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SUVs and Rollovers

Here's an article in this morning's Washington Post about the danger of SUV rollover accidents (especially involving teens.) There's a gruesome picture of a Ford Explorer with its passenger compartment completely mashed in:

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Now, here's my dumb question: Wouldn't a single CJ-size roll bar inside the passenger compartment of most SUVs dramatically reduce the likelihood of a fatality or horrible injury from a rollover crash? Looking at the Ford Explorer photo, it's easy to picture the passenger compartment staying intact if it had been supported by a single bar of thick steel between the front and second row of seats.

I've been lucky enough never to roll, but I've either directly seen or observed the aftermath of several CJ, YJ, and TJ rollovers, and in every case, the driver was fine, except for some minor bruising and scratches. Admittedly this was at low off-road speeds, but it was also over much nastier terrain than you find on the road (big, sharp boulders, 30+ degree inclines, etc.)

I see lots of folks shelling out thousands of dollars for gizmos like side curtain airbags, dynamic stability control, ABS, etc., in their expensive luxury SUVs. Wouldn't $600 worth of steel and welding work be a much better investment? I can't believe that the SUV manufacturers with the sterling safety records, such as Volvo and BMW, haven't put a simple roll bar in their passenger compartments.

Ok, sure, an interior roll bar would be a bit unsightly in your $40,000 luxury ego-feeding chariot. So wrap the damn thing in leather and wood paneling and call it an "elegant interior appointment."

Reply to
lambeth65
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A J**P is NOT a suvee.

Snow...

Reply to
Snow

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I wouldn't rely on any stock Jeep CJ, YJ, or TJ roll bars to protect me in a highspeed rollover...

Reply to
Cliff

er opps second link should have been:

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Reply to
Cliff

It would probably cut the fatal and serious injury count by quite a high margin though. Rollbars are a wonderful thing.

Reply to
griffin

With the stock bars I have serious doubts...

Reply to
Cliff

I would point out that the pix of the Explorer shows that the roof structure behind the driver is intact. This is the same area that would have the rollbar protecting you in the Jeep. Cliff pulled up a pix of a flattened Jeep, it has the same characteristic flattened windshield area as the Explorer. Both are typical of a rollover.

My po> Here's an article in this morning's Washington Post about the danger of

Reply to
RoyJ

Reply to
L.W.(ßill) Hughes III

Reply to
L.W.(ßill) Hughes III

Now THAT is a well-built cage. Either way, any properly mounted rollbar is better than no rollbar, especially given the relatively low cost of install.

Thanks for the link, Bill ...when I get my welder I might take on a job like that.

Reply to
griffin

Reply to
L.W.(ßill) Hughes III

Ya, that's pretty intense. Another reason I mud and don't rockcrawl ...

Reply to
griffin

I had a machanic tell me the reason the tires seperated on the Explorer was based on tire pressure. Firestone designed the tires for the Explorer and told Ford the tire pressure needed to be around 36 psi but Ford didn't like the ride because it rode like a truck.. Ford knew people wouldn't like the ride.. So Ford decided to change the psi on the tires to 30 to 32 psi which caused the tires to overheat and seperate..

Ben

95 YJ 2.5L
Reply to
Ben

You are very correct!!

I am quite sure that without the custom cage I have I wouldnt be here today from my Moab roll. It was neither as long nor as hard as Tracie's was, but I pretty much landed on the top of the nose and the drives side corner of the windsheild frame. Stock roll bar would have bent like anything I am sure. Custom steel cage didnt budge a bit. The frame bent back, hit the cage and stopped.

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However, the rear of the cage was still stock bars, and it got bent up bad enough that it had to be replaced. In this pic the Jeep is on nearly level ground so you can see how out of whack the rear part of the roll bar is.
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Reply to
jbjeep

Not as much as not being an inexperienced and drunk teenager behind the wheel.

Rollbars add weight. This would only ADD to the stability problems, especially when combined with inexperienced drivers and alcohol. Rollbars added to existing vehicles also loses interior space and, potentially, increases the risk of head injury due to intruding on that space. A vehicle designed with a better rollover cage would of course be better but would raise the top-heavy aspects of it.

Without appreciating the actual accident conditions it's rather pointless to speculate. The flip-over in that case was made worse by an embankment and then sliding INTO the rear of another stopped vehicle. I happen to live in this area and have seen the site. An inexperienced drunk teenager overcorrected and lost control. Overengineering a vehicle is pointless if parents aren't going to avoid setting their children up to die.

Which have nothing in comparison to the accident in question.

It's all about balance, quite literally, both financial and gravitational.

Or stop driving things you can't be responsible enough to control.

Reply to
wkearney99

They changed the tire pressure after Firestone told them the tire would meet the new pressure specs. Your mechanic must work for Mr Goodwrench....

Reply to
Matt Macchiarolo

Reply to
L.W.(ßill) Hughes III

I'll google it for you, but I don't have a site offhand. I remember a report on the local news radio station about it. We get a lot of auto news in Detroit. I distinctly remember that it was reported that Firestone assured Ford that the tires would meet the pressure specs.

Reply to
Matt Macchiarolo

Reply to
Matt Macchiarolo

Reply to
L.W.(ßill) Hughes III

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