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NHTSA Wants Tougher Roofs

August 18, 2005
New Federal rules requiring stronger roofs for cars and trucks are on the way. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is likely to propose the new set of regulations before the end of the month.

Rollovers • Feds Delay New Roof-Crush Rule til October • Report: NHTSA Seeks More Time for Roof-Crush Rule • Senators Seek Delay in New Roof Strength Safety Rules • Senators Question Roof Strength Safety Rules • Nader Protests Feds' Roof Crush Plan • Treacherous Treads Still Taking Lives • Ford Class Action Settlement Leaves Consumers in the Dust • Feds' Roof Crush Rule Inadequate, Critics Charge • New Study: Stronger SUV Roofs Save Lives • Ford Loses $82 Million Rollover Verdict Appeal • Feds Delay Roof Strength Rule Again • Ford Settles Explorer Rollover Lawsuits • Safety Crusaders Seek Action on Roof Crush Injuries • Roof Crush Summit Highlights Safety Shortcomings • Feds Ignore Roof Crush Conference • Feds Delay New Roof Strength Rule • GM to Offer Rollover Airbags, Ford to Strengthen Roofs • Safety Groups Want Earlier Stability Control Rule --- • More about Rollovers ...

The auto industry and safety groups disagree over the need for the rule changes. High-profit SUVs tend to be top-heavy and more prone to roll over. Automakers have argued that strengthening roofs does not provide additional protection.

Safety advocates have taken the position that roof strength standareds must be more demanding and they will push for tougher regulations as well as for an entirely different kind of test that more closely resembles an actual rollover. They contend that the current standard has resulted in weak roofs that are directly responsible for thousands of rollover deaths, particularly in SUVs.

For the first time, the federal rules will apply to large sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks like the Chevrolet Suburban, the Dodge Ram and the Ford Expedition. Present law exempts any vehicle over 6,000 pounds.

Rollover crashes account for more than one-third of traffic fatalities. In 2004, 10,553 died in rollover crashes, up from 10,442 in 2003.

The new rules will not end lengthy legal challenges automakers face over roof strength. Juries in Texas, California, and Nebraska have awarded millions of dollars in damaged to roll-over crash victims.

In a recent Florida roll-over trial a Ford Explorer, documents introduced into evidence showed that Ford's Volvo subsidiary placed a priority on strengthening the roof when it designed its first SUV, the XC-90. The Volvo documents contradicted Ford's longstanding claim that roof strength was unrelated to injury in a rollover crash.

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