Brandy Baker / The Detroit News
Penny Shipler waits for a city bus to take her to the bank, a journey that takes her six hours. Shipler and her son get by on about $800 a month in Social Security and disability checks as GM appeals an $18.6 million award she won.
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Sunday, April 11
Thousands killed, hurt as auto roofs collapse
Penny Shipler remembers the Chevrolet Blazer rolling over and over, then the sound of the roof crashing down over her head. 04/11/04
Safety test ignores real-life conditions
WASHINGTON -- In an age of computer-aided design, high-tech crash tests and multimillion-dollar dummies, the test the federal government uses to assess roof strength is a relic of an earlier era. 04/11/04
Ex-GM executive turns courtroom crusader
LOS ANGELES -- At a time when most people would be contemplating retirement, Don Friedman launched a new career: convincing the world that General Motors Corp. was misleading the public about the dangers of collapsing roofs in rollover crashes. 04/11/04
Monday, April 12
Seat belts not enough to save lives in rollovers
LINCOLN, Neb. -- He was cruising over a slight rise on Highway 33 when Clyde "Ray" Noyes saw a car stopped up ahead, waiting to turn into a farmhouse driveway. 04/12/04
Lawsuits target Ford SuperCab roof
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- Ford Motor Co. has settled a number of lawsuits challenging the strength of the roof in its F-Series SuperCab pickup. 04/12/04
European vehicles exceed standard for U.S. car roofs
WASHINGTON -- To demonstrate how well its XC-90 sport utility vehicle would hold up in a rollover crash, the Swedish automaker Volvo invited reporters to a demonstration in the spring of 2002. 04/12/04
Brandy Baker / The Detroit News
The government has its say, John Hess says, and the auto industry has its say. "It seems like people like me have nothing to say about all of this," says Hess, who was paralyzed when the Ford F-150 he was riding in rolled.
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Tuesday, April 13
Feds, Big Three gird for roof showdown
WASHINGTON -- After years of debate and thousands of lives lost, a showdown is looming over the U.S. government's safety standard for vehicle roofs. 04/13/04
Divergent data muddle debate
WASHINGTON -- As it prepares to seek tougher roof-strength standards, the federal government is searching for answers in a sea of divergent research. 04/13/04
Couple wage Web fight for new roof test
CHILDRESS, Texas -- Their home is a speck on the landscape, a little house lost among the vast cattle ranches and cotton fields of the Texas panhandle. 04/13/04
Options exist for stronger roofs
WASHINGTON -- Building stronger vehicle roofs is relatively simple by auto industry standards, and the technology to do it has been available for decades, engineers say. 04/13/04
What they said: Reaction
04/13/04
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About this series
Sunday, April 11: A Detroit News examination found that automakers have fought to preserve a 33-year-old federal safety standard for roof strength despite critics who say the law is woefully inadequate at saving lives.
Monday, April 12: Clyde "Ray" Noyes was killed when a split-second traffic manuever led to a rollover accident. His death is an example of how even seat-belted motorists can die when their vehicle roof crushes around them.
Tuesday, April 13: Federal regulators plan to propose stiffer roof standards later this year, setting up a battle in Washington among automakers, safety advocates and political officials.
Online Extras
Types of rollovers from the NHTSA
Tripped rollovers
NHTSA data show that 95% of single-vehicle rollovers are tripped. This happens when a vehicle leaves the roadway and slides sideways, digging its tires into soft soil or striking an object such as a curb or guardrail. The high tripping force applied to the tires in these situations can cause the vehicle to roll over.
One of the best ways to avoid a rollover, therefore, is to stay on the road. Electronic Stability Control is a promising new technology that will help drivers stay on the road in emergency situations.
Un-tripped rollovers
Un-tripped rollovers are less common than tripped rollovers, occurring less than 5% of the time, and mostly to top-heavy vehicles. Instead of an object serving as a tripping mechanism, un-tripped rollovers usually occur during high-speed collision avoidance maneuvers.
 Request for comments
A request, by the NHTSA, for comments from the public to assist in upgrading the Roof Crush Resistance standard.
Comments
A downloadable PDF file of comments by Public Citizen, a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization.
Special Reports Archive
Read more special reports by The Detroit News
© Copyright 2004 The Detroit News.
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