Government to do rollover tests

Automakers, who could face design changes if consumers embrace a more

Read the whole story at:
http://money.cnn.com/2003/10/07/pf/autos/rollover.reut/index.htm

Took a couple of years for the government to devise the tests. Its
going to be an elaborate, automated test. Totally unnecessary.

Here's a proper and fair test: First LOAD the test car to MAXIMUM
CERTIFIED WEIGHT, distributing the weight "normally" including the
roof rack if it has one. Use MINIMUM FUEL. Drive the test car out on
a large area flat paved surface. Take it up to speed and violently
whip the steering wheel back and forth. If the car rolls, it flunks.
If it slides around is OK.

Very simple. All cars that flunk should be legal to drive if
permanently tagged so the public can see the warning and keep well
clear. Any car that flips easily will likely rear end you because the
driver will be deathly afraid to manuever around you in an emergency.
Exhorbidant insurance premiums will force them off the road and onto
junkpiles where they belong. Question: Will the Pacifica pass this
test?

 

And it's a static "test," not a driving test.

BTW, Consumer Reports does rollover testing on all SUVs reviewed by
the magazine. See back issues at library or at:
www.ConsumerReports.org

CR uses driving tests to check for rollover. Can't remember the
specifics of CR's tests, but they put outriggers on the SUVS so if the
SUV starts to roll, the outriggers prevent the rollover.

I see your point, but that assumes that in a situation like an
accident involving a rollover, everyone will have taken time to think
out in advance what might happen. If people really did that, there'd
probably be many fewer accidents and rollovers.

It'd be simpler just to ban future sales of the flunking SUVs.

Perhaps, but I'll add that I think a lot of the SUV rollovers are
single-vehicle accidents. We've had several of those that have been in
the newspaper where I live. The driver (because of unknown reasons
and/or alcohol) lost control of the SUV, and the SUVs rolled over,
because SUVs are prone to rollovers. No other vehicles were involved.

Because the Pacifica is a car-based SUV, and lower than typical SUVs,
my guess is that the Pacifica would have a lower tendency to roll than
typical SUVs. If it has any stability or traction control features,
that would probably also help.

CR's comments on the proposed federal standards:

"Consumers Union comments on NHTSA's new system for rating rollover
risks

Consumers Union (CU), the publisher of Consumer Reports, is
dissatisfied with the new system for rating the rollover risks of
motor vehicles unveiled this January by the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA).

After an initial review of the new ratings system, CU repeated its
concerns that NHTSA has based its rollover rating system solely on the
vehicle's so-called static stability factor (SSF), rather than basing
it on driving tests and the dynamic performance of the vehicles.

"While we believe that providing consumers some information is
preferable to providing no information at all, Consumers Union has
serious reservations about using a static measure such as SSF to
determine for comparative purposes the stability of vehicles" says Dr.
R. David Pittle, CU's Senior Vice President and Technical Director.

Dr. Pittle noted that SSF utilizes only two aspects of the vehicle,
both of which are static measurements—the center of gravity height and
the track width. [SSF is calculated as T/(2H), T being the track width
and H being height above the ground of the vehicle's center of gravity
with one or more occupants in place]. Important vehicle-design
elements such as the suspension, tire design, and steering response
affect a vehicle's stability and differ from vehicle to vehicle—but
are not accounted for by SSF.

"There is no real way to know how a vehicle will act in an emergency
situation by simply measuring its shape at rest," Pittle says. "We
must see how it performs when it is driven, when the whole vehicle is
acting as a complete dynamic system. We are encouraged that under the
recent TREAD Act, Congress has directed NHTSA to develop a dynamic
test for vehicle stability."

CU has been in the forefront of testing vehicles for routine handling
and emergency handling, as well as braking, acceleration, fuel
economy, comfort and convenience. The test results appear in Consumer
Reports and other CU publications.

In 1996 CU petitioned NHTSA to develop a consumer information program
that provided consumers comparative data on the rollover risks of SUVs
based on dynamic testing—that is, a program based on actual driving
tests.

NHTSA granted CU's petition. However, CU was disappointed last May
when it learned that NHTSA had abandoned its plans for dynamic testing
in favor of a static formula such as SSF, which CU believes is too
coarse a measure to compare vehicle stability within the same class of
vehicles.

Last year, Congress passed an auto safety law called the TREAD Act
(Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation
Act). The law directs NHTSA to develop a dynamic test for rollover
risks to be used as the basis for its consumer information program.

"We applaud Congress for its efforts to uphold and improve the
government ratings for rollover risks. When NHTSA develops a valid
dynamic test, the results should provide a far more accurate measure
of vehicle stability than what is being offered today," says Sally
Greenberg, Senior Product Safety Counsel for CU.

In comments filed with NHTSA last August, CU noted that, despite its
reservations about SSF, the static measure does have some positive
attributes.

"The SSF metric shows the importance of vehicle load conditions. We
note that on NHTSA's website, the SSF rating for a given vehicle,
particularly SUVs and minivans, may vary depending on whether the
vehicle is carrying a full load of passengers and cargo. When loaded,
many of these vehicles drop one star in NHTSA's rating. SSF could also
be a useful element of evaluating the propensity for tripped
rollovers, but needs to be used in conjunction with a dynamic
stability test," says David Champion, director of CU's Automotive
Testing Division."