Tire Trips

This was shared with me by an officer: What happened to Amanda is called a "tire trip." "Trips" can happen with curbs, holes, a soft shoulder, etc. Amanda had a deep hole in a soft shoulder on a crumbling road edge. I learned there have been several wrecks in the same spot. Roll overs can happen at 35 mph & sometimes less depending on circumstances. Govt studies have estimated that 95 percent of single vehicle rollovers are not due to steering, but are due to "trips." Vans, trucks, & SUVs are more susceptible to "trips" due to their center of gravity. Tire grip can actually work against you in this situation. (Grip can create a sideways force that builds up excessively and helps the tip.) I have never heard of any of this. I am sharing not to scare you, but to make you aware so you can teach your family. When I asked what could Amanda have done differently, the officer told me nothing except hold on and have a good vehicle with a strong roof rating. He said there are some issues with some vehicles, so check to see how your vehicle's "roof crush" test ranked.

Amanda's back tire went into a deep hole on the edge of the road when the road crumbled. This is the "dip" she felt. This pulled her off the road at 45 mph inside a very heavy object with a high center of gravity. Imagine what it takes to stop a truck at 45 mph once it is off the pavement.

We know for certain Amanda was not speeding because we track her phone through GPS due to the severe sleepwalking. Seeing the results of running off the road at an unbraked 45 mph has shaken me. I don't think I had given it enough thought to realize what would happen at that "safe speed." 

I also erroneously assumed that a back road was safer than a highway. I was informed that the highways have more safety features not present on the back roads. Most roll overs happen on back roads because there aren't guardrails near bad ditches and the roads are narrower so you encounter the "trips" more often.