Executive Vehicle and Training Vehicle Safety

By on June 29th, 2022

The vehicle used in the Caracas training disaster was an older Toyota 4Runner. The 4Runner earned a 3-star (out of 5) rating from NHTSA with a 20 to 30% rollover risk.

Rollover resistance testing is performed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to measure the risk of a rollover in one-vehicle, loss-of-control situations. That is near the top of the list of vehicles most likely to roll in an accident. Unfortunately, the car has been known to roll over at speeds under 40mph when the driver performs an evasive maneuver. 

The 4Runner is not the only vehicle with a 20 to 30% rollover risk. The Suburban, the most often used in Executive Security, also has the same rollover risk.

How bad can it get? A Mercedes Benz Sprinter, often used in Executive Transportation, has a rollover probability of 30 to 40%.

What is a good Static Stability Factor (SSF)?

NHTSA rates the SSF of a vehicle by using a star system:

  • Five stars: less than 10 percent chance of a rollover
  • Four stars: 10 to 20 percent chance of a rollover 
  • Three stars: 20 to 30 percent chance of a rollover 
  • Two stars: 30 to 40 percent chance of a rollover 
  • 1 star: greater than 40 percent chance of a rollover

So what are the NHTSA SSF Star Ratings for some of the common Executive Vehicles?

  • Mercedes S Series is five stars or a less than 10 percent chance of a rollover.
  • Lincoln Navigator 4 stars or a 10 to 20 percent chance of a rollover
  • The Chevy Suburban is three stars or a 20 to 30 percent chance of a rollover.
  • A Mercedes Sprinter Van comes in with a 1 star or a greater than 40 percent chance of a rollover.

This should not be a surprise, but the vehicles mentioned above do not roll over alone. If you are driving 40 MPH down a road in a straight line, they don’t suddenly roll over, leaving the driver hanging there.

So we are not saying don’t transport your executive in these vehicles or conduct training with them. As we have been for half a century, we suggest that as a security driver or trainer, you know what the vehicle is capable of and, more importantly, what it’s not capable of.

We would appreciate your thoughts.

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