Crashes involving rollover in 1987 accounted for 5,976 fatalities in passenger cars and 3,658 in light trucks and vans. Approximately 16% of the serious injuries and fatalities to passenger car occupants and 42% of the serious injuries to light truck occupants are a result of rollover crashes. This paper presents the results of accident data analyses which are focusing on the development of a crashworthiness rollover classification system and severity index in which rollover events with similar characteristics can be grouped to permit better assessment of injury causation and mitigation concepts. The paper presents first, descriptive analyses of rollover crashes utilizing vehicle, crash, and injury parameters; second, a status report on the development of a crashworthiness rollover classification and severity system, and third, analyses of ejected occupants who account for approximately one-half of serious injuries in passenger car and light truck rollover crashes. (A) For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 837684.
Abstract