NHTSA Complaint #729801 — 2000 FORD EXPLORER

GET THIS MESSAGE OUT TO THE PUBLIC! LIGHT TRUCKS CRASHING INTO CARS ACCOUNTS FOR THE MAJORITY OF FATALITIES IN VEHICLE-TO-VEHICLE COLLISIONS 2,000 PEOPLE WOULD STILL BE ALIVE IF THEIR VEHICLES HAD BEEN HIT BY A HEAVY CAR INSTEAD OF AN SUV 80 PERCENT OF CAR AND SUV OWNERS STRONGLY THAT AUTOMAKERS SHOULD MAKE SAFETY CHANGES TO SUVS THAT WOULD MAKE THE ROADS SAFER FOR CAR OCCUPANTS ARE SUV'S SAFE? OVERALL SAFETY ON AMERICA'S ROADS HAS INCREASED OVER THE LAST DECADE. HOWEVER, SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES (SUVS) THREATEN TO REVERSE THE TREND. THERE IS INCREASING EVIDENCE THAT SUVS ARE NOT AS SAFE AS THEY APPEAR. RECENT STUDIES SHOW THAT SUVS POSE A SIGNIFICANT THREAT TO DRIVERS AND PASSENGERS OF OTHER CARS ON THE ROAD. IN ADDITION, THERE ARE INDICATIONS THAT SAFETY PROBLEMS THREATEN PASSENGERS AND DRIVERS OF SUVS THEMSELVES. MOST DRIVERS WANT TO FEEL SAFE ON THE ROAD, BUT CHOOSING AN SUV FOR SAFETY MAY BE MAKING THE SITUATION WORSE. PARTLY, IT'S AN ISSUE OF ESCALATION. LIKE AN ARMS RACE, AS MORE DRIVERS CHOOSE HEAVIER CARS, THOSE WHO CHOOSE LIGHTER CARS ARE IN MORE DANGER. THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, THE GOVERNMENT AGENCY STUDYING THE SAFETY OF SUVS, DESCRIBES TWO CHARACTERISTICS OF SUVS AND OTHER LIGHT TRUCKS THAT HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO INCREASE FATALITIES: ROLLOVER PROPENSITY AND CRASH COMPATIBILITY.(1) ROLLOVER AND UNSAFE FEATURES THE PROPENSITY OF SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES TO ROLL OVER IS MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES ARE MORE THAN THREE TIMES MORE LIKELY TO ROLL OVER IN CRASH THAN NORMAL PASSENGER CARS. THE HIGHER ROLL-OVER PROPENSITY MAY ALSO LEAD TO HIGHER FATALITIES. SUVS ARE HEAVIER AND RIDE HIGHER THAN REGULAR CARS. THE HIGH RIDE CONTRIBUTES TO A PROPENSITY OF SUVS TO ROLL OVER IN ACCIDENTS. ACCORDING TO NHTSA, SUVS ROLLOVER IN 37 PERCENT OF FATAL CRASHES, COMPARED TO A 15 PERCENT ROLLOVER RATE FOR PASSENGER CARS. ROLLOVER CRASHES ACCOUNTED FOR 53 PERCENT OF ALL SUV OCCUPANT DEATHS IN SINGLE VEHICLE CRASHES IN 1996.