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While there are merits to the safety benefits from riding in a taller, heavier vehicle, there are disadvantages as well. According to safety evaluations from NHTSA, the 2012 Chevrolet Suburban suffered a rollover during a side-impact crash test.
Simulating a passenger car striking the driver’s side at 38 miles an hour, the inertia caused the Suburban to land on its side. Along with the Ford Escape and the Nissan Rogue, the Suburban is the third current-model SUV to tip over during the side-impact test. In typical cases, vehicles should only skid on all four wheels.
From plugging in parameters into a mathematical formula, the NHTSA projects that the Chevrolet Suburban has a 24 percent risk of rolling over in a single accident. Neither GM or NHTSA has responded to requests for comment on the crash tests. Moreover, other than the rollover concern, the Suburban earns top scores in both frontal and side impact crash safety for occupants. However, the overall rating was only dropped to four out of five stars because of the mentioned rollover calculations.
GALLERY: 2012 Chevrolet Suburban Side-Impact Crash Test
[Source: The Examiner]
