A Bluffton teenager accidentally rolled her vehicle at about 6:55 a.m. Wednesday, April 25. To learn more about the accident, see the Wednesday, April 25, News-Banner.
The teen rolled her car after overcorrecting, but other factors can contribute to such accidents. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety offers the following advice to mitigate those factors.
• Keep your vehicle in good condition and drive carefully. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, four of every five rollovers involve no other vehicle besides the one that rolls over, so in this regard, you as a driver are largely in control. Here are some important and simple steps to take to keep yourself safe:
• Don't Drive Too Fast - The posted speed limit is an upper limit, not a lower limit. The faster you drive, the less time you have to react to any emergency that suddenly arises in the road ahead of you, which means you will probably end up steering more sharply and/or braking harder, both of which compromise your ability to safely control your vehicle.
• Steering - Many rollovers occur when drivers overcorrect their steering in response to unexpected situations, such as encountering a stopped vehicle in their lane or accidentally driving off of the pavement. Sudden steering maneuvers at high speeds or on soft surfaces can lead to rollovers.
• Know proper maneuvering - If your vehicle leaves the paved road surface, slow down gradually , don't stomp on the brakes. Then, when it's safe to do so, ease the vehicle back onto the roadway. Don't suddenly jerk the steering wheel to get the vehicle back on the pavement.
• Be extra careful on rural roads - Rollovers are more likely to occur on rural roads and highways, particularly undivided, two-way roads or divided roads with no barriers. When a vehicle leaves the pavement, it can be tripped by roadside objects or soft surfaces or it can roll down a slope. Nearly 75 percent of all rollover crashes occur in rural areas, so be extra careful when driving on rural roads.
• Tires - Improperly inflated and/or worn tires can be especially dangerous, because they inhibit your ability to maintain vehicle control. Worn tires increase the likelihood that the vehicle may slide sideways on wet or slippery pavement, increasing its risk of sliding off of the pavement and rolling over. Improper inflation can accelerate tire wear, and can even lead to tire failure. It is important to maintain your tires properly, and replace them when necessary. Monitor your tire pressure regularly, keeping it within the manufacturer-recommended range for the tire and the vehicle.
• Vehicle loading - Consult your vehicle's owner's manual to determine the maximum safe load for your vehicle, as well as proper load distribution. If you're using a roof rack, pay special attention to the manufacturer's instructions and weight limits. Realize that any load placed on the roof will raise the vehicle's center of gravity, increasing the vehicle's likelihood of rolling over.
• Select your vehicle carefully - Think carefully about what type of vehicle you want to buy, and why. Will you be driving off road a lot? Will you be hauling cargo? Will you be carrying a large number of passengers? Have you ever driven a truck or van before? If you didn't answer “yes” to any of these, an ordinary passenger car will probably be a sensible choice, and most ordinary passenger cars are considerably less likely to roll over than most pickup trucks, vans, or SUVs during the same driving manuevers. If you find yourself driving a van, pickup truck, or SUV for the first time, it is extremely important to realize that its ride and handling characteristics are different from those of ordinary passenger cars, and driving one of these vehicles requires extreme care, especially if you are unaccustomed to it.
• Also, consider buying a vehicle with Electronic Stability Control (ESC). Studies fom the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety have found ESC to dramatically reduce the involvement of equipped vehicles in single vehicle crashes involving injury or death. ESC is designed to keep the vehicle “on track,” preventing it from understeering (i.e, the front tires lose traction and the vehicle turns less than you intend) or oversteering (i.e., the rear tires lose traction and the vehicle turns further than you intend). Although study was not able to determine conclusively how ESC impacted rollover risk, the results suggested that it might be beneficial in this regard.
• If you are concerned about the rollover risk of the car that you own, or would like to consider rollover risk when buying a new car, consider the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Rollover Ratings, available at http://www.safercar.gov.
Click here to learn more from the AAA website.
Also, click here to read Indiana's "Good Samaritan" law to learn how you're protected if you assist at an accident.
The teen rolled her car after overcorrecting, but other factors can contribute to such accidents. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety offers the following advice to mitigate those factors.
• Keep your vehicle in good condition and drive carefully. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, four of every five rollovers involve no other vehicle besides the one that rolls over, so in this regard, you as a driver are largely in control. Here are some important and simple steps to take to keep yourself safe:
• Don't Drive Too Fast - The posted speed limit is an upper limit, not a lower limit. The faster you drive, the less time you have to react to any emergency that suddenly arises in the road ahead of you, which means you will probably end up steering more sharply and/or braking harder, both of which compromise your ability to safely control your vehicle.
• Steering - Many rollovers occur when drivers overcorrect their steering in response to unexpected situations, such as encountering a stopped vehicle in their lane or accidentally driving off of the pavement. Sudden steering maneuvers at high speeds or on soft surfaces can lead to rollovers.
• Know proper maneuvering - If your vehicle leaves the paved road surface, slow down gradually , don't stomp on the brakes. Then, when it's safe to do so, ease the vehicle back onto the roadway. Don't suddenly jerk the steering wheel to get the vehicle back on the pavement.
• Be extra careful on rural roads - Rollovers are more likely to occur on rural roads and highways, particularly undivided, two-way roads or divided roads with no barriers. When a vehicle leaves the pavement, it can be tripped by roadside objects or soft surfaces or it can roll down a slope. Nearly 75 percent of all rollover crashes occur in rural areas, so be extra careful when driving on rural roads.
• Tires - Improperly inflated and/or worn tires can be especially dangerous, because they inhibit your ability to maintain vehicle control. Worn tires increase the likelihood that the vehicle may slide sideways on wet or slippery pavement, increasing its risk of sliding off of the pavement and rolling over. Improper inflation can accelerate tire wear, and can even lead to tire failure. It is important to maintain your tires properly, and replace them when necessary. Monitor your tire pressure regularly, keeping it within the manufacturer-recommended range for the tire and the vehicle.
• Vehicle loading - Consult your vehicle's owner's manual to determine the maximum safe load for your vehicle, as well as proper load distribution. If you're using a roof rack, pay special attention to the manufacturer's instructions and weight limits. Realize that any load placed on the roof will raise the vehicle's center of gravity, increasing the vehicle's likelihood of rolling over.
• Select your vehicle carefully - Think carefully about what type of vehicle you want to buy, and why. Will you be driving off road a lot? Will you be hauling cargo? Will you be carrying a large number of passengers? Have you ever driven a truck or van before? If you didn't answer “yes” to any of these, an ordinary passenger car will probably be a sensible choice, and most ordinary passenger cars are considerably less likely to roll over than most pickup trucks, vans, or SUVs during the same driving manuevers. If you find yourself driving a van, pickup truck, or SUV for the first time, it is extremely important to realize that its ride and handling characteristics are different from those of ordinary passenger cars, and driving one of these vehicles requires extreme care, especially if you are unaccustomed to it.
• Also, consider buying a vehicle with Electronic Stability Control (ESC). Studies fom the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety have found ESC to dramatically reduce the involvement of equipped vehicles in single vehicle crashes involving injury or death. ESC is designed to keep the vehicle “on track,” preventing it from understeering (i.e, the front tires lose traction and the vehicle turns less than you intend) or oversteering (i.e., the rear tires lose traction and the vehicle turns further than you intend). Although study was not able to determine conclusively how ESC impacted rollover risk, the results suggested that it might be beneficial in this regard.
• If you are concerned about the rollover risk of the car that you own, or would like to consider rollover risk when buying a new car, consider the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Rollover Ratings, available at http://www.safercar.gov.
Click here to learn more from the AAA website.
Also, click here to read Indiana's "Good Samaritan" law to learn how you're protected if you assist at an accident.
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