Modified trucks pose road risk: Suspension, wheel changes can lead to accident
04-18-2004, 04:15 AM
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Modified trucks pose road risk: Suspension, wheel changes can lead to accident
Modified trucks pose road risk
Study: Suspension, wheel changes can lead to accident
By Jeff Plungis / Detroit News Washington Bureau
Jack Smith / Special to The Detroit News
WASHINGTON — When the Dodge Ram struck the side of Julie Bonilla’s Mercedes 190E sedan, there was little to stop it.
Because it was modified with a raised suspension and oversize wheels, the pickup didn’t strike the section of the luxury sedan’s doors designed to absorb crash forces. Instead, the Ram’s front end punched through the car’s side window, striking Bonilla’s head.
Bonilla, 45, suffered brain damage in the December 1999 accident in Escondido, Calif., losing memories of most of her adult life, including her marriage and her son Dauson’s childhood. She can barely use the left side of her body.
The accident highlights growing safety concerns about the popular practice of modifying everyday pickups to monster truck proportions. A new study to be released today shows that trucks with raised suspensions and oversize tires roll over more easily and don’t brake as well as standard trucks.
The report by the nonprofit American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators shows that other motorists can be at severe risk in collisions with modified trucks, which can ride over and even crush a car.
“Our law enforcement people see the crashes,” said Lori Cohen, program director at the association. “The (modified trucks) can’t steer as well. They don’t brake as well.”
Federal and state safety regulators don’t collect injury and fatality statistics on modified vehicles, but law enforcement officials have reported a troubling pattern.
“When (raised trucks) encounter other vehicles, it’s just devastating,” said Dave McAllister, manager of Virginia’s state crash investigation team.
McAllister has done in-depth studies of dozens of crashes involving modified pickups. He participated in a two-year study by the state of Virginia that concluded the fatality rates of accidents involving raised trucks were higher than any other vehicle class — including motorcycles, mopeds and small cars — McAllister said.
“Crashes that looked like they should be minor collisions turned into fatalities,” he said.
Safety advocates say the modified trucks raise even more safety concerns about pickups and SUVs, which are already more prone to roll over than other vehicles.
“This is off-road equipment,” said Tom Stickel, an attorney representing Bonilla in a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the lift kit used to modify the Dodge Ram. “It’s when they’re used on the road they become a problem.”
The number of light trucks on the road today is not available. Few state motor vehicle departments keep track of modified vehicles. Federal crash statistics do not note whether vehicles have been modified. Insurers don’t know, either — owners typically make the alterations after their policies have been written.
But the market appears to be growing. According to the Specialty Equipment Market Association, an industry group of companies that sells after-market automotive parts, sales of off-road products rose from $764 million in 1999 to $954 million in 2003. This includes truck lift kits and accessories.
The AAMVA study showed that a test vehicle, a 1992 Ford F-150 pickup, was more prone to roll over if it was modified with a raised suspension, lifted body and larger tires. Researchers calculated the center of gravity for the modified trucks, using a scale developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It has said vehicles with higher centers of gravity tend to roll over more easily.
An unmodified F-150 pickup tested received a four-star rating on NHTSA’s five-star scale. The same vehicle modified with a body lifted 3 inches, a suspension 4 inches higher and 38-inch tires received one star.
American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators also conducted braking tests. Trucks with oversize tires lost 20 percent to 25 percent of their braking performance, raising concerns about the ability of drivers to avoid a crash. The researchers concluded the tires, not the raised suspensions or bodies, were to blame for the poor braking performance.
“This is a burning issue at department of motor vehicle offices around the country,” said Peter Kissinger, president and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. “There are a lot of uncertainties when you start making major modifications in the after-market without the benefit of any engineering analyses.”
The motor vehicle department administrators want NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board to formally study the impact of raised pickups and SUVs on highway safety. They also are pushing for states to beef up inspections of modified trucks, enact tougher rules on tire sizes and conduct a thorough analysis of crash data between 1997 and 2003.
Steve McDonald, senior director of government affairs at the Specialty Equipment Market Association, said there were problems with the way the AAMVA conducted its tests.
For example, he said, the modified truck in the tests had a raised suspension and body, but a typical pickup owner also would beef up the brakes and sway bars and might opt for wider wheels, all of which would improve performance.
Individual states set their own regulations about what motorists can do to modify their pickups or SUVs. There are no federal rules.
In Michigan, trucks weighing less than 4,500 pounds can be raised until their bumpers are 26 inches off the ground. Trucks between 4,500 pounds and 7,500 pounds have a 28-inch limit. The frame can’t be higher than 24 inches above the ground.
New Jersey is the only state to require inspections for modified pickups. New Jersey estimates 11,000 raised trucks are on the roads in the state.
Tom Wright, director of driver and vehicle testing for the New Jersey Department of Motor Vehicles, said not enough drivers are doing all of the modifications they need to do, including alignment, correcting the steering and extending brake lines. State inspections show serious problems, such as cracks in the truck’s frames, are common, Wright said.
“The people who put kits on these trucks aren’t taking them off road,” Wright said. “It’s mainly for appearance.”
Andy Barbieri, national sales manager for Skyjacker Suspensions, a West Monroe, La., manufacturer of lift kits, shock absorbers and steering stabilizers, said safety advocates are exaggerating the problem.
“We all want to make sure the vehicles on the road are safe,” Barbieri said. “But if you look at the millions of vehicles sold a year, we’re a very small percentage.”
Modified trucks were the subjects of an intensive inquiry after a violent October 1997 collision between a Buick Regal sedan and a raised Chevy pickup in Peterborough, Ontario. The coroner convened an inquest into the driver’s death. The inquest used a jury, which was sworn in to examine the death and make useful and practical recommendations.
The jury concluded high-rise vehicles are inherently unsafe and pose a danger to other motorists.
You can reach Jeff Plungis at (202) 906-8204 or jplungis@detnews.com.
Collision pics: http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosins...a01-126039.htm
Study: Suspension, wheel changes can lead to accident
By Jeff Plungis / Detroit News Washington Bureau
Jack Smith / Special to The Detroit News
WASHINGTON — When the Dodge Ram struck the side of Julie Bonilla’s Mercedes 190E sedan, there was little to stop it.
Because it was modified with a raised suspension and oversize wheels, the pickup didn’t strike the section of the luxury sedan’s doors designed to absorb crash forces. Instead, the Ram’s front end punched through the car’s side window, striking Bonilla’s head.
Bonilla, 45, suffered brain damage in the December 1999 accident in Escondido, Calif., losing memories of most of her adult life, including her marriage and her son Dauson’s childhood. She can barely use the left side of her body.
The accident highlights growing safety concerns about the popular practice of modifying everyday pickups to monster truck proportions. A new study to be released today shows that trucks with raised suspensions and oversize tires roll over more easily and don’t brake as well as standard trucks.
The report by the nonprofit American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators shows that other motorists can be at severe risk in collisions with modified trucks, which can ride over and even crush a car.
“Our law enforcement people see the crashes,” said Lori Cohen, program director at the association. “The (modified trucks) can’t steer as well. They don’t brake as well.”
Federal and state safety regulators don’t collect injury and fatality statistics on modified vehicles, but law enforcement officials have reported a troubling pattern.
“When (raised trucks) encounter other vehicles, it’s just devastating,” said Dave McAllister, manager of Virginia’s state crash investigation team.
McAllister has done in-depth studies of dozens of crashes involving modified pickups. He participated in a two-year study by the state of Virginia that concluded the fatality rates of accidents involving raised trucks were higher than any other vehicle class — including motorcycles, mopeds and small cars — McAllister said.
“Crashes that looked like they should be minor collisions turned into fatalities,” he said.
Safety advocates say the modified trucks raise even more safety concerns about pickups and SUVs, which are already more prone to roll over than other vehicles.
“This is off-road equipment,” said Tom Stickel, an attorney representing Bonilla in a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the lift kit used to modify the Dodge Ram. “It’s when they’re used on the road they become a problem.”
The number of light trucks on the road today is not available. Few state motor vehicle departments keep track of modified vehicles. Federal crash statistics do not note whether vehicles have been modified. Insurers don’t know, either — owners typically make the alterations after their policies have been written.
But the market appears to be growing. According to the Specialty Equipment Market Association, an industry group of companies that sells after-market automotive parts, sales of off-road products rose from $764 million in 1999 to $954 million in 2003. This includes truck lift kits and accessories.
The AAMVA study showed that a test vehicle, a 1992 Ford F-150 pickup, was more prone to roll over if it was modified with a raised suspension, lifted body and larger tires. Researchers calculated the center of gravity for the modified trucks, using a scale developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It has said vehicles with higher centers of gravity tend to roll over more easily.
An unmodified F-150 pickup tested received a four-star rating on NHTSA’s five-star scale. The same vehicle modified with a body lifted 3 inches, a suspension 4 inches higher and 38-inch tires received one star.
American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators also conducted braking tests. Trucks with oversize tires lost 20 percent to 25 percent of their braking performance, raising concerns about the ability of drivers to avoid a crash. The researchers concluded the tires, not the raised suspensions or bodies, were to blame for the poor braking performance.
“This is a burning issue at department of motor vehicle offices around the country,” said Peter Kissinger, president and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. “There are a lot of uncertainties when you start making major modifications in the after-market without the benefit of any engineering analyses.”
The motor vehicle department administrators want NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board to formally study the impact of raised pickups and SUVs on highway safety. They also are pushing for states to beef up inspections of modified trucks, enact tougher rules on tire sizes and conduct a thorough analysis of crash data between 1997 and 2003.
Steve McDonald, senior director of government affairs at the Specialty Equipment Market Association, said there were problems with the way the AAMVA conducted its tests.
For example, he said, the modified truck in the tests had a raised suspension and body, but a typical pickup owner also would beef up the brakes and sway bars and might opt for wider wheels, all of which would improve performance.
Individual states set their own regulations about what motorists can do to modify their pickups or SUVs. There are no federal rules.
In Michigan, trucks weighing less than 4,500 pounds can be raised until their bumpers are 26 inches off the ground. Trucks between 4,500 pounds and 7,500 pounds have a 28-inch limit. The frame can’t be higher than 24 inches above the ground.
New Jersey is the only state to require inspections for modified pickups. New Jersey estimates 11,000 raised trucks are on the roads in the state.
Tom Wright, director of driver and vehicle testing for the New Jersey Department of Motor Vehicles, said not enough drivers are doing all of the modifications they need to do, including alignment, correcting the steering and extending brake lines. State inspections show serious problems, such as cracks in the truck’s frames, are common, Wright said.
“The people who put kits on these trucks aren’t taking them off road,” Wright said. “It’s mainly for appearance.”
Andy Barbieri, national sales manager for Skyjacker Suspensions, a West Monroe, La., manufacturer of lift kits, shock absorbers and steering stabilizers, said safety advocates are exaggerating the problem.
“We all want to make sure the vehicles on the road are safe,” Barbieri said. “But if you look at the millions of vehicles sold a year, we’re a very small percentage.”
Modified trucks were the subjects of an intensive inquiry after a violent October 1997 collision between a Buick Regal sedan and a raised Chevy pickup in Peterborough, Ontario. The coroner convened an inquest into the driver’s death. The inquest used a jury, which was sworn in to examine the death and make useful and practical recommendations.
The jury concluded high-rise vehicles are inherently unsafe and pose a danger to other motorists.
You can reach Jeff Plungis at (202) 906-8204 or jplungis@detnews.com.
Collision pics: http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosins...a01-126039.htm
04-18-2004, 09:14 AM
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anyone who is interested in this sort of stuff should read "High and Mighty" the worlds most dangerous vehicles and how they got that way. by keith bradsher. I am about half way through it, it talked about all of the loops hole available for trucks and suvs, and how dangerous it is to every car on the road.
04-18-2004, 03:57 PM
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“This is off-road equipment,” said Tom Stickel, an attorney representing Bonilla in a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the lift kit used to modify the Dodge Ram. “It’s when they’re used on the road they become a problem.”
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