How common are vehicle rollovers?

Vehicle collisions take different forms, but some of them are more dangerous and frightening than others. Rollover crashes are arguably the most visually dramatic of all collisions. They can also cause horrific injuries to the people in the vehicles and destruction to the vehicle itself.

People often associate rollovers with bigger vehicles, particularly tall SUVs or large commercial trucks. However, any vehicle can potentially roll over with the right circumstances and momentum. How common are rollover collisions?

Rollover collisions are relatively rare

It isn’t that common for one vehicle to hit another hard enough to force a rollover to occur. After years of design issues contributing to SUV rollovers, modern vehicles often have design features intended to reduce the risk of rollover. Only a few crashes out of every hundred collisions that occur will involve a rollover of one of the vehicles.

Just because vehicle rollovers aren’t the most common kind of crash doesn’t mean you can ignore the risk for one. While reports show that only about 3% of all crashes involve a vehicle rollover, a vehicle rollover plays a role in about 30% of all traffic fatalities. In other words, when these crashes do occur, they tend to result in worse injuries and more catastrophic property damage.

Drivers can avoid rollover collisions through attentive care of their vehicles and awareness of their environment. High winds and top-heavy vehicles are a bad combination for rollovers. Taking curves quickly or getting struck in the middle of your vehicle by someone going fast could also lead to this kind of crash. Careful driving and observation of your environment can limit the potential of your vehicle rolling over.

What rights do you have after a rollover crash?

Your rights after a rollover collision will depend on who caused the crash and its effect on your life. When someone hits your vehicle and causes a rollover, you may be able to make a claim against their insurance or bring a civil lawsuit against them. If you get hurt by another vehicle when it rolls over, like a commercial truck, there could be other responsible parties beyond the driver, such as the company that improperly loaded or maintained the vehicle.

Anyone who gets hurt in a rollover or loses their loved one in this kind of tragic crash will need to look carefully at the circumstances to determine what options are available to them.