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Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety Applauds NHTSA Plan to Develop Rollover Rating System

15 May 1997

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety Applauds NHTSA Plan to Develop Rollover Rating System

             Sport Utility Vehicles are Involved in 70 Percent of
                          All Fatal Rollover Crashes

    WASHINGTON, May 15 -- Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
(Advocates) strongly supports a plan announced yesterday by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to develop a rollover rating
system for passenger cars and light trucks, including vans, minivans, pickups
and sport-utility vehicles.  Advocates has been pushing the agency to develop
such a rollover rating system for years.
    Each year, nearly 42,000 people are killed in motor vehicle crashes, and
more than 3 million are injured at an annual cost to society of more than $150
billion.  Rollover crashes account for nearly 10,000 of these deaths or 25
percent.
    "Sport utility vehicles are the fastest growing segment of the new car
market, yet until now, there has been no effort by NHTSA to establish a
rollover rating system for these popular vehicles," said Judith Lee Stone,
President of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.  "Sport utility vehicles
account for nearly 70 percent of rollover fatalities.  When this rating system
is established and the results are made public, consumers will have more
safety information about the real-world crash experience of vehicles they are
considering purchasing."
    According to a recent Louis Harris poll, 52 percent of those polled feel
it is "very important" that the federal government set strict safety standards
for sport utility vehicles, and 75 percent of those surveyed would be willing
to pay $200 to $300 more for added safety features to prevent rollover.
    Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety is a broad-based alliance of
consumer, safety, health and law enforcement groups and insurance
organizations working to promote effective highway safety legislation and
policies at state and federal levels.  For more information, including
detailed comments on our position on a rollover rating system, please contact
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety at 1-800-659-BAGS or visit our World
 Wide Web site at http://www.saferoads.org.

SOURCE  Advocates for Highway Safety