What Is Crashworthiness?
There are two aspects of your car, truck, SUV or other vehicle that influence your chance of suffering serious injury in a collision: the likelihood that your vehicle will crash and the design features that are supposed to protect you in the event of an accident. In auto industry terms, crashworthiness is your vehicle's ability to protect you and the other occupants in the event of an accident.
The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) set benchmarks for automobile crashworthiness. Unfortunately, the American auto industry has successfully diverted or delayed any effort to update crashworthiness standards in a substantial way since the 1970s.
Did you or a loved one suffer severe injury due to auto defects? The skilled trial lawyers of Miller Weisbrod Olesky, LLP, can help you hold negligent auto manufacturers such as Ford, General Motors, DaimlerChrysler and others to account for their failure to provide safe vehicles. Contact us for more information.
How Crashworthiness Is Tested
Auto industry tests crashworthiness in rollover and roof crush accidents by turning a vehicle upside down in a laboratory setting and gently setting the vehicle on its roof. Hardly a real-world scenario. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has long advocated raising the standards for crashworthiness in rollover and roof crush accidents in real-world situations, but the automakers have resisted all such attempts thus far.
Other crashworthiness issues may include:
- Defective seat belts, seat backs, air bags and other active or passive passenger restraint systems
- Defective auto glass that fails to prevent occupant ejection
- Door failure and faulty door latch mechanisms
- Fuel system defects that cause post-collision fuel-fed fires
Contact Us
our team of experienced attorneys can help you stand up to negligent automakers that prioritize financial profit over consumer safety. We know that sometimes the only way to change the way the industry does business is to hit them hard, again and again, until the cost of lawsuits and settlements becomes too much to bear.
If you were hurt or a loved one died in an automobile accident and you suspect that the vehicle involved had serious crashworthiness issues, we invite you to contact our offices in Dallas today 214.987.0005 to discuss your rights and legal options with an experienced trial lawyer. If you are calling from outside the DFW Metroplex, please use our toll-free line at 888.987.0005 or contact us by e-mail to schedule an appointment.