Every car accident is upsetting and frightening, but rollover accidents may be the most terrifying of all such accidents. The fear associated with having your car roll over due to the impact of an accident is difficult to overstate. The fact is that rollover accidents are every bit as dangerous as you’d imagine, and they do happen. Knowing the common causes behind rollover accidents can help you steer clear, but if another driver’s negligence leaves you injured in a rollover, you need the experienced legal counsel of a Connecticut personal injury attorney.

Driver Awareness

According to the National Highway and Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA), many rollover accidents are caused by driver error—often when a driver responds to an emergency driving situation by panicking rather than by implementing safe driving techniques. While it’s easy enough to remind yourself to remain calm in a driving emergency, it’s much more difficult to actually drive calmly through a crisis. Getting to know the safety basics when it comes to rollovers, however, can help you do just that.

Driver Errors

A driver error as small as allowing one or two of your car’s tires to drift across the white line on the side of the road can lead to a rollover accident. The danger typically arises when a driver attempts to correct for such an error but, instead, ends up overcorrecting. Overcorrection often takes the form of forcefully jerking the steering wheel back toward safety, which—at highway speeds—is exceedingly dangerous and can lead to a rollover. If another driver’s error causes you to be injured in a rollover accident, consult with a skilled Connecticut personal injury attorney as quickly as possible.

Rollover Accidents and Their Causes

While every rollover accident is unique and can be caused by any number of variables, the NHTSA identifies one primary cause: the interplay between a motorist and his or her car, the road he or she is driving on, and environmental factors. As such, the NHTSA identifies several primary safety factors that every driver should take into careful consideration:

• Speed - Fatalities caused by rollovers are more closely related to speed than are any other kind of vehicular fatality. Almost 40 percent of all fatalities caused by rollover accidents involve excessive speed, and most of these fatalities occur on roads with speed limits of 55 mph and higher.

• Impairment - We all recognize that driving while impaired is a dangerous proposition, but the fact that nearly half of all rollover fatalities involve an impaired driver highlights just how dangerous it can be. Even small amounts of alcohol can impair your coordination, your vision, and your good judgment (obviously). Even if you are under the legal limit for driving, drinking leaves you less well prepared to deal with a driving emergency, which is often a precursor to a rollover.

• Rural roadways - Rollovers are more common to rural roadways than to any other kind. Such roads are often undivided and tend to lack the safety features of larger highways. Approximately 75 percent of all rollover fatalities happen on country roads with speed limits of 55 miles per hour or greater.

• Bad tires - Your tires connect your car to the road, and when your tires are worn, bald, and/or inflated improperly, they increase your chance of being in a rollover accident. Tires that aren’t in good condition decrease your ability to control your car, and control is of primary importance when it comes to protecting yourself from the dangers of a rollover.

Statistics show that most rollover fatalities occur on straightaways, and this fact bolsters the idea that driver error is an especially important component of rollover accidents. Driver error can include anything from driving while distracted, speeding excessively, driving while impaired, overcorrecting, and much more.

Tripped versus Untripped

The NHTSA categorizes rollovers as being either tripped or un-tripped. About 95 percent of rollovers caused by single-car accidents are tripped rollovers. This means that the vehicle’s tires were tripped by some kind of obstacle on the road. Such obstacles can include a steep slope, the road’s edge, a curb, a guardrail, or debris on the roadway. If a car’s tires do leave the road’s smooth surface, the soft area at the side of the road—especially on country roads—can pull the vehicle into a tripped rollover accident.

By contrast, un-tripped rollovers are far less common, and they usually happen when the driver of a top-heavy vehicle such as an SUV or van overcorrects during what is perceived as a driving emergency. Un-tripped rollovers often take place at high speeds.

The Statistics

Rollover accident statistics are sobering:

• Over 10,000 rollover fatalities happen every year.

• Rollover accidents account for a third of all U.S. traffic fatalities.

• Following the rules of the road, wearing a seatbelt, not driving under the influence, and eschewing driving distractions reduces your odds of being in a dangerous rollover accident.

• Those vehicles most prone to rollover accidents are those with higher centers of gravity, including many minivans, SUVs, and pickup trucks.

Multi-Vehicle Accidents

The vast majority of rollover accidents are one-car accidents, but multi-car accidents can also lead to rollovers. These accidents are usually predicated on excessive speeding, driving while impaired, and failing to adjust one’s driving to bad road conditions—such as those caused by bad weather or road construction.

If You Were Injured in a Rollover Caused by Another Driver’s Negligence, Consult an Experienced Connecticut Personal Injury Attorney Today

If another driver leaves you injured in a rollover accident, you need the professional legal counsel of an experienced Connecticut personal injury attorney.

The dedicated legal team at Leighton, Katz & Drapeau is here to help. Rollover accidents are not only terrifying but are also exceedingly dangerous. Our experienced personal injury attorneys have the skill, commitment, and compassion to aggressively advocate for the compensation to which you are entitled. Adequate compensation will allow you to better travel the path to your fullest recovery. We’ve been serving Connecticut for many years, and we’re here for you. For more information, please contact or call us at (860) 875-7000 today.