The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 216, "Roof Crush Resistance," specifies a roof testing method that requires cars to have a roof strength of at least 5,000 lbs. or 1.5 times the vehicle weight. This study evaluates the effect of vehicle roof strength (as measured in FMVSS 216) on severe occupant injury using police-reported motor vehicle accident data from Florida, Texas, Michigan, and North Carolina. The study also evaluates the effect of vehicle shape as measured by the overall height-to-track width ratio on severe occupant injury in rollovers. The validity of the state data was verified using NASS matched case data.
The data was controlled for accident severity, restraint use, and driver demographics. Based on 60,758 single vehicle rollover accidents in the four states, the following conclusions were reached: