As part of a comprehensive plan to reduce the risk of death and serious injury in rollover crashes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has a program to characterize restraint system response in rollovers. A rollover restraint tester (RRT) was developed and utilized to produce a 180 degree roll followed by a simulated roof-to-ground impact. This device was modified to incorporate a reaction surface to analyze how advanced restraints would perform in a more realistic environment. The device was renamed as a rollover reaction surface tester (RRST). The original device (RRT) was discussed in previous ESV papers.(1,2) Recognizing the unpredictability of the real world rollover phenomenon, this test device provides a repeatable and consistent dynamic environment for suitable lab evaluation. Technologies that were evaluated for this study included integrated seat systems, pyrotechnic and electric resettable pretensioners, and four-point belt systems. High speed video data were collected and analyzed to examine occupant head excursion throughout the tests and are presented for discussion. The RRST has demonstrated to be repeatable;​ however, there are some concerns about the real world relevancy of the RRST dynamics in the absence of a lateral component. The RRST does not have a mechanical component for lateral motion that is typical in some real world rollover events.

Results presented in paper 09-0483 demonstrated that excursion characteristics can be affected with the implementation of advanced restraints in tests using the Hybrid III50th and 95th percentile male and 5th percentile female dummies [Sword, 2009]. This paper presents expanded research with the 50th percentile male and 5th percentile female dummies using the RRST and compares the results back to the RRT results. In addition to the RRST testing, a series of full scale dynamic tests was also conducted using a full vehicle in various dynamic rollover scenarios. The advanced restraints were chosen based on the test results of the RRST and availability of the devices. The following tests were conducted and will be discussed in this paper:​ Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208 dolly test, curb trip, soil trip, and corkscrew ramp. The goals of the testing were to understand how the improved restraints perform in various conditions and to assess the occupant’s kinematics in the various conditions.