Re: [A/S] Re: Rollover in SUVs, pickups and Suburbans

["Jim Dunmyer" <jdunmyer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dick,
 My wife got T-Boned in her 1972 Toyota, putting it on its top. She popped
the belt buckle and crawled out (this was in the days of lap belts only,
remember).

In 1982, she got forced off the pavement onto the icy median strip, causing
her to loose control of her 1980 VW Rabbit. She isn't sure what happened
next, but the car did roll and flip over the median guardrail, coming to
rest on its wheels, in the other lane, heading the opposite direction from
which she had been going. They hauled her out of the car on a backboard; I
picked her up at the hospital an hour or so later.

We replaced the Rabbit with a 1982 model, and when it was a year old, we got
T-Boned by someone who didn't feel it necessary to pause at stop signs. As
we were going 50+ MPH at the time, we rolled over, end over end, maybe 4
times, coming to rest on the RH side of the car. A friend was one of the
first ones to stop, he pulled the windshield open, and we both stepped out.

OTOH: a lot of clowns feel that because they're driving a big ol' PickemUp
Truck or 'Burb, or other large, heavy King Of The Road vehicle, they don't
have to wear their belts. Nearly every week, I read accident reports of
those folks being thrown from their vehicles in a simple rollover accident
and being killed. Often by their own vehicle's landing on top of them. Had
they worn their belts, they too would have walked away.

(If you're interested in arguing the merits of seat belt usage, please reply
Off-List, such discussion doesn't belong here.)

There is one other factor that's relevant here: a travel trailer is probably
more likely to roll over than a solo vehicle (other than high C.O.G. SUVs),
and if it's connected with a good, strong hitch, it might take the tow
vehicle with it. I still consider it unlikely that you could roll a 'Burb if
it didn't have other factors involved, it'll just skid. I don't know how you
could reassure your wife, short of getting her a ride with a professional
driver, in a vehicle similar to your own.

Many years ago, when I first started riding a motorcycle, I just KNEW that a
hard turn would cause the tires to break adhesion and let me skid right off
the road. One day, I got a ride behind a fella who had been on a large city
Motorcyle Police force and had had their professional training. The first
corner we took had sparks trailing us from his grounding the footpegs, it
scared the hell outa me! However, it taught me a bit about what the bike's
limits really were, instead of what my intuition said. As soon as I could, I
got on my own bike and started doing figure 8s on a deserted road until I
could raise sparks from both sides. That lesson served me well.

This is why it's really pretty important to do some practice on deserted
roads and/or parking lots so you KNOW what you can do with your rig. Very
often, a quick lane change or even heading for the ditch will prevent a very
serious wreck that simply standing on the brakes would lead to. But, if
you've not practiced and thought about it, you'll likely be the one sliding
right into the mess ahead of you. ("I didn't want to swerve because I was
afraid the rig would roll over")

                                                                 <<Jim>>