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SUV rollover kills 13-year old from Illinois while on I-80 in Iowa

By Steve Lombardi

A 13 year old involved in an I-80 accident in eastern Iowa died following the SUV rolling after going in the ditch. The teenager was from Illinois. The driver, Deborah Newsome is 45 years of age. Another passenger, Deborah Newsome was hospitalized at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. The 13-year old was Benjamin Newsome of Palos Heights.

SUV's have such a high center of gravity (otherwise known as CG) they easily roll over. The size and power is so great that most drivers don't appreciate how easily an SUV rolls until it's too late.

To understand the concept of rollover accidents and the center of gravity visit and read the article titled, The Physics of SUV Rollover Accidents.

http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto?10004

http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010000/a010004/suv.mpg

After you understand the problem then you'll need to understand about friction.

So here the calculations turn to weight and gravitational forces, the forces that hold the vehicle down on the ground. The

Actual SUVs are much heavier than we have used. However, the heavier weight increases the centripetal force proportionally, which increases the force that acts to roll the vehicle, EXACTLY in the same proportion that the necessary lifting force is increased for the heavier vehicle. The actual overall weight of the vehicle does not alter these results! It is not actually necessary to know the weight of the vehicle, and heavier vehicles are no more stable than identical lighter ones. The track-width, the center-of-gravity height, the turning radius, and the vehicle speed are the ONLY variables!

And what follows is the reason why once an SUV begins to roll it keeps on going and going and going; usually until it hits something. Remember the higher the speed the greater the arc it takes to safely turn an SUV from it's straight line path.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr0_UDCRk00

'Now, a rollover accident at 20 mph might not be that dangerous. The problem arises when a higher speed tall vehicle makes a sudden steering adjustment, such as to avoid a deer or some object in the roadway. At 60 mph, the sideways (centripetal) force is NINE TIMES as great, because it depends, as explained above, on the SQUARE of the speed and we have tripled the speed. This means that, even if the radius of curvature of a sudden turn is NINE TIMES AS GREAT (225 foot radius, half a block), the vehicle WILL suddenly roll over! At 80 mph, it is 16 times as dangerous, and a 400-foot-radius (nearly one full city block) turn will result in the vehicle rolling over. In other words, an SUV at 80 mph, simply changing lanes fairly quickly on an Interstate highway, can result in a sudden and unexpected rollover! And, at such a speed, whether the SUV hits any other vehicles or not, very bad results are likely for the occupants.'

So how about all of you soccer moms driving SUV's slow it down; and especially when the road surface is wet or slippery.

Would you like to see how an SUV rollover happens? SUV Rollovers: Center of Gravity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH58NQmiwTY

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Steve Lombardi

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on March 30, 2009 (boomark / email).