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The modern American way of life guarantees one thing for most people; the need to commute in a motor vehicle. While some people live in cities where public transportation may be available to get to and from work, many people don’t have that option, especially from bedroom communities to a larger urban center, and automobiles are no longer a luxury, but an occupational necessity.
As a result, there are millions of cars on the road in America every day, and Florida is no exception to this. With so many vehicles on the road, and varying weather conditions or even sobriety of different drivers, accidents are bound to happen. One of them is the rollover.
Physics Working Against You
As the name implies, a “rollover” is when a vehicle’s wheels lose contact with the road, and it overturns, ending up on its side or even upside down. In some cases, a rollover may occur a few times, such as a car overturning and tumbling down an incline to the bottom of a hill.
Rollovers are classed in two ways. The first is the Tripped Rollover. An external physical factor causes this type of rollover. A car goes over a curb, disrupting its balance, or a collision with another vehicle, causes a tumble are examples of tripped rollovers.
An “Untripped rollover” is the vehicular equivalent of an “unforced error,” where the inherent physics of the vehicle makes it vulnerable to rollover under certain conditions. The driver is either unaware of this limitation, or ignores it, and causes a self-inflicted rollover. A freight-hauling truck with a tank full of liquid, for example, has a very different center of gravity from an unencumbered truck, and if a driver turns too quickly, this can cause a rollover.
Similarly, SUVs that have been modified with off-road options resulting in higher suspension have a higher center of gravity. This makes them vulnerable to tight, rapid turns that can result in a rollover if the driver acts impulsively.
Injuries
Fortunately, modern vehicles have an array of safety features that can help to minimize injury in a rollover. The development of side-airbags, for example, is one to mitigate harm. That doesn’t mean, unfortunately, that rollovers are safe, especially if a driver or passenger is not wearing a seatbelt. Possible injuries arising from rollovers include:
- Neck injuries
- Head/traumatic brain injuries
- Broken bones
- Spine injuries
- Cuts, bruises, muscle strain, and other soft-tissue injuries
Much of the final injury tally depends on the severity of the accident. A single rollover is bound to be less harmful than tumbling down a hill. However, there’s one important factor to keep in mind, and that is who is at fault.
Don’t Just Live With It
Many rollovers are caused by collisions where impaired driving due to alcohol is a cause. In many instances, a rollover is the result of negligent driving actions from the person in another vehicle. If you’ve been injured in a rollover due to someone else’s negligence, you deserve more. Talk to an attorney experienced in rollover injuries and auto accidents, and find out how you can get justice for what’s happened to you.