Crashworthiness Information

Crashworthiness refers to the amount of protection a vehicle provides to its occupants during a car, truck, SUV, or other motor vehicle accident. Although there are industry standards in place to ensure that all motor vehicles are sufficiently crashworthy, not all vehicles provide adequate protection. Indeed, many of the minimum standards were set in the 1970s and no longer properly reflect the needs of modern motorists, especially regarding the ability to withstand side impact collisions and rollover accidents.

Elements of Vehicle Crashworthiness

One of the most relevant concepts covered by the umbrella term of crashworthiness is roof crush, or the ability of the roof of a vehicle to withstand the force of impacting the ground in a rollover accident. With the increasing popularity of SUVs and other large vehicles with high centers of gravity, rollover accidents have become more and more common. Many of these vehicles, while they technically meet safety standards, provide inferior protection, with roofs that can cave in by up to a foot. While many newer vehicles are indeed safer and more crashworthy, there are still hundreds of thousands of older vehicles on the road that simply do not measure up. Other factors that fall under the heading of crashworthiness include seat strength, door crush protection, the ability of airbags to discharge properly, and the soundness of the fuel line. When these elements are not sufficiently crashworthy, occupants of the vehicle may be at greater risk for injury or even death.

Contact an Attorney

If you have been injured in a car accident because your vehicle was not sufficiently crashworthy, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit to obtain compensation. Similarly, if someone you love was killed in an accident, you may be eligible to file a wrongful death claim. Contact personal injury attorneys to schedule a case review and be sure your legal rights are protected.