Report Compiled by the Florida Department of

Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles

Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Traffic Safety Facts: January 2011 • Rollover Crashes 2

2009 Florida Quick Facts:

Fatalities Injuries ALLFatalities&Injuries 2,563 197,214 2009Rollover 174 9,420 PERCENTOFALL 6.8% 4.8% 2008Rollover 238 9,826 PERCENTCHANGE 26.9%decrease 4.1%decrease

SafetyEquipment Fatalities Injuries DriverWithSeatbelt 30 4,845 DriverWithoutSeatbelt 72 942 PassengersWithSeatbelt 13 2,364 PassengersWithoutSeatbelt 43 908

Rollover Crashes

Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Traffic Safety Facts: January 2011 • Rollover Crashes 3

Whenitcomestofatalityrates,themostdangerouscollisionontheroadisnotbeinghithead-onbyanothervehicle,orT-bonedfromthesideasonemightthink,butitisthesingle-vehicle,roadwaydeparturecrash.Morethan8,000peopledieeachyearintheUnitedStatesduetosingle-vehiclecrashes.Vehiclesrolloverinlessthan3percentofallcrashes,butthesecrashesaccountformorethanathirdofpassen-gervehicleoccupantdeaths.In2008(themostrecentyeardataisavailable),25,428passengervehicleoccupantsdiedincrashesofallkinds.Ofthose,9,023diedincrasheswheretheirvehiclerolledover.

AccordingtotheNationalHighwayTrafficSafetyAdministra-tion(NHTSA),between1991and2007,single-vehicle,run-off-road(ROR)crashes,accountfor70percentofallfatalsingle-vehiclecrashes.Thebiggestfactorsincausingthesecrashesareeasilyavoidable:don’tspeed,don’tdrivedrowsyordrunk,andlimitdistractions.Nearly80percentofallcrashesinvolvedsomeformofdriverinattentionwithinthreesec-ondsofthecrash.Inattentivedrivers(thosewhoaretalking,eating,fiddlingwithelectronics)are75percentmorelikelytobeinvolvedinafatal,single-vehicle,RORcrash,thanaredriv-erswhomakeactualdrivingerrors(likefailingtosignalaturnortailgating),accordingtoNHTSA.

Rolloversarecomplexcrashincidentsandareparticularlyviolentinnature.Theyarereflectiveoftheinteractionofthedriver,theroad,thevehicle,andenvironmentalfactors.Sowhilevehicletypedoesplayasignificantrole,otherfactorssuchasdriverdistractionandroadandenvironmentalcondi-tionscancauseavehicletorollover.Rollovercrashesaredirectlyrelatedtoavehicle’sstabilityinturns.Thatstabilityisinfluencedbytherelationshipbetweenthecenterofgravityandthetrackwidth(thedistancebetweentheleftandrightwheels).Ahighcenterofgravityandnarrowtrackcanmakeavehicleunstableinfastturnsorsharpchangesofdirectionincreasingtheoddsthatitwilltipoveronceitbeginstoskidsideways.

AccordingtoNHTSA,thedeadliestriskfacingSportUtilityVehicles(SUV),minivan,andtruckoccupantsisarolloverac-cident.Morethan280,000rollovercrashesarereportedeachyear,claimingmorethan10,000livesannually.InFlorida,between2005and2009,therewere2,230peoplekilledinrollovercrashesand56,390injured.In2009,fatalitiesfromrollovercrashesdroppedbyalmost27percentto174downfrom238in2008.

Multiplefactorsinfluencethenumbers:theeconomicdownturnlikelyaccountedforsomeoftherecentdeclineinrollovercrashfatalities,thenewElectronicStabilityControlSystemshavemadevehicleslesslikelytorollover,andthe

Executive SummarypassingoftheprimaryseatbeltlawinFloridaeffectiveJuly1,2009.Thedecliningtrendsarealsoatestamenttotheem-phasisthatlawenforcementagencies,safetyadvocatesandbusinesseshaveplacedonsavinglivesonourroadways.

Some Positive trends include:

nRollovercrashesonFloridaroadwaysdecreased8.4per-centbetween2008and2009,from9,097to8,334.Thisisthethirdconsecutiveyearthatrollovercrasheshavedecreased.nThenumberofrolloverfatalitiesdecreased26.9percentbetween2008and2009,from238to174.Thisisthefourthconsecutiveyearthatrolloverfatalitieshavedecreased.nThenumberofrolloverinjuriesdecreased4.1percentbetween2008and2009,from9,826to9,420.Thisisthethirdconsecutiveyearthatrolloverinjurieshavedecreased.nThenumberofrolloverfatalitiesinwhichthedriverandpassengerwerenotwearingtheirseatbeltsdecreasedbetween2008and2009,from156to115,a26.3percentde-crease.ThisdecreasecanbeattributedinparttotheprimaryseatbeltlaweffectiveJuly1,2009.

DHSMVwillcontinuetoworkwithoursafetypartnerstoaddtothemomentumwehavegainedinrecentyearssothatwecontinuetoseerollovercrashesandrolloverfatalitiesdeclineintheyearstocome.

Thefollowinginformationwillgivesomeinsightintorollovercrashesandrolloverfatalitiesthatoccurredduring2009onFloridaroadways.

What is the definition of a rollover crash?

Avehiclethathasoverturnedatleast90degreestoitsside.Arolloverisacrashinwhichavehiclerevolvesatleastone-quarterturn(whichwouldbeontoitsside),regardlessofwhetherthevehicleendsuplayingonitsside,roof,orevenreturninguprightonallfourwheels.Manyrolloversleadtopartialorfullejectionofoccupantsfromthevehicle,increas-ingthelikelihoodofinjuryordeath.

(continued)

Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Traffic Safety Facts: January 2011 • Rollover Crashes 4

Are rollovers a big problem?

Vehiclerollovercrashesaccountedfor3.5percentofallcrashesinFloridain2009.Whileitisnotahugenumber,thedangerexistsduetothechanceofejectionthataccompaniesarollovercrash.

What causes a rollover crash?

Mostrolloversoccurwhenadriverlosescontroloftheirvehicleanditbeginstoslidesideways.Whenthishappens,somethingcan“trip”thevehicleandcauseittorollover.Thistrippingobjectcouldbeacurb,aguardrail,atree,orunevengroundonthesideoftheroad.Rolloverscanalsooccurwhenadriverturnsavehicletooaggressivelyatahighspeedorwithatightturningradius.Theforceinamultiple-vehiclecrashcanalsocauseavehicletorollover.

Are rollovers more common for SUVs than for other vehicles?

Yes,rolloversaremuchmorecommonforSUVsandpickupsthanforcars,andmorecommonforSUVsthanforpickups.Nationally,in2008,58percentofoccupantskilledincrasheswereinvehiclesthatrolledover.Incomparison,47percentofdeathsinpickupsand25percentofdeathsincarswereinrollovers.What is being done on a national level to reduce the occurrence of rollovers?

Manufacturersarecreatingmorestablevehicledesigns.Thestaticstabilityfactor(SSF),ameasurementofthevehicle’sgeometricalabilitytoresistrollover,increasedanaverageof6percentfornewSUVsbetween1998and2003,afterremain-ingconstantfor20years.SSFiscalculatedbydividinghalfofavehicle’strackwidthbyitscenterofgravityheight.Widervehicleswithcentersofgravityclosertothegroundtendtobemorestable.ElectronicStabilityControl(ESC)alsohasbecomemorecommon.Thistechnologyhelpspreventthesidewaysskiddingandlossofcontrolthatcanleadtoroll-overs.

What is Electronic Stability Control and how does it prevent rollover crashes?

ElectronicStabilityControlisavehiclecontrolsystemcom-prisedofsensors,brakes,enginecontrolmodules,andami-crocomputerthatcontinuouslymonitorshowwellavehiclerespondstoadriver’ssteeringinput.Thecomputercom-paresadriver’scommandstotheactualtravelofthevehicle.

Executive Summary (continued) Whenthesensorsindicatethevehicleisleavingtheintendedlineoftravel,ESCappliesthebrakepressureneededateachwheeltobringthevehiclebackontrack.Insomecases,ESCalsoreducesenginespeed.ESChasbeenfoundtoreducesingle-vehiclefatalcrashinvolvementriskby51percentandcouldreducetheriskofrollingoverby75percentforSUVsandby72percentforcars,accordingtotheInsuranceInsti-tuteforHighwaySafety.

Are Electronic Stability Control Systems widely available?

Yes,thepercentageofnewpassengervehiclemodelswithstandardESChasincreasedfrom9percentinthe2000modelyearto85percentinthe2010modelyear.NHTSAhasissuedastandardrequiringallpassengervehiclestobeequippedwithESCbythe2012modelyear.

What can be done to reduce the fatalities and the severity of injuries when rollovers occur?

Seatbeltuseisoneofthemosteffectivewaystoreducetheriskofinjuryordeathinarollover.InFlorida,65percentofdriverskilledinpassengervehiclerollovercrashesin2009werenotwearingseatbeltsand68percentofpassengerskilledwerenotwearingseatbelts.

Who are our rollover fatalities?

nIn2009,fatalitiesofdriversunderage20accountfor7.2percentofalldrivers’fatalities.nThelargestcategoryoffatalitiesduetorolloverswasdriversintheagegroupof25to34,whichaccountedfor27percent.nJustover7percentofrolloverfatalitieswereofdrivers’thatwereage65andolder.nMalesaccountedforjustover76percentofdriverskilledinrollovercrashesor84malesandjustover52percentofthepassengerskilled,or33,weremales.

What types of roadways are involved in rollover fatal crashes?

nThirty-sevenpercentoffatalrollovercrashesoccurredonfour-laneroadways.nThirty-sixpercentoccurredontwo-laneroadways.nFifteenpercentoccurredonsix-laneroadways.

Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Traffic Safety Facts: January 2011 • Rollover Crashes 5

What day of the week is the most deadly for rollover fatal crashes?

nSaturdayisthemostdeadlydayforrolloverfatalcrasheswith23percentoccurringonthisday.nSundaywasthesecondmostdeadlydayforrolloverfatalcrasheswith21percentoccurringonthisday,followedbyMondaywith16percent.

What month of the year is the most deadly for rollover fatal crashes?

nMaywasthemostdeadlymonthforfatalcrashesthatwereclassifiedasrollovers.Therewere22fatalcrashesor12percent.nMarchandJunebothaccountedfor10percentoffatalcrasheswith19fatalrollovercrasheseach.

Do rollover fatal crashes occur more during the day or at night?

nDaylighthoursaccountfor43percentoffatalrollovercrashes.nDarknesswithnostreetlightsaccountfor28percentoffatalrollovercrashes.nTwenty-fivepercentoffatalrollovercrashesoccurreddur-ingeveninghourswithstreetlightpresent.

Are there other factors that contribute to rollover crashes in Florida?

Rolloverscrashesoccurinamultitudeofways.Thetypeofvehicleplaysapartinarollovercrash,asdoesspeed,distrac-tions,androadandenvironmentalconditions.

What counties in Florida have the highest number of rollover fatalities?

Sixcountiesaccountedfor80(46%)ofthe174rolloverfatalitiesin2009.TheyarePolk(18),Broward(17),Duval(13),Volusia(11),Miami-Dade(11),andPalmBeach(10).

Over the last five years, are rollover fatalities increasing or decreasing?

Between2005and2009,2,230peoplehavediedinrollovercrashesonFloridahighwayswiththeyear2005havingthegreatestnumberwith656fatalities.Overthelastfiveyears,Florida’spopulationhasincreasedby5.2percent,however,rolloverfatalitieshavedecreasedsignificantlyby73.5per-cent.In2009,6.8percentofalltrafficfatalitieswererolloverforatotalof174driversandtheirpassengerskilled.

Why have rollover fatalities gone down in Florida over the last five years?

Thereisnoclearanswerwhyrollovercrasheshavegonedown.However,theeconomicdownturnlikelyaccountedforsomeoftherecentdeclineinrolloverfatalities,theElectronicStabilityControlSystemshavemadevehicleslesslikelytorollover,andthepassingoftheprimaryseatbeltlawinFloridaeffectiveJuly1,2009.Thedecliningtrendsarealsoatesta-menttotheemphasisthatlawenforcementagencies,safetyadvocatesandbusinesseshaveplacedonsavinglivesonourroadways.

Executive Summary (continued)

Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Traffic Safety Facts: January 2011 • Rollover Crashes 6

Duringthelastfiveyears,2,230personshavediedinrollovercrashesonFloridahighwaysandanadditional56,390havebeeninjured.Rolloverfatalitieshavedecreased73.5percent

FloridaPopulation Fatalities Injuries Year # %Change # %Change # %Change 2005 17,872,296 656 12,306 2006 18,349,132 2.6 614 -6.4 12,738 3.5 2007 18,680,367 4.5 548 -10.7 12,100 -5.0 2008 18,807,219 5.2 238 -56.6 9,826 -18.8 2009 18,818,998 5.2 174 -26.9 9,420 -4.1

Five-Year History (2005-2009)

Cumulative Percentage Change Since 2005

overthelastfiveyearsasthestate’spopulationhasincreased5.2percent.Inaddition,rolloverinjurieshavedecreased23.4percentoverthesamefive-yearperiod.

Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Traffic Safety Facts: January 2011 • Rollover Crashes 7

RolloverDrivers/Passengers-UsingSeatBelts:FatalitiesandInjuries:Between2005and2009,rolloverfatalitiesusingseatbeltshavedecreasedslightly.Year2005hadthehighestnumberoffatalities(150)and2009hadthelowest

Rollover Injuries With Seat Belts On (2005 - 2009)

Rollover Fatalities With Seat Belts On (2005 - 2009)

with43fatalities.Duringthissametime-period,theinjurieshavedecreasedwith2006havingthehighestnumberofinjuries,(9,211)and2009havingthelowest(7,209).

Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Traffic Safety Facts: January 2011 • Rollover Crashes 8

Rollover Drivers/Passengers-Using Seat Belts: Fatality and Injury Rates:Between2005and2009,therolloverfatalityratehasde-creased0.84per100,000populationin2005,to0.23fatali-

Fatalities Injuries Year Population # Rate # Rate 2005 17,872,296 150 0.84 8,850 4.95 2006 18,349,132 126 0.69 9,211 5.01 2007 18,680,367 113 0.60 8,894 4.76 2008 18,807,219 68 0.36 7,369 3.91 2009 18,818,998 43 0.23 7,209 3.83

tiesper100,000populationin2009.Duringthissametime,rolloverinjuryratehasdecreased4.95injuriesper100,000populationin2005to3.83injuriesper100,000populationin2009.

Rollover Fatality Rate With Seat Belts On (per 100,000 Population)

Rollover Injury Rate With Seat Belts On (per 100,000 Population)

Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Traffic Safety Facts: January 2011 • Rollover Crashes 9

Rollover Driver Characteristics

*Unknownsarenotincludedin%of5Yr.Total.

Rollover Crashes by Gender in 2009

n5,222maleand2,857femaledriverswereinvolvedinroll-overcrashes.n2,762maleand2,130femalepassengerswereinvolvedinrollovercrashes.n84maleand27femaledriverswerekilledinrollovercrashes.

PedestrianFatalitiesbyAgeGroup AgeGroup Year %of 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 5Yr.Total 15-20 54 66 62 17 8 14% 21-24 61 76 49 25 16 15% 25-34 84 66 79 38 30 20% 35-44 75 84 64 29 21 18% 45-54 66 62 54 25 14 15% 55-64 38 31 43 14 14 9% 65-74 19 14 12 4 7 4% 75-84 11 12 5 4 1 2% 85-89 1 1 1 1 0 1% 90+ 1 0 2 0 0 1% Unknown 2 3 7 1 0 *

n33maleand30femalepassengerswerekilledinrollovercrashes.n3,611maleand2,282femaledriverswereinjuredinroll-overcrashes.n1,891maleand1,600femalepassengerswereinjuredinrollovercrashes

Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Traffic Safety Facts: January 2011 • Rollover Crashes 10

UsingSeatbelt NotUsingSeatbelt Year Drivers Passengers Total Drivers Passengers Total 2005 98 52 150 289 180 469 2006 94 32 126 298 160 458 2007 80 33 113 282 130 412 2008 50 18 68 96 60 156 2009 30 13 43 72 43 115

UsingSeatbelt NotUsingSeatbelt Year Drivers Passengers Total Drivers Passengers Total 2005 6,065 2,785 8,850 1,476 1,545 3,021 2006 6,132 3,079 9,211 1,565 1,509 3,074 2007 6,053 2,841 8,894 1,451 1,313 2,764 2008 5,068 2,301 7,369 1,102 985 2,087 2009 4,845 2,364 7,209 942 908 1,850

Rollover Safety Equipment

Comparative Safety Equipment Use by Drivers and Their Passengers – Rollover Fatalities

In2009,ofthe9,059rolloverdriver/passengerinjuries,7,209(80%)wereusingaseatbelt,1,850(20%)werenotusingaseatbelt.

Comparative Safety Equipment Use by Drivers and Their Passengers – Rollover Injuries

In2009,Floridaexperienced158deathsofdriversandpas-sengersinseatbelt-equippedvehicles.Ofthosedeaths,43

(27%)wereusingseatbelts,and115(73%)werenotusingaseatbelt.

Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Traffic Safety Facts: January 2011 • Rollover Crashes 11

Lighting ConditionForty-threepercentoffatalrollovercrashesoccurredduringthedaylighthours.

Day of Fatal CrashesForty-fivepercentoffatalrollovercrashesoccurredonSaturdayandSunday.

Month of FatalitiesMarchhadthehighestnumberoffatalitieswith15or14percent.Junehad12fatalitiesor11percentofthetotalduetorollovercrashes.

Number of Roadway LanesThirty-sevenpercentoffatalrollovercrashesoccurredonfour-laneroadwaysand36percentoccurredontwo-laneroadways.

LightCondition Dawn Daylight Dusk Dark Dark Unknown Total (StreetLight) (NoLight)

Fatal 5 80 2 47 52 0 186 Crashes %ofTotal 3% 43% 1% 25% 28% 0

DaysofWeek Mon. Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat. Sun. Total Fatal 30 23 14 17 20 42 40 186 Crashes %ofTotal 16% 12% 7% 9% 11% 23% 22%

MonthsofYear J F M A M J J A S O N D Total Fatalities 11 11 15 11 9 12 6 5 8 5 8 10 111 %ofTotal 10% 10% 14% 10% 8% 11% 5% 4% 7% 4% 7% 9%

#ofRoadwayLane 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+ Total Fatal 7 68 3 69 2 29 0 8 186 Crashes %ofTotal 4% 36% 2% 37% 1% 16% 0 4%

Rollover Crash Characteristics:

Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Traffic Safety Facts: January 2011 • Rollover Crashes 12

Sixcountiesaccountedfor80,oralittleunderone-half(46%)ofthe174rolloverfatalitiesin2009.TheyareBroward(17),

COUNTY 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 COUNTY 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 ALACHUA 12 9 7 5 0 LEE 31 19 15 11 5 BAKER 3 4 1 1 0 LEON 7 7 2 2 1 BAY 6 5 3 5 1 LEVY 10 2 5 1 0 BRADFORD 1 2 2 0 1 LIBERTY 1 3 2 1 0 BREVARD 17 16 21 5 2 MADISON 6 5 11 0 0 BROWARD 33 38 13 19 17 MANATEE 9 13 8 3 3 CALHOUN 2 1 3 0 0 MARION 20 18 8 1 0 CHARLOTTE 8 10 9 2 3 MARTIN 9 9 9 1 2 CITRUS 2 8 4 1 2 MIAMI-DADE 35 30 34 13 11 CLAY 4 3 8 0 3 MONROE 3 2 0 0 0 COLLIER 18 18 21 3 9 NASSAU 3 3 9 5 1 COLUMBIA 13 6 8 4 3 OKALOOSA 11 3 5 3 0 DESOTO 3 4 4 1 0 OKEECHOBEE 7 4 3 1 1 DIXIE 5 4 2 0 0 ORANGE 27 22 15 10 9 DUVAL 30 23 21 12 13 OSCEOLA 16 14 8 4 9 ESCAMBIA 4 7 14 4 0 PALMBEACH 27 33 34 39 10 FLAGLER 6 9 4 2 0 PASCO 11 17 10 4 3 FRANKLIN 0 1 1 0 0 PINELLAS 5 13 11 4 4 GADSDEN 13 9 4 1 0 POLK 17 28 23 11 18 GILCHRIST 2 0 2 0 0 PUTNAM 5 7 4 0 1 GLADES 3 2 1 8 2 ST.JOHNS 11 3 9 3 1 GULF 0 0 2 1 0 ST.LUCIE 13 14 14 1 3 HAMILTON 0 1 2 1 1 SANTAROSA 3 6 5 0 0 HARDEE 4 0 0 1 0 SARASOTA 10 11 9 2 3 HENDRY 9 11 6 1 1 SEMINOLE 6 7 11 4 0 HERNANDO 8 6 7 4 3 SUMTER 9 10 9 1 3 HIGHLANDS 9 6 4 0 0 SUWANNEE 11 9 9 1 2 HILLSBOROUGH 40 28 24 14 9 TAYLOR 2 0 4 0 0 HOLMES 0 2 1 1 0 UNION 1 2 0 0 0 INDIANRIVER 9 7 10 1 0 VOLUSIA 16 22 28 5 11 JACKSON 6 9 5 1 3 WAKULLA 1 0 1 1 0 JEFFERSON 4 3 2 0 0 WALTON 11 6 3 2 0 LAFAYETTE 1 0 0 0 0 WASHINGTON 5 7 1 1 0 LAKE 22 13 13 5 0 STATEWIDE 656 614 548 238 174

Rollover Fatalities by CountyDuval(13),Miami-Dade(11),PalmBeach(10),Polk(18),andVolusia(11).

Five-Year Pedestrian Fatality History By County (Florida, 2005-2009)

Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Traffic Safety Facts: January 2011 • Rollover Crashes 13

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 %5-Yr Change Fatalities: MotorVehicle 3,533 3,365 3,221 2,983 2,563 -27% Rollover 656 614 548 238 174 -73% Injuries: MotorVehicle 233,930 214,914 212,149 199,658 197,214 -16%Rollover 12,306 12,738 12,100 9,826 9,420 -23% Crashes: MotorVehicle 268,605 256,200 256,206 243,342 235,778 -12% Rollover 11,112 11,432 11,033 9,097 8,334 -25% RoadwayMiles: AllPublic 120,556 121,995 121,526 121,386 121,446 1% (Centerline)StateSystem 12,040 12,067 12,062 12,084 12,088 0.4% (Centerline)StateSystem 41,473 41,916 42,082 42,432 42,633 3% (Lane) LicensedDrivers: 15,272,680 15,491,878 15,579,603 15,556,658 15,553,387 2% Vehicle 15,062,993 15,612,161 14,858,332 15,966,287 14,983,437 -1%Registrations VehicleMiles 200,974 203,783 205,421 198,494 196,402 -2%Traveled(millions)

Population 17,872,296 18,349,132 18,680,367 18,807,219 18,818,998 5% Tourists 83,600,000 83,900,000 84,500,000 84,200,000 80,900,000 -3%

Florida Five-Year Trend Data