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more_legal_areas suvSince the inception of the sport utility vehicle (SUV), legitimate concerns have existed about SUV safety. As SUVs become more and more popular, consumer groups and other interested parties have disseminated information regarding SUV safety. One in every four motor vehicles sold in the United States today is a sports utility vehicle, making them the most popular vehicle on the market. There is also a considerable profit margin in the sales of SUVs; manufacturers can make up to fifteen thousand dollars on every SUV sold. Because the SUV is in such high demand and sales are so lucrative, SUV safety tends to take the back seat to SUV style, image and the perpetuation of consumer demand at any cost.
SUV safety has been a significant concern since SUVs first began to roll off the assembly line in the 1970s. SUV safety is a main concern because SUVs have a higher rollover rate than any other motor vehicle on the market. In the last decade more than 12,000 people have died in vehicle accidents involving SUV rollover. SUV safety is compromised by the fact that these vehicles are taller and narrower than passenger cars, making them less stable and more likely to rollover- even at speeds as low as twenty miles an hour.
There are twice as many deaths from SUV rollover than rollover fatalities in any other vehicle. The Ford Explorer, a popular SUV, is sixteen times more likely to cause fatality in an accident than are other passenger vehicles. Based on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration''s (NHTSA) SUV safety ratings, the average SUV is three times more likely to rollover than other passenger cars.
Controversy surrounding SUV safety first made national news in the 1980s, when the news program 60 Minutes aired footage of SUV rollover dangers. SUV safety concerns mounted as reports surfaced about the dangers associated with Ford Explorer SUV safety. The Ford-Firestone scandal of 2000 exposed the lack of SUV safety after 6.5 million Firestone tires fit onto Ford Explorers were recalled after tire tread separation caused hundreds of injuries and even death.
Concerned with SUV safety, the federal government passed the TREAD Act in 2000 in an effort to improve consumer SUV safety and automobile industry communication standards. This new law also provided that several new cars and SUVs be tested by the NHTSA to determine rollover risks. The results of these tests are posted by the NHTSA annually in order to give an indication of SUV safety and the safety of other motor vehicles.
SUV safety has been scrutinized by NHTSA experts who noted in 2003 that rollover accidents represent 60 percent of SUV fatalities and 46 percent of serious injuries involving SUVs. SUVs are so popular right now that SUV manufacturers lack the impetus to take steps to improve SUV safety. Experts argue that the best way to improve SUV safety is to educate consumers so that they may begin to demand higher SUV safety standards.
A California court of appeals ordered Ford Motor Company to pay a jury award of $82.6 million to a woman left paralyzed after a rollover accident in 2002.
In June 2004, Benetta Buell-Wilson and her husband were awarded $369 million, including ...
The first Congress attempt to mandate a standard for SUV rollover protection was in the mid-1980s right after SUVs began to grow in popularity. The auto industry has been able to block any SUV rollover standard thus far, though pressure for congressio...
A San Diego County jury awarded $369 million to a woman left paralyzed when her Ford Explorer rolled over, marking one of the largest personal-injury awards ever against an automaker.
Benetta Buell-Wilson was awarded $246 million in puniti...