Thirty years ago, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began studying the use of dynamic maneuvers to evaluate light vehicle rollover resistance. At that time, it was concluded the maneuvers being studied had such major problems, particularly in the area of objectivity and repeatability, that they could not be used by the Government to effectively rate rollover resistance. Today, following much effort, this is no longer the case. Using a small group of popular sport utility vehicles, NHTSA evaluated a comprehensive suite of eight maneuvers used to measure light vehicle dynamic rollover propensity. The Objectivity and Repeatability, Performability, Discriminatory Capability, and Appearance of Reality of each maneuver were assessed. These criteria have allowed NHTSA to identify what it now considered to be the best rollover resistance maneuvers.

This paper contains a brief assessment of three of the eight rollover resistance maneuvers evaluated during Phase IV of NHTSA’s Light Vehicle Rollover Research Program.