Tanks in the Streets: Suvs, Design Defects, and Ultrahazrardous Strict Liability

Sport Utility Vehicles, or “SUVs”, are among the most dangerous products ever placed in the hands of American consumers.1 These vehicles have been killing their drivers and passengers in rollover crashes for years.2 However, there is a growing awareness of the lethal injuries and catastrophic damage that SUVs cause to other vehicles and their occupants.3 When an SUV crashes into a passenger car, the occupants of the car are much more likely to be killed than the occupants of the SUV.4 This is due to the particular design of SUVs. SUVs ride higher than cars, with bumpers and frame rails that ride up over a car’s frame in a collision, bypassing the car’s built-in energy-absorbing protections.5 SUVs also have stiffer frames than passenger cars, allowing the SUV to transfer crash energy to the car instead of sharing the energy equally.6 In addition, the sheer mass of SUVs, particularly the latest “behemoth” SUVs such as the Hummer and the new