SUVs are notoriously known in the automobile industry for being quick to get into rollover accidents. While this is not a totally unfounded claim, it is also important to note that SUV rollovers typically don’t happen because of manufacturer defects or design flaws’ they happen because drivers are dangerous in a vehicle that is already prone to rollovers under certain conditions.

But how’s a driver to stay safe? SUV rollovers happen more commonly than rollovers in other vehicles because, essentially, SUVs are top heavy.

There’s nothing you can really do to change that, short of not buying an SUV, but there are tips you can use to stay safe from SUV rollover no matter what kind of vehicle you drive. Take these tips to heart, they could very well save your life.

1. You can avoid SUV rollovers by choosing a smart SUV. Know what you’re buying before you buy it! Check out consumer reports, guides, and rollover ratings. In general, SUV rollovers are most likely to happen with vehicles that are tall and skinny. The best SUVs to buy when you’re hoping to prevent rollover are the ones that have a father distance between the tires in the back.

2. The second tip, which you cannot overlook, is to drive your SUV “like an SUV”. If you’re used to driving a car, or even a truck or van, it is tricky to jump into an SUV and take off. You can’t take curves as quickly in an SUV. If you try, rollover is likely. Before you speed down the highway, take a few days or weeks to learn the feel of your SUV’s steering, brakes, acceleration, and so on.

3. When dealing with an SUV, drive safely. This is, of course, the best tip to use when driving anything, but it is important to note that most SUV rollovers only happen when the SUV goes off of the main road. If you’re chatting on your cell phone, doing your makeup in the car, or tending to yelling children in the backseat, it is much more likely that you’ll run off of the road, where you’ll hit a ditch, curb, bump, or obstacle and be thrown head over heels.

4. To go hand-in-hand with the last tip, drive according to the road conditions. SUV rollovers are more likely on rural roads, simply because potholes are more common. If you’re driving on a dirt road or road that rarely gets repaired after the winter, having an SUV can prevent you from sticking in the mud, but at the same time, a pothole can cause you to become off balance and, in effect cause an SUV rollover.

Remember that driving for the road conditions also includes the weather. If it’s raining, snowing, or foggy, slow down.

5. Avoid panicking when steering. The common response to losing control is to over-steer in attempts to regain control. Don’t panic and fall into this trap! You’ll only make matters much worse. Instead, grab the wheel firmly and try to keep the vehicle going in a straight path, as you pump the brakes to slow.

When you panic and steer sharply, it has the same effects of going around a turn too quickly, and SUV rollovers are common.

6. Keep your car in tip-top shape if you want to avoid SUV rollover. Most importantly, check your tire pressure. If one tire is running low on air, this will not only cause efficiency problems, but will also make your SUV be prone to rollover.

Keep in mind also that ESC systems are now available to upgrade your SUV. This kind of a system monitors your vehicle and your movements to prevent rollover. If you carry things in your SUV, make sure that these things are distributed evenly according to weight. Centrifugal force plays a huge roll in SUV rollovers, so check your loaded items often.

7. Wear your seatbelt. Okay, this isn’t exactly a way to prevent SUV rollovers, but it is a way to prevent death if your SUV should happen to rollover, for whatever reason. More fatalities occur because the driver or passenger was thrown completely or partially out of the SUV as it rolled, and reports show that buckling up can reduce your risk of death when in an SUV rollover by up to 75%.

Be safe, be smart, and if you do happen to become involved with an SUV rollover, which can happen to even the best drivers, contact a lawyer to learn about your legal rights.

Nick Johnson is lead counsel and founding partner of Johnson Law Group. Johnson represents plaintiffs injured in auto accidents, truck accidents and vehicle rollovers. Call 1-888-311-5522 immediately and visit http://www.topautoaccidentattorneys.com or http://www.toprolloveraccidentattorneys.com

If you or someone in your family has suffered injury or death due to an accident in your sport utility vehicle, consulting with an SUV rollover accident attorney can be a good way to ensure proper compensation for the accident is procured. Your SUV rollover accident could be the result of faulty engineering of the vehicle or of tires whose propensity for blowout caused the incident. Before trying to tackle a car or tire manufacturer on your own, consulting an attorney will protect your interests.

SUV rollover accident attorneys are experienced in working with families who have been affected by injury or death to ensure that after-accident procedures are handled appropriately. Before making an appointment for your first consultation, ensure that you have gathered all information pertinent to the accident, and also given thought to the end result you expect to achieve.

The information you will need to gather prior to your consultation will include the accident report written out by local police, any estimates written on your vehicle by qualified repair shops, any hospital paperwork documenting the extent of injuries or exact cause of death, and any witness statements that may have been recorded at the scene.

If speed or weather conditions played a role in the accident, the attorney will need to be apprised of that as well, so as to appropriately handle that circumstance when seeking to simultaneously prove that the car or tire manufacturer is at least partially liable for the accident.

If you are seeking to be compensated for specific damages caused to your vehicle as a result of an SUV rollover accident, you will need to have exact estimates performed for replacement cost. If the vehicle is totaled as a result of the accident, the estimate will need to include the current value of the vehicle, rather than the value of replacement parts.

Compensatory damages can often be sought out of court, as large car and tire manufacturers would prefer to come to a settlement in most instances rather than face a lengthy or embarrassing trial in court. Compensatory damages sought can also include the costs of any accident-related injuries treated at the hospital.

There is also another type of damages you can seek: punitive damages. Punitive damages are a way to “punish” an entity which has caused harm. Punitive damages go far above and beyond compensating for actual damages, and are often calculated based on suffering caused by the accident, loss of use, lost income, and any other current or future losses that may be a result of your accident.

Your SUV rollover accident attorney can help you to determine if punitive damages are appropriate in the case of your specific circumstances, and if appropriate, what a fair amount would be to request.

In cases where punitive damages are sought, manufacturers will sometimes seek to settle out of court; again, it is often in their best interest to settle quickly rather than endure a lengthy trial. In some cases, however, manufacturers prefer to go to court in the hopes that they encounter a judge or jury that does not agree with the concept of punitive damages.

Punitive damages can be a very thin wire upon which to walk, on one hand, it is often a necessary check on the power of car and tire manufacturers, so that the point is made that they must take responsibility for losses caused by their products.

On the other hand, the punitive damages that are sought are often beyond believable levels and are so large that some judges and juries cannot fathom awarding such a large amount. Cases are sometimes thrown from court for being frivolous when the remedy being sought is not in line with the loss suffered.

If death has been caused by your accident, your SUV rollover accident attorney will likely urge you to seek a much higher level of punitive damages than if it is a simple injury accident.

Often, levels of punitive damages in this case are determined by the number of years lost income until the person who was killed would have retired, as well as amounts for loss to the person’s spouse and children, and also loss of enjoyment or companionship. These calculations can often reach into the millions.

It is always important to keep in mind that judges and juries will often agree with what they see as fair compensation; going to court is not a time to be greedy, but to be made whole again through some fashion of compensation after a loss.

Nick Johnson is lead counsel and founding partner of Johnson Law Group. Johnson represents plaintiffs injured in auto accidents, truck accidents and vehicle rollovers. Call 1-888-311-5522 immediately and visit http://www.topautoaccidentattorneys.com or http://www.toprolloveraccidentattorneys.com

SUVs – Sport Utility Vehicles – are more popular than ever. Ownership of SUVs increased dramatically by 250% in the United States from 1995 to 2002 as many people, especially families, were seduced into buying an SUV partly in the belief that bigger meant safer. If you are thinking of buying an SUV, there is good news and bad news as far as safety is concerned. In general an SUV is more than twice as likely to roll over in an accident as a car. Children are especially at risk, they are three times more likely to be injured in an SUV rollover accident than if they were in a car.

And contrary to popular belief, the more weight that an SUV carries, the higher the chance of an accident. Most SUVs are designed – and owners are encouraged – to carry extra weight in the form of extra passengers and cargo, whether it is on the road or off the road.

One way to minimize the risk of a rollover if you do drive an SUV is to drive with less weight. In 2004 (the most recent year with data available) rollover accidents killed just over 10,000 people in the United States. Rollovers are actually rare, less than 3% of all car crashes, but they are responsible for around 30% of all traffic related fatalities. However, rollovers are particularly serious types of accident as they often result in head injuries, or passengers being thrown from vehicles.

The good news is that SUVs are currently safer than ever, a trend that seems certain to continue. An increasing number of SUVs are being made with electronic stability control which dramatically decreases the chance of an accident.

This may become a requirement in the next few years. Manufacturers are also making more so-called car-based SUVs – vehicles that combine the appearance of a car and an SUV. These usually ride closer to the ground than regular SUVs and are therefore significantly safer. And at least fifteen major car manufacturers have agreed that by 2009, all their SUVs would be built lower to the ground, saving an estimated 600 to 800 lives every year.

Other safety features are being introduced. Newer SUVs now have rollover air bags, designed specifically to protect passengers from injury during a rollover. A sensing device will detect a rollover and trigger an airbag to inflate, usually on the side of the vehicle, at the same time tightening the seat belts.

If you are still interested in an SUV, choose your model carefully. Cost, features, and gas mileage will all influence your purchase, but safety should also play an important part in deciding which make and model to buy. Many automotive web sites offer unbiased reviews of SUVs and their safety rating.

And give some thought as to whether you really need an SUV, statistics show that fewer than 5% of owners will actually use their SUV off the road. A car or minivan may suit your needs just as well, and will usually cost less. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published rankings for 2006 which show which SUVs are most and least likely to rollover in an accident.

The figures are based on the chances of a rollover in a single vehicle accident, they don’t take in to account multi-vehicle accidents. The figures also don’t take into account what causes the accident in the first place.

The least likely models to rollover are the Chevrolet HHR, Ford Freestyle and Chrysler Pacifica. The models most likely to rollover are the Nissan Xterra and the Chevrolet Avalanche along with several other models hovering just behind these two as far as the rankings are concerned.

Car manufacturers are understandably concerned with these rankings, the cost in financial terms and buyer confidence is enormous. There have been a spate of vehicle recalls over the last few years; one of the most far-reaching was by Ford in 2003, recalling almost 1.7 million Explorers and Mercury Mountaineers. And Toyota recalled almost a million SUVs in 2005 because of a defect that could possibly affect the ability to steer the vehicle.

So before you buy your next SUV, do a little research. It may just save your life if you are involved in an accident.

Nick Johnson is lead counsel and founding partner of Johnson Law Group. Johnson represents plaintiffs injured in auto accidents, truck accidents and vehicle rollovers. Call 1-888-311-5522 immediately and visit http://www.topautoaccidentattorneys.com or http://www.toprolloveraccidentattorneys.com

Buying a used travel trailer can be a scary prospect indeed. But, armed with a little information and the attitude that the right trailer is out there for you, you can get through the buying process and come out on the other end with a fantastic used travel trailer!

First, you must know how much trailer you need to suit your situation and how much you can handle in terms of price and towing capability. I can’t help you much with price–you’ll have to decide beforehand what you range is, but you can research what trailers are available for what prices on the internet. As far as towing capability is concerned, you need to be concerned with two numbers–GTW (gross trailer weight),which is the maximum weight your vehicle is designed to pull, and TW (tongue weight); that’s the downward force (measured in pounds) your hitch ball can support. Both of these figures can be found in your vehicle’s owner’s manual and should be topmost in your mind when considering which trailer you can tow.

Now to the fun part; once you have decided some of your basic needs, you can start shopping! You may have used RV dealerships in your area. That’s great news since you will have a wider selection and a salesperson to offer suggestions and recommendations. Of course if you don’t, you can find plenty of used trailers for sale through your local classifieds and online. Don’t be shy–see a lot of trailers; it’s the only way to find the one that’s just right for you!

Once you do find a trailer to consider, there are a lot of things to keep in mind; I suggest making a checklist to remind yourself what you are looking for and to take notes about the features and condition of each model you see.

Starting with the exterior, look for dents and dings, rusted spots, rusty or loose screws. Check if the exterior compartments are clean and dry. Inspect the roof; are the rubber seals cracking or discolored from water/sun damage? Are the vent covers secure? Is there a roof rack? Check any awnings and pullouts to see if they operate smoothly and look to be in good repair. Is the awning discolored or mildewed? Is it large enough?

Moving inside, check the doors; do they close securely? Check the hinges and handles and locks. Is there a pull out step? Does it work well and store securely? Are the windows in good condition? Do they operate smoothly and lock securely? Are all the screens in place? Are they in good repair?

Consider the interior walls and flooring. Are there signs of water damage, including discoloration and soft spots? Do you like the colors? Are the walls or flooring marked with stains?

What is the condition of the furniture? Are all the appliances in working order? Turn everything on and check it’s performance. The refrigerator and freezer will take a few hours to fully cool, but if this trailer is on your “short list,” be sure to check them. Turn on all faucets to check for leaks; check the water heater and all holding tanks for leaks by filling them with water. Check if the bathroom is big enough. Lay down on the bed; do you feel comfortable in the sleeping space? Are the closets big enough? Can you see your family vacationing happily in this space?

If so, then you know all your hard work has paid off, and you have found the perfect travel trailer for your family! If not, you know your checklist has weeded out another poor choice, and you are that much closer to finding your trailer. So, get out there and get to work; your next family vacation could be in your very own perfectly used travel trailer.

Emily Sandberg is a camping enthusiast who spent many a happy weekend camping in her family’s used travel trailer. When she’s not towing anything, she covers her hitch with a hitch cover from http://www.trailerhitchuniverse.com

SUV rollovers have become a huge safety issue in the eyes of the governmental crash test safety commissions. SUV rollovers are frequent in a very high percentage of Sport Utility Vehicle involved accidents. Unfortunately, SUV rollovers can create a devastating scene when an accident should have been completely survivable. Serious injury and death are likely to occur in the event of an accident that involves an SUV rollover.

SUV rollovers occur when the Sport Utility Vehicle is unable to maintain a safe center of gravity and it becomes top heavy during a turn or an accident. With a wheelbase too narrow for safe navigation of turns, SUV rollovers often happen when it is least expected. While weather factors can play a role in creating SUV rollovers, most of these accidents occur when the roadways are clear of ice and snow.

In single vehicle crashes, SUV rollovers accounted for 53% of deaths involving SUV single vehicle accidents while small car single vehicle crashes accounted for only about 19%. That’s a huge difference and one that truly has opened the eyes of governmental crash test safety commissions. Smaller Sport Utility Vehicles, the ones with a wheel base of about 100 inches, are much more likely to be involved in a rollover accident. Sport Utility Vehicles with 100 inch wheel bases were involved in four times more SUV rollover accidents than single vehicle crashes with regular cars. These are some staggering numbers considering that Sport Utility Vehicle manufacturers have marketed SUVs as safer than average vehicles. These numbers prove that Sport Utility Vehicles are not safer than regular cars.

Safe driving issues are partially responsible for the high number of SUV rollover accidents. SUV drivers tend to drive these vehicles as though they are regular cars, or tanks. Sport Utility Vehicles are neither tanks nor regular cars, and they can not be driven as if they are. SUVs are higher, they don’t corner well, and despite their four wheel drive features, they are still able to lose control under inclement conditions. Driving an SUV at high speeds in the snow when everyone else is creeping along is begging for an accident.

SUV rollovers are just as likely to occur in accidents involving smaller cars. While small car passengers are more likely to die in an accident involving an SUV due to design flaws, not weight, SUV rollovers are likely to occur after the SUV hits the small car. SUV rollovers have become a serious safety issue. Sport Utility vehicles are far from compatible with other vehicles on the road, and pose a greater threat to small car owners and drivers than other vehicles. SUV rollovers still remain a top threat to SUV drivers.

SUV rollover tests along with other crash testing results prompted governmental organizations to require higher safety standards for Sport Utility Vehicles. The process ceased however, when these organizations realized the cost for SUV manufacturers in redesigning all of their Sport Utility Vehicles. SUV manufacturers returned the favor with promises to create safer Sport Utility Vehicles. Few safety features have been added to create safer Sport Utility Vehicles to protect other cars or to prevent SUV rollovers.

Most Sport Utility Owners report that they purchased their SUV in an effort to be safer on the roadways. Many SUV owners report that despite the safety literature and research released on the lack of safety which SUVs are known for, they still feel safer in their SUV. SUV rollovers have become a well known phenomenon, but SUV owners feel that they can handle their vehicle without special training or driving advice. This mentality only increases SUV rollover risks and small car driver safety risks.

In a recent poll, most American drivers are concerned about SUV safety and SUV rollovers, a much higher percentage of care came from those who don’t even own an SUV. Car companies claim that the production of their Sport Utility Vehicle lines are designed around what the SUV driver wants. This is in direct contrast with what the polling shows.

SUV rollovers will continue to be a risk as long as drivers are willing to accept their SUVs without additional safety features. Public education about SUV rollovers have heightened awareness, but has not deterred SUV sales enough for the manufacturers to feel the impact. The Sport Utility Vehicle manufacturers are not willing to take the initiative to create SUVs that are safer and prevent SUV rollovers, and thus as long as consumers continue to purchase these vehicles, the risk factors will never be addressed.

Nick Johnson is lead counsel and founding partner of Johnson Law Group. Johnson represents plaintiffs injured in auto accidents, truck accidents and vehicle rollovers. Call 1-888-311-5522 or visit http://www.topautoaccidentattorneys.com or http://www.toprolloveraccidentattorneys.com

Sport Utility Vehicles are notorious for rollover accidents. SUV rollovers are the most common type of accidents associated with Sport Utility Vehicles. Their four wheel drive capabilities make drivers feel safer on roadways, especially those covered with ice or snow, but their high center of gravity creates what has been coined SUV rollover.

Rollover accidents can be deadly, especially if the driver and passengers are not properly seat belted into the vehicle. SUV rollover accidents are often considered a manufacturer defect. SUV rollover is something that should have been addressed prior to the SUV craze, with car companies turning out Sport Utility Vehicles that were more likely to roll over than their competitors. Rollover accidents can be caused by various conditions, including but far from limited to, windy conditions.

Rollover accidents are only now starting to decrease, mostly due to public awareness and not due to manufacturer improvements. A few manufacturers have tried to address rollover accident prone vehicles with improvements, but few have created safer Sport Utility Vehicles. SUV rollover causes serious injury. Avoiding SUV rollover injury is difficult when the rollover accident happens at higher speeds. A high percentage of rollover accidents result in SUV roofs that crush people in the collapse.

Those who were not wearing a seat belt were at a greater risk of either being thrown during a rollover accident or being tossed around the inside of an SUV during the rollover accident. Either of these circumstances can lead to death during SUV rollover accidents. Serious injury is not uncommon during a rollover accident, despite the best circumstances.

The best way to avoid serious injury during a rollover accident is to avoid having a rollover accident. Drivers of Sport Utility Vehicles need to slow down. Four wheel drive does not mean that the vehicle is immune to an accident especially in snowy or icy conditions. SUV rollover often happens in snow and ice because the driver is going too fast for conditions. While the traction of an SUV may be better than that of a sedan, handling is typically much worse in snowy or icy conditions. Rollover accidents can happen when the typical slipping and sliding that occurs in snowy or icy conditions refuses to relent to driver control. The drive tries to steer back into control of the SUV and the rollover accident occurs.

Of course, SUV rollover accidents are not restricted to bad weather. Far from it. In fact, SUV rollover is just as likely to occur in fair weather as it is bad weather. This is due to the fact that SUV drivers are aware that driving in icy and snowy conditions can be dangerous and their level of focus is elevated. In fair weather, driver awareness isn’t as high. A curve in the road that curves just slightly too tight or has even a mild lean to the outside can be enough to cause a rollover accident. It is normal for people to travel at higher speeds in fair weather, and the result can be devastating.

SUV rollover has caused serious concern when it comes to governmental crash tests. While the safety commission for the Institute of Crash Test Standards can restrict SUV production and rollover accident safety standards on new Sport Utility Vehicles, it can do nothing for vehicles that have been on the road since the beginning of the SUV craze. Older Sport Utility Vehicles are still on the road, and are still at risk for rollover accidents. The likelihood of obtaining serious injury in an older or used Sport Utility Vehicle is nearly twice as high as the danger of SUV rollover in a brand new Sport Utility Vehicle.

To avoid serious injury in an SUV rollover accident, drive any SUV at slower speeds, be extra cautious around corners and over hills, and always wear a seat belt. While there is no guarantee that these preventative measures will avoid a rollover accident, they will help to ensure your safety in the even of SUV rollover. Rollover accidents are very dangerous, and there have been ample lawsuits to back up the claims that SUV rollover is an issue that should have been addressed within the vehicle manufacturer when Sport Utility Vehicles were first introduced. The best idea for Sport Utility Vehicle owners to avoid SUV rollover is simply exercising perpetual cautionary driving skills. Learning the physics behind SUV rollover can help drivers maintain vehicle control and avoid the serious injury and risk of death associated with rollover accidents.

Nick Johnson is lead counsel and founding partner of Johnson Law Group. Johnson represents plaintiffs injured in auto accidents, truck accidents and vehicle rollovers. Call 1-888-311-5522 or http://www.topautoaccidentattorneys.com or http://www.toprolloveraccidentattorneys.com