Under the new regulations, automakers would be required to design safety systems that would prevent passengers from being ejected from the side windows during a rollover. Automakers are likely to use technologies like rollover sensing side airbag systems to prevent passengers from being ejected through the side window during a rollover accident. Some sport utility vehicles already come with these side airbag systems. These airbags deploy immediately during rollover, and then remain open for a period of time, thereby preventing passengers from being ejected outside the window.

The new rule will be phased in during the beginning of 2013. All new vehicles will be required to have the systems by the year 2018.

Automakers are not likely to find that this new safety feature comes cheap. According to the NHTSA's own estimate, these systems will cost approximately $31 per vehicle, or about $507 million for the entire auto industry. However, Atlanta auto accident lawyers believe that this is a small price to pay when you consider that complete or partial ejection is a major cause of serious injuries or fatalities in rollover accidents.

Rollover accidents are among the rarest of automobile accidents. They are also some of the most dangerous. Much of the danger comes when occupants of the vehicle are ejected from the car while it is flipping over. The use of side airbag systems to prevent a passenger from ejection dramatically increases the chance of surviving a rollover.

Ford Explorers are no strangers to controversy, and have been linked to hundreds of incidences of rollovers.  In the most recent such rollover accident involving a Ford, two people died in Atlanta when their Ford Explorer suffered a tire blowout and flipped over. There were 6 occupants in the Explorer, and three of them were ejected. Four people were injured in the accident.

The Ford Explorer has been linked to more incidences of rollovers than other SUV’s. Earlier this decade, Ford found itself in the middle of a controversy related to defective Firestone tires that were prone to blowouts, causing the Explorers to roll over. The tire defect involved tread separation which caused the tire to disintegrate, leading to loss of control over the vehicle. While Firestone tires were blamed for these rollover accidents, Atlanta personal injury lawyers also pointed to the design of the Explorer which made it much more likely to flip over in case of a tire blowout at high speeds, compared to other SUV’s.

The Ford Explorer continues to be the center of lawsuits, ending in massive jury awards.  This year, Ford was ordered to pay $55 million in punitive damages to a California woman who was left paralyzed when her Explorer rolled over and the roof collapsed on her neck. Her spine was severed from the impact, and she continues to remain paralyzed. Also this year, a woman in Georgia was awarded $40 million in damages by a jury in Lamar County. The woman Jessica Mundy claimed that a transmission defect in her Explorer caused it to suddenly go into reverse when placed in park mode. As a result, the SUV ran over her, causing spinal cord injuries, and leaving her paralyzed.