SUV Safety Ratings Improve

Bob Orr: But Still More Likely To Rollover Than Cars

(CBS)  Rollovers are among the most violent and deadly crashes. More than 10,000 people a year die in just this kind of accident.

And if you drive a sport utility vehicle, rather than a regular car, you face a higher risk of rollover, reports CBS News Correspondent Bob Orr.

"If you stack up the best SUV today, versus the best passenger car, that SUV will rollover twice as often as the best passenger car," said Clarence Ditlow of the Center for Auto Safety.

"Even the new safer SUV?" asked Orr.

"Even the new safer SUV," Ditlow replied.

But, SUVs are improving.

New government ratings show 2005 sport utility vehicles are significantly more stable than they were just three years ago.

While no SUV earned the government's safest 5-star rollover rating, 24 models got four stars including the popular Jeep Grand Cherokee 4x4, Toyota Highlander, Subaru Outback, Honda CRV and Acura MDX.

"Three years ago we only had one SUV rated four stars for rollover," said Jeffrey Runge of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Runge, the nation's top auto regulator, credits better designs. More SUVs, like the Chrysler Pacifica, are being built lower to the ground. And increasingly vehicles, including SUVS, are being outfitted with stability control systems, making them less likely to tip.

But Runge says publishing rollover ratings has also pressured automakers to make safety changes.

"Consumers have to have the information and when they have the information and act on the information then manufacturers will respond and the market works," he said.

Still, more than 40 SUV models earned only three stars including: the Chevy Avalanche, the Toyota 4-Runner, Nissan Pathfinder, and Ford Escape. And one SUV -- the Ford Explorer Sport Track -- got two stars.

"We're making progress, but we're not making enough progress and we still haven't made an SUV that is as rollover resistant as a passenger car," said Ditlow.

The improved rollover ratings only relate to new cars. Millions of less stable, older model SUVs are still on the road. And experts warn, if you are driving one of those, you face a 40 percent chance of rolling over in a single vehicle accident.