Used Lexus RX400h SUVs (File Photo)

Photo Gallery >>>WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. government proposed Thursday that all new automobiles come with antirollover technology as standard equipment beginning in 2009, the New York Times reported Friday.

Sport utility vehicles (SUVs) are more prone than other models to roll, and more than half of new ones are equipped with stability systems as an included feature.

But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the equipment was not standard on most pickups - a vehicle class ranked second for rollover risk and one that saw a sharp rise in those types of crashes last year, safety figures show.

General Motors, Ford Motor and the Chrysler Group unit of Daimler Chrysler - the leaders in SUV's and pickups - have said that they plan to accelerate production of stability systems over the next few years.

The technology works with antilock brakes to sense a potential roll or slide and adjust steering and speed to help bring the vehicle under control.

The cost to manufacturers of installing stability systems on models with antilock brakes is 895 million dollars, regulators estimate.

The federal government estimates that stability control will save 5,300 to 10,300 lives annually. More than 10,000 fatalities -or a quarter of all annual traffic deaths in the Untied States - occur in rollover crashes, safety figures show.

Safety groups praise the antirollover technology but say it is hard to predict whether it will save thousands of lives, as the government claims.

About 30 percent of 2006 models include stability technology as standard equipment, including nearly 60 percent of SUV's, the highway safety agency said. Enditem