How serious is the motor vehicle rollover problem in the U.S. today?

Single-vehicle rollovers (for all vehicles, not just SUVs) cause more fatalities than any other kind of motor-vehicle accident -- one-quarter of all deaths yearly.

Do SUVs have higher rollover rates than other types of vehicles?

Yes. In 2000, SUVs had the highest rollover involvement rate of any vehicle type in fatal crashes -- 36 percent, as compared with 24 percent for pickups, 19 percent for vans and 15 percent for traffic cars. SUVs also had the highest rollover rate for passenger vehicles in injury crashes -- 12 percent, as compared to 7 percent for pickups, 4 percent for vans and 3 percent for passenger cars.

What can be done to improve the stability of SUVs and make them less likely to roll over?

Engineers and safety experts have long agreed that the best way for manufacturers to make SUVs more stable (less likely to roll over) is to lower the center of gravity and widen the wheel track. However, such fundamental changes to an SUV's design are costly, and automakers have often chosen less expensive (and less effective) design modifications.

Are SUVs safer or more dangerous than other vehicles in non-rollover crashes, such as front- and side-impact collisions?

It depends. SUVs offer better protection to their own occupants in multi-vehicle crashes, such as front- and side-impact collisions. However, SUVs are more likely to injure or kill the occupants of other vehicles in a crash. The increasing size of SUVs, and thus their increasing incompatibility with smaller passenger cars, is a growing problem and is likely to result in increasing fatalities.

·        In the 10-year period during which Ford-Firestone related rollovers caused some 300 deaths, more than 12,000 people -- 40 times as many -- died in SUV rollover crashes unrelated to tire failure.

·        A Ford Explorer is 16 times as likely as the typical family car to kill occupants of another vehicle in a crash.

·        1 out of 4 new vehicles sold in the U.S. is an SUV, making it the most popular type of vehicle in America. The Ford Explorer is the most popular SUV in the world.