Rollover accident: Sunroof ejection risks (2024)

itwasntme

Join Date: May 2007

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Had never thought about it but the following article details the risk of occupants being ejected from a vehicle rolling over because the sunroof panel had popped out.

I feel it is especially relevant on our Indian highways with rollover crashes being very common for a variety of reasons, not least being the the antipathy towards seat-belts! Especially mentions the trend towards bigger and bigger 'panoramic sunroofs' which is now the latest must-have fad.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/22/b...av=bottom-well

Have attached a PDF (public domain) as well for convenience.

blackwasp

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Related thread.

Just like with people tucking in seatbelt's to get rid of the alarm but not actually wearing them, no amount of safety tech can replace the unsafe passenger in the car. While ejection from a sunroof incase of a roll-over crash is a very scary situation, I'm pretty sure wearing a seatbelt will be the solution. Despite the proven fact that seatbelt's save lives, very few actually wear them. They give lame excuses and expect their faith, nimbu-mirchi or plain good luck to keep them safe.

Most of the documented fatal accidents involving roll-over and sun/moonroofs had an important reason - lack of seatbelt usage.

arvind71181

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If seat belts are not worn, the risk of getting thrown out of a sun roof is the same as the risk of getting thrown out of any of the windows, in my opinion.

So if seat belts are not worn, its just plain luck if there is a roll over and you survive.

GTO

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If you aren't wearing your seatbelt, being thrown out of the sunroof should be the least of your worries. Forget a rollover, slamming your head into the steering or dashboard at 60 kmph will kill / injure you severely.

Even if you aren't thrown out of the sunroof, hitting that thick glass panel with your head will crack your head open or send you in a coma.

HappyWheels

Join Date: Dec 2007

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Well said; a windows is as risky (or safe) as the sun roof. Seat belt is there for a reason - use it. And if you are not using seat belt, getting thrown out is just one of the fatal risks that should be worried about.

Quatro

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audioholic

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In India, people are hardly educated about road safety. The same shows up in how serious people are in wearing seat belts. That is the most fundamental safety feature which shouldn't be ignored. When this is hardly taken seriously, the same bunch of people will not even think of the possibility of being ejected from the window or sun roof.

But hey, why even talk about ejection? People fancy letting their kids halfway out of the sunroof while they drive. Not only kids, even some adults like to be paraded with an open sunroof. They are just making this case easier. A hard turn and we will have a human body flying out of the car and ending up in a bad state.

Leoshashi

Join Date: Jul 2014

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Have a look at this Test Drive: The kid almost fell down when the driver took a corner hard. Not to mention, the car was being driven very badly.

di1in

Join Date: Jan 2009

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I found this article at Consumer Reports that talks about spontaneously exploding sun roofs: https://www.consumerreports.org/car-...nger-overhead/

"An exploding sunroof might sound like a freak occurrence, but a Consumer Reports investigation has found that it’s not. These incidents have happened in every month of the year in every part of the country, in vehicles from all over the world; they have occurred on interstates, on country roads, and even while parked in driveways."

This could be super scary on a highway!

Last edited by di1in : 20th January 2019 at 08:23.

anjan_c2007

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These sunroofs can be a disaster if violations during its use occur. We find traffic rule violators allowing tiny tots to emerge their torsos above the sunroofs, which is an open invitation to some impending disaster. The adult occupants of the car appear to be illiterate or ill informed about the consequences of children looking out of the sunroofs. Even many young adults engage in such unsafe activities and invite risks to their lives. A hard turn or an emergency braking or a hit by another vehicle can very well be a recipe for disaster.

Even passengers not wearing seat belts in cars with fastened or unopened sunroofs face the grave danger during an impact or rollover of hitting the sunroof with their heads or bodies, causing the glass to crack, resulting in the human body tossed out. Hence wearing seat belts in cars with sunroofs is safe and essential for all passengers.

Sunroofs create hindrance to the structural rigidity of cars. The floor and roof of today’s cars are among the only fixed structures that hold the body shell safely together. And sheet metal cut out for the sunroof surely impedes the car’s structural rigidity. No other portion of the car are structurally as rigid in comparison to the roof and the floor.

The screen fastener below the sunroof when fastened creates a hot air pocket between the sunroof and this screen on hot days. This hot air pocket strains the air-conditioning system of cars during hot days in a country like ours.

Volvo uses laminated safety glass and not tempered glass that is more popular for sunroofs. But many manufacturers argue that laminated safety glass increases the chances of head and neck injuries, mostly of the serious kind.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is though considering enacting laws for safety with sunroofs as deaths and injuries in accidents average around 300 per year for open sunroofs, while nearly 250 are killed even when the sunroofs are fastened. There is even a proposal to have a device that holds the sunroof in place during impacts so that it cannot pop out. Also an additional airbag dedicated to sunroofs to protect occupants from ejection through sun roofs during impacts is under consideration.

Last edited by anjan_c2007 : 11th September 2020 at 18:40.

Guna

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Shouldn't the dealer be taken to task for allowing this stunt?

Coming back to the topic of thread, one possibility I can think of with the rollover of a car equipped with the sunroof is : glass shattering and something sharp/hard protruding in to the cabin through the roof! But that's just a possibility and I wonder if there are real cases recorded.

AutoNoob

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This Saturday I saw a full grown adult standing out of sunroof, while the vehicle was being driven well above 60kmph on Yamuna Expressway.

What to say about such grown up morons.

landcruiser123

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Regulating sunroofs is so tricky and the governments might just ban it all together if there are too many accidents.

Governments should focus on:
1. Provide better infrastructure
2. Teach people to drive better (A bulky SUV can't take a corner at speed like a sporty sedan)
3. Enforcing (actively and passively) rules & regulations

Personal responsibility also pays a part in incidents. Wear your seatbelts, drive safely, anticipate idiots on the road etc.

Last edited by landcruiser123 : 29th June 2021 at 02:15.

shancz

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Quite common to see kids standing on shaky seats/armrests so that they could be chest up through the sunroof, the drivers/parents don't bother in fact encourage.
Have seen some "ownership reviews" on YouTube where the reason for the sunroof was "for the kids". Quite a few movies show this as cool.

I am not even going to waste space here by listing out the hazards that this poses not just to the person sticking out but also others who will be at risk when this person falls outside or inside the car and causes a crash.

The existing traffic rules already have a lot of sections which can slapped to discourage such acts in the future and the government can enforce it if they wish to but if they wish to.

GST

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Not so recent but a post below for some discussion around exploding sunroofs alongside other safety issues that come to mind. I don't see any safety regulation relating sunroofs even now- all actions seem to be from the manufacturers' end as goodwill gestures towards customers...

https://ww2.motorists.org/blog/the-t...ding-sunroofs/