Occupant injury experience in rollover crashes:​ an in-depth review of NASS/CDS data

Padmanaban, Jeya; Husher, Stein

National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) crash statistics were examined to understand injury patterns of belted occupants in rollover crashes and determine accuracy / completeness of selected NASS-coded variables. A comprehensive statistical study, followed by detailed engineering reviews of 278 NASS cases, is in progress. The primary objective is to understand rollover crash characteristics and their influence on rollover injury severity. Focus was on cases with “roof contact” as the injury source. Two groups— significant roof deformation with no injury, and significant injury with minimal roof deformation—are discussed, as are crash characteristics such as “arrested roll.” Also, based on evaluation of existing NASS codes, recommendations are made to enhance NASS coding of rollover-related variables.

Year

Entry

1985

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1983

Huelke DF, Compton CP. Injury frequency and severity in rollover car crashes as related to occupant ejection, contacts and roof damage: an analysis of national crash severity study data. Accid Anal Prev. October 1983;15(5):395-401.

1991

Sakurai T, Takigawa Y, Ikeno H. Study on passenger car rollover simulation. In: Proceedings of the 13th International Technical Conference on Experimental Safety Vehicles (ESV). November 4-7, 1991; Paris, France.747-753.

1972

Huelke DF, Marsh JC IV, Sherman HW. Analysis of rollover accident factors and injury causation. In: 16th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 19-21, 1972; Chapel Hill, NC.62-79.

2003

Digges KH, Eigen AM. Crash attributes that influence the severity of rollover crashes. In: Proceedings of the 18th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 19-22, 2003; Nagoya, Japan.