U.S. Transportation Secretary Slater Announces Proposal to Add Rollover Ratings To Auto Safety Consumer Information Program

Topics:  Rodney E. Slater

NHTSA
May 25, 2000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NHTSA 22-00
Thursday, May 25, 2000
Contact: NHTSA, Rae Tyson, (202) 366-9550

U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater today proposed a rating program to provide consumers with a measure of a vehicle's likelihood to roll over. The program would provide star ratings for rollover performance, the same approach currently used for providing information about performance in frontal and side crashes in the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP).

"It is vital that consumers have information about the comparative rollover risk of various types of vehicles," Secretary Slater said. "Consumers are entitled to the best information possible on safety of vehicles, which is President Clinton and Vice President Gore's highest transportation priority, and this program would provide it."

More than 9,500 people are killed every year in rollover crashes, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Over 60 percent of the sport utility vehicle (SUV) occupants and more than 40 percent of pickup truck occupants killed in 1998 died in crashes when the vehicle rolled over, compared to 22 percent for car occupants.

Some light trucks, including sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and many pickup trucks, are constructed with higher ground clearance, a feature that contributes to a higher rollover rate compared to other vehicle types.

NHTSA Deputy Administrator Rosalyn G. Millman said the rollover potential of these vehicles underscores the need for consumer awareness.

"We know from our crash test ratings that when consumers have information, they buy safety. With the proposed rollover propensity rating, we are helping the public understand crash avoidance potential, in addition to our crash worthiness star ratings," Millman said.

After extensive research, NHTSA determined that a vehicle's "static stability factor" is the most reliable indicator of rollover risk in single-vehicle crashes. The static stability factor of a vehicle is one-half the track width (the distance between two wheels on the same axle) divided by the height of the center of gravity above the road.

NHTSA expects that its new rollover information program will motivate manufacturers to respond to consumer demand for safer, more stable vehicles. For example, in 1979 when NCAP ratings for frontal crashes began, just 33 percent of vehicles achieved a four- or five-star rating. By 1997, 85 percent had received four or five stars.

Millman emphasized that the best consumer advice about rollover is the dramatic effect of seat belts. "If you are in a rollover and unrestrained, you are at a high risk of being killed or seriously injured - if you are belted, you will likely survive with minor injuries," Millman said.

Millman said a key component of the NHTSA rollover information campaign will be to continue educating the public about the importance of always using seat belts and age- appropriate child restraints.

The agency is opening a 60-day comment period to solicit public views on its proposed rollover rating program. Final decisions on the rollover rating program, which is set to begin with Model Year 2001 vehicles, will be made later this year.