Monday’s pickup truck rollover accident that snarled traffic near the Mercury Boulevard interchange on eastbound 1-64 in the Hampton, Virginia (VA), area had about the best outcome one could wish. The as-yet-unidentified driver suffered only minor injuries, according to the Daily Press.
The bad news, of course, is that the truck rolled over, seriously threatening the life of the driver and those of the people in all the other cars and tractor-trailers then on the interstate heading into Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Pickups are particularly prone to turning on their sides and tops, but pickups are not well-designed to protect drivers and passengers when they tip or flip.
A safety expert quoted in a November 2007 Forbes magazine article titled "Top 20 Most Dangerous Vehicles" explained that pickups become unstable more easily than other types of vehicle. According to the individual, "Pickups have a rollover problem. They have a high center of gravity and a high propensity to roll over. (Also,) they’re the laggards in electronic-stability control."
What this means is that when pickups enter curves at high speed without well-packed loads in their beds — as they do every day on I-64 — they can easily come off their wheels.
When pickup trucks do tip or flip, their roofs often shear off or crush in completely. Consumer Reports published a detailed review of federal regulations for roof strength in August 2009. Conclusions drawn in the article are that standards are far too low to ensure roof integrity during a rollover accident and that proposed additions to the standards would make it more difficult to hold truck makers liable for roof failures during accidents.
I fully support efforts to strengthen pickup truck roofs. Such progress can not come at the price of increasing liability protections for companies do not take every effort to make safe products.
About the Editors: The Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm, whose attorneys work out of offices in Virginia (VA) and North Carolina (NC), edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as pro bono services.
EJL
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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