[Elizabeth]

Of late plenty of local news articles concerning accidents. With plenty of rollover SUVs involved.
The story makes one think high speeds must have been involved.. Sadly, with SUVs that is not needed at all. All you need is a simple standard curb.. and even a few mph.(no need for high speeds at all) at an angle of attack... WILL flip a SUV over.
Like the SUV which spun out on a bridge, hit the curb (this bridge had a sidewalk for pedestrians) and bounce completely OVER the top of the 10ft cyclone fence and down into the water. This was at less than 20mhp.
I watched an accident from one car back.. Two left turn lanes to freeway I an behind one car length and in the right of the two lanes. In the left lane in front is a normal SUV. Turn light goes green, we start moving and a semi truck coming the other way (but also turning to the freeway entrance) scares the  forwardmost driver in the right left turning lane and they swerve a bit. Scaring the SUV driver who also turns but hits the curb to his left, the one SUV compressed wheel rebounded flipping the vehicle into the air (fully clear off the ground! I am watching it) and down onto it's roof. BLAM.
This was at no more than 15mph.
If Ralph Nader was bothering to write about modern SUVs. I think this is the number one fail in their design. That for safety sake, they MUST add some sort of wheel rebound control for these kinds of hits. If nothing more than a slight oversteer got the call to arms for safety, this strange over rebound and flipping of endless and growing numbers of SUVs is another one.

[jules]

Fair call, though with SUV's the inevitably high centre of gravity is surely the underlying problem? I wonder if the next gen electric/battery cars with most of their mass, the batteries, stored at floor level might be more stable in some of the situations you mention.

Amazing as some of the current electronic stability controls are, I can't see any way they could overcome the centre of gravity related problems here. 

[Dieterle Tool]

Solution is aluminum bodies, ergo Range Rover, Land Cruiser, BMW...

-Dieter

[jules]

Part solution, though the engine is still mounted higher than a sedan and the weight of glass [very high off the ground] still raises the roll centre.

A keel would work well, maybe a compensating swing keel  ?

[Doublej]

Boxer Engines!

[RDavidson]

The only solution is for car companies to convince consumers that cars are great (again). Maybe gas prices need to go back up? Last time that happened, people stopped buying giant vehicles. In fact, car dealerships had a hard time selling SUV's, both new and used.

[Wind Chaser]

Solution is aluminum bodies, ergo Range Rover, Land Cruiser, BMW...

That would help lower the center of gravity some what but this is the safest SUV on the road... 

[JLM]

Main reasons for SUV rollovers:

1.)  There's lots of them (too many) on the road;
2.)  High center of gravity;
3.)  Stiff suspensions that don't absorb bumps like a passenger car;
4.)  Poor condition of roads;
5.)  Bad drivers who don't account for the above.

[RDavidson]

Agree with most of JLM's points...

3) The suspensions tend to be rather soft and floaty (due to stiffness / slowness, agree), which doesn't help these big, lumbering, vehicles maneuver well. There's just too much sprung mass + high center of gravity...becoming too much unsprung mass very quickly (when the vehicle hits a curb or whatever).

It also definitely doesn't help that people believe that they are in these rolling protective bubbles, so they're less alert and more easily distracted. This bubbles over into another conversation about all the "protective" features vehicles now have. I honestly think they're making many drivers worse drivers ; All these stupid Tesla crashes

[JLM]

Tesla is under much scrutiny probably thanks to taking on big auto/oil industries.  Wonder what the percentages of crashes are broken down by brand.

Certainly distracted driving has gotten worse.  And agree that all those "pre-autonomous" driving features are making drivers less attentive.

Not easy to design for ideal function for both on-road and off-road conditions that SUV's are marketed towards.  Owners/drivers should know the realistic limits of the vehicles, but most just buy what's popular and just hop in.  In reality most SUV's are bought simply as the cooler version of mini vans and don't even have AWD.

Recall we had a 100th anniversary parade a few years back for Oldsmobile here in Lansing, MI and one of the original curved dash Olds flipped due to high center of gravity, poor suspension design, and a pothole at 10 mph.  My friend worked in the Olds carpentry shop and had to make literally overnight repairs of the broken iconic dashboard.  (BTW as was explained to me, the carpentry shop existed primarily to crate up exotic lab equipment for shipment but were very skilled at all aspects of woodworking.)

[RDavidson]

Yeah. I'm only picking on Tesla because they're probably the most known brand for pushing automotive technology. That's great...but, consumers are given this in-between phase of vehicles that aren't fully autonomous. I think it's confusing people and making matters worse rather than better. We're the guinea pigs. It's a very compound issue.

Anecdotally, I drive a 2009 Civic Si. Original owner. Very basic vehicle especially by today's standards. Manual transmission. Never been in a wreck with it. I think that's at least in part due to the fact that this car requires more human engagement.

Anyway...back to SUV rollovers

[geowak]

I agree on most points here about SUVs. I had a side impact on my 2012 Forester just three months ago. The guy hit me on my drivers side at approx 40-45mph. Knocked me car about 25 feet, but it did not roll over. I walked away (got out of the passenger door). Forester was totaled but because it does well in crash tests and has a boxer motor, side firing 4-cyclinder, it has a lower center of gravity, thus keeping it from tipping over.

I picked this car for the various safety factors and if anyone plans to buy an SUV, with safety as a top concern, test drive the Forester and Outback. They both have many, many safety features.

[Wayner]

I you don't like an SUV, then don't buy one.

I've seen plenty of accident stories on the news with cars on their roofs.

You can all start picking on a category of vehicle that you don't like and find bad stories about them.

[OzarkTom]

Anti gravity cars will be in the future. There will no longer be roll-overs.

[Letitroll98]

Anti gravity cars will be in the future. There will no longer be roll-overs.

I've though long and hard about the flying car thing, okay, about five minutes at the bar.  But you see the way people drive and you really want them flying around?  When crashing means then plummeting to the ground?  No, no, no friggin way.

Roll overs.  A 4,000 lbs vehicle flips over a ten foot fence after hitting a curb at 20mph.  I'm calling bs.  A 4,000 lbs vehicle flips into the air and onto its roof after hitting a curb at 15mph?  I'd need the video.  Essuvees are obviously not as stable in high speed crashes, but their greater mass protects occupants much better than a Civic or a Focus.   And what's so bad about rolling over if you're buckled in and have air bags everywhere, you might be dissipating a great deal of impact energy.  I drive a Honda Accord and have never owned an essuvee, but I'm sceptical about the danger of low speed rollover.  I came upon a horrible accident on the PA Turnpike that had happened moments before where a JB Hunt tractor trailer came across the median and slammed head on into an essuvee full of a family on vacation, everyone was killed instantly.  The essuvee was destroyed, but upright.

[Elizabeth]

head on.. I guess you have no understanding of physics. 

[C17FXR]

First thing, people that buy a SUV need to learn how to drive a SUV properly, they are not a Car.
Been driving a SUV for thirty years, never rolled on yet, and yes in my younger dumber days I have driven one like a sports car. 
Got this one with only 0.7 mile on her, she'll be 20 years old next month.



Had a two wheel drive version before that and a full size Chevy Blazzer before that, talk about a top heavy leaner there.
And drove one similar to this just taller before that.






Never rolled any of them, been in a few scare situations but never rolled one.
I guess I'm basically saying, just because you have a drivers license, doesn't mean you know how to DRIVE.
 

[Don_S]

That would help lower the center of gravity some what but this is the safest SUV on the road... 

I am having trouble visualizing the Tesla as an SUV.  To me it looks more like a pregnant car. 

[Wind Chaser]

Looks can be deceiving.

[OzarkTom]

I've though long and hard about the flying car thing, okay, about five minutes at the bar.  But you see the way people drive and you really want them flying around?  When crashing means then plummeting to the ground?  No, no, no friggin way.

The government has built anti-gravity flying machines since the 50's, I think this will be the future.