The
feds issued their first-ever guide to rollover
risks for passenger vehicles, and gave the worst
grade to two General Motors sport utility vehicles.
The highest rating went to the Honda Accord.
"If consumers check these risks, they will
be better able to choose a safe vehicle," Transportation
Secretary Rodney Slater said.
General Motors slammed the ratings as "misleading," saying
they failed to account for such factors as
the vehicle's suspension, tires and the driver's
behavior. The one- to five-star rating system
estimates the risk of rolling over in a single-vehicle
crash, usually when the car runs off the
road and is tripped by a curb, ditch or soft soil.
The Chevrolet Blazer
and GMC Jimmy/Envoy four-door 4x2 SUVs drew the lowest score, one star.
The ratings -- by
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration -- are especially important
to prospective buyers of SUVs.
More than 60 percent
of SUV occupants killed in 1999 died in rollover crashes, the government
says.
Twenty-three percent
of car occupants who were killed died in rollovers, which claim an estimated
10,000 people each year.
The vehicles rated
include 19 SUVs, 11 light trucks, nine passenger cars and three vans.
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