvairs are hella cool, and they were tarred and feathered out of existence by zealots. They were no worse than other cars on the road at the time, but they were picked up as all that was wrong with motoring safety by Ralph Nader. Cars in in the late '50s when ...

NHTSA pursuing tougher crash standards 2 years ago on Autoblog

Getting a five-star crash test rating will get a whole lot tougher with a new proposal from the Bush Administration that would put into effect a requirement for side-impact testing. Grade inflation is one of the reasons behind the change, and with 87% of all vehicles earning a four- or five-star ...

Ford bolstering roofs of some models in wake of lawsuits 3 years ago on Autoblog

When a vehicle rolls over, one of the critical components in assuring the safety of its occupants is the roof structure and its ability to protect, not injure its occupants. On the heels of nearly $250-million dollars in judgments relating to injuries caused in rollover accidents, Ford Motor ...

GM plans to equip all models with rollover air bags 3 years ago on Autoblog

Although rollovers only make up three percent of crashes in the US, they account for over a quarter of all traffic fatalities. General Motors is in the process of investing over $10 million to study the effects of rollover crashes and while doing so, has made a pledge to outfit all their vehicles ...

Audi Q7 gets five stars 3 years ago on Autoblog

The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently completed testing of Audi's newest 'ute and awarded the Q7 five-stars, the highest rating possible, for both front and side crashes. The tests also gave the Q7 a four-star rating for rollover avoidance. Once again, standard ...

DOT, NHTSA release full proposal for mandatory electronic stability control 3 years ago on Autoblog

Monday's rumor became reality Thursday when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released its proposal to require auto manufacturers to install electronic stability control as a standard feature in all new cars. Standard equipment ESC would be required on passenger vehicles under ...

Ford plans on making stability control standard on all models 3 years ago on Autoblog

Ford Motor Company has announced that it will make electronic stability control a standard feature on all of its models by the end of 2009. Although SUVs and rollovers have taken the brunt of the criticism, other traction-related crashes have piqued the interest of federal regulators. As we reported ...

Proposed roof standards disliked by all sides 3 years ago on Autoblog

Neither automakers or safety advocates, two groups that usually find little common ground, are in favor of new federal roof strength standards proposed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration that would require a vehicle's roof to withstand 2.5 times the vehicle's weight. The NHTSA ...

Firestone renews radial tire recall effort 3 years ago on Autoblog

With recent fatal accidents reported for '90s-era Ford Explorers fitted with Firestone radials, Firestone has renewed efforts to get the problem-plagued tires off the road. In 2000 and 2001, Firestone recalled about 6.5 million of its Radial ATX and Wilderness AT tires after separating tires led to ...

IIHS pushing for mandatory stability control 3 years ago on Autoblog

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety claims that making electronic stability control (ESC) a standard feature in the US could reduce auto deaths by up to one-third, which would result in a whopping 11,000 fewer fatalities per year. The institute's numbers show that otherwise identical ...

Canadian tragedy sparks calls to ban aftermarket parts 3 years ago on Autoblog

A tragedy on Toronto streets that claimed the lives of a pair of enthusiasts has once again set alight political fires alight by those looking to ban performance modifications to automobiles. Whether the deaths are attributable to street racing remains up for debate, but the event has triggered ...

Flipped off! 2006 SUV rollover resistance improves greatly, says NHTSA 3 years ago on Autoblog

According to a new National Highway Traffic Safety Administration brief, SUVs are getting smarter about turning turtle. By its count, around seven out of every ten SUVs contain electronic stability control programs, reducing the likelihood of rollovers. In fact, nearly 70 percent of 2006 model year ...

VIDEO: Driver survives SUV tumble 3 years ago on Autoblog

A police camera recorded a spectacularly dangerous accident on a highway near Lansing, Michigan.  The camera taped an SUV who swerved onto the highway shoulder to avoid a car entering its lane. It would appear that the SUV driver over-compensated returning to the highway, sending the victim ...

Ford Edge gets full suite of safety equipment 3 years ago on Autoblog

Ford has already responded to a safety-conscious market and beefed up the level of standard safety equipment included in the 2007 Fusion and Mercury Milan sedans, and its now apparent the new Edge CUV and its Lincoln MKX counterpart will hit dealer lots with loaded to the roof rack with safety ...

Vehicles get safer, but crash fatalities climb 3 years ago on Autoblog

While new vehicles continue to sprout ever-increasing numbers of safety features, traffic fatalities still hit a 15-year high in 2005, notching 43,200 fatalities according to a recent release by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). This represents an increase of 1.2 ...

NHTSA awards Explorer Sport Trac five stars for safety 3 years ago on Autoblog

Despite the Fusion earning the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s lowest side-impact rating recently, at least Ford can celebrate a victory in SUV safety as the Explorer Sport Trac has received the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s highest rating of five stars for ...






Autoblog Podcast #155: 'Twas the night before LA...

Chris, Dan, and Editor Paukert go over some LA Preview action and quietly whoop it up on the podcast.

 
 

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