Weak Car Roofs Lead To San Diego Car Accident Deaths
Luis Pena, an ex border patrol agent, does not remember what happened a year and a half ago when his truck rolled over one night while he was on duty. What Pena does know is that he is lucky to have survived what he sees in the photos that were taken of his truck following his San Diego County rollover accident. You can read more about this personal injury story in this 10news.com story.
The roof of his truck collapsed, dislocating his C6 and C7 vertebrae and dragging the spinal cord with it. This caused a tear and a pinch on the cord, which in turn created a quadriplegic, ending his life as a firefighter, police officer, and martial arts instructor. Pena is not able to move 80% of his body but has regained some arm and wrist movement since his San Diego car accident.
Pena likes to have a smile on his face even though he is in constant pain. He knows that being a quadriplegic has not stopped him from being a father, a husband, and a counselor for people in San Diego who want to talk about issues. This is all hard to do with his constant pain, but he fights on.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that about 10,000 deaths a year happen from rollover accidents. Although rollover accidents are only about 3% of the accidents, about 60% of rollover accidents involve SUVs. San Diego officials and throughout the country argue that if roofs were made stronger then this would happen much less.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimates that a stronger roof would only add about $50-$70 to the manufacturing of a car. For safety, that does not sound like a huge price to pay. However, the current roof standards were set back in the 1970s so that more cars would meet guidelines rather than making cars safer for people.
The IHSS took this problem on and has come up with a roof rating system for cars. They tested 12 small SUVs and four earned good ratings. These are the Volkswagen Tiguan, Subaru Forrester, Honda Element, and Jeep Patriot. The Kia Sportage, on the other hand, was rated the worst.
NHTSA has posteda ruling that would put in place new standards for roofs. The new deadline is April 30, 2009.
If you or someone you know has ever been involved in a rollover car accident and suffered injuries because of a weak roof--or if you have been injured due to a San Diego vehicle defect--please contact your San Diego car accident lawyer, Ross Jurewitz, and the other San Diego personal injury attorneys of the Jurewitz Law Group at 619-233-5020. You may also contact these San Diego auto accident lawyers online here.
