3 SUVs Tip Over in NHTSA Tests of Side-Impact Safety

WASHINGTON — Three sport-utility vehicles overturned when struck from the side in U.S. highway crash safety tests, prompting further study of whether stronger federal rules are needed to reduce rollovers.

The vehicles, a Honda Motor Co. CR-V, an Isuzu Motors Ltd. Rodeo and a Kia Motors Corp. Sportage, tipped over when hit in the side by a moving barrier. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is asking sport-utility makers for more information on their testing procedures.

Regulators are unsure what to make of the results because the test was designed to rate occupant protection in side-impact crashes, not the likelihood of tipping.

“As the side-impact tests are not designed to measure a vehicle’s rollover propensity, NHTSA does not know if these three vehicles are more prone to rollover in side-impact crashes than other SUV models,” the agency said.

But the agency said the tests did “reinforce real-world crash experience, which shows that, when struck in a side collision, SUVs are more prone to roll over than other vehicle types.”

The rollover result not withstanding, both the Honda CR-V and the Isuzu Rodeo earned five stars--the highest NHTSA ranking--for occupant protection in a side-impact crash.

The CR-V “does great in terms of side-impact protection, which is what the test was designed to measure,” Honda spokesman Art Garner said. The CR-V did not tip over in the manufacturer’s own side-impact tests, he said.

Isuzu also maintained that in its own side-impact testing, no “kick-over”--or tipping--occurred.

Kia had no immediate comment on the NHTSA results.