Unlike other military transports, such as the WWII and Korean War-era Jeeps and Dodge and Chevrolet transport trucks, the M151 was never widely released into the civilian market. This was partly because it did not meet federal highway safety standards for civilian vehicles, and because of a series of rollover accidents. While the high pivot rear swing axle geometry on the M151A1 was responsible for the rollovers, injuries and fatalities, the industry (Ford and the Army) claimed that they were primarily due to driver errors, with operators unprepared for the increased performance compared to the Jeeps, which it replaced. The swing axle rear suspension design was prone to significant camber changes when subjected to cornering, resulting in the rear lifting, the outside wheel tucking under which often led to a vehicle rollover. Steering input as commonly found in a high-speed emergency avoidance maneuvers or hard cornering, was a recipe for disaster. The vehicle's tendency to lose control was reduced when there was weight in the rear, so drivers would often place an ammunition box filled with sand under the rear seat when no other load was being carried. The box could simply be emptied or abandoned when the extra weight was not needed. Recoilless rifle carrier models were especially prone to rollover accidents due to their stiffer rear springs and were typically subjected to severe speed restrictions any time the gun was not aboard.