Rollover Accidents All Too Common

Several recent high-profile motor vehicle accidents in the Salt Lake City area have brought attention to a particularly dangerous type of crash: rollovers. Two rollovers were reported less than a week apart and almost within sight of each other on State Street on March 20th and March 26th. No one was seriously injured in either. On the same day as the second accident, however, a crash on I-15 in Beaver County resulted in the death of a forty-eight-year-old woman after the driver of the pickup she was in lost control and rolled several times after striking the median. That accident was blamed on winter storm conditions.

A Dangerous Pattern

National statistics note that rollovers make up only a small fraction of all crashes: less than 3 percent. Unfortunately, they are disproportionately dangerous. More than one-third of all crash deaths happen in rollovers, which are particularly deadly when the vehicle occupants aren’t restrained by seat belts. Rollovers are often blamed on high speed, and, perhaps surprisingly, around 85 percent of all rollovers involve only a single vehicle.

The Salt Lake City area has certainly seen its share of rollovers, and they seem to bear out the larger statistical pattern. In February, a woman was seriously injured when she rolled on I-15 near Riverdale; a tire blowout was blamed for another February rollover on I-15 which injured five people. A long list of similar accidents can be found in the news from over the past year: in October, a man was critically injured when he drove off the road and rolled in Hooper; one person was killed and at least three were injured in separate rollovers in August, one on I-15 in Millard County and another in Taylorsville; in July, a passenger was critically injured when the car she was in went off the road and rolled in Hobble Creek Canyon.

One thing all of these incidents, and many others, have in common is that all were single-vehicle crashes. But it’s not always the driver of a rolled-over vehicle who is at fault.

Contributing Factors Matter

Rollovers, like all types of vehicle crashes, have many contributing factors. Uncorrected road hazards, weather conditions, faulty vehicle parts, and the actions of other drivers can all be involved. In these cases, the victims of a crash might be able to prove that someone else was responsible. For example, the rollover of a bus with twenty-two children on board in Kansas last year was determined to be entirely the driver’s fault because he ran a stop sign and attempted to turn on to a highway at high speed. Defective tires have been found to be the reason behind other rollovers.

Experienced Auto Accident Lawyers

If you have been the victim of a rollover crash, give the offices of Craig Swapp & Associates a call. We understand car accident law and offer a free consultation to discuss the details of your case. You can reach us at 800-404-9000 or contact us online. You can also use the LiveChat feature on any page of this website to have someone answer your questions.

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