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Flying-Object Accidents Can Be Prevented

10 February 2000

Flying-Object Accidents Can Be Prevented, According to SAE 2000 World Congress Speaker

    WARRENDALE, Pa., Feb. 10 -- In the Chevy Chase movie
"Vacation," Clark Griswold ties his deceased aunt to the station wagon roof
and continues on his westward journey.  Luckily, Clark secured his aunt
properly.  According to SAE author Jorg Riehle, each year luggage and other
objects that detach from vehicle roofs cause numerous accidents.
    In his paper to be presented at the SAE 2000 World Congress, Riehle of
ORIS Fahrzeugteile Hans Riehle GmbH, calls for global standards to address the
safe transportation of goods on passenger car roofs.
    Riehle says that worldwide laws requiring safe transport of goods on
vehicle roofs are virtually nonexistent.  Instead, manufacturers of roof
carrier systems assume the responsibility for construction of safe carrying
systems through product liability legislation.
    The main reason for failure is the detachment of the roof carrier system
during operation of the vehicle.  Insufficient component layout and/or faulty
mounting often cause these detachments.  Although several safety standards are
available, standards differ within global business markets, roof carrier
manufacturers and automakers.
    According to Riehle, local legislation usually restricts total vehicle
height, width, length, weight and overhang of goods transported on passenger
vehicles.  However, the actual functionality of the roof carrying system is
left to manufacturers' and users' discretion.
    Although faulty roof loading is usually not dangerous to the cars'
passengers, innocent bystanders such as pedestrians, motorcycles and bicycles,
and passengers in other vehicles are at great risk.
    In his paper, Riehle addresses different failure modes that can occur
during installation, loading and usage of transport roof systems.  Most
importantly, he offers reliable and economical technical testing methods to
ensure secure transportation.
    Riehle believes that worldwide industry standards are needed to improve
the manufacturing of roof carrying systems.  He says that the existing
standard ISO 11154-1 (Road Vehicles-Roof Load Carriers) is not enough to
assure customer satisfaction and safety.
    "Prevention Against Unsafe Transportation of Goods on Passenger Vehicle
Roofs," will be presented at 2:00 p.m., Monday, March 6, Room 02-35/36, Cobo
Center, Detroit, Michigan, USA.
    To attend SAE 2000, the world's largest showcase of automotive engineering
technologies, visit http://www.sae.org or call 1-877-SAE-CONG (723-2664); outside the
U.S. and Canada, 1-724-772-4027.  Or experience the event on-line at
http://www.sae.org.