Serious head and neck injuries are a common finding in fatalities associated with rollover crashes. In some fatal rollover crashes, particularly when ejection occurs, the determination of which occupant was driving at the time of the crash may be uncertain. In the present investigation, the authors describe the analysis of rollover crash data from the National Automotive Sampling System-Crashworthiness Data System for the years 1997 through 2007 in which the authors examined the relationship between a serious head and neck injury in an occupant and a specified degree of roof deformation at the occupant's seating position. 960 occupants were found who qualified for the analysis, with 142 deaths among the subjects. Using a ranked composite head and neck injury score (the HNISS) the authors found a strong relationship between HNISS and the degree of roof crush. As a result of the analysis, the authors arrived at a predictive model, in which each additional unit increase in HNISS equated to an increased odds of roof crush as follows: for ?8cm of roof crush compared with <8cm by 4%, for ?15cm of roof crush compared to <8cm by 6% and for ?30cm of roof crush compared to <8cm by 11%. The authors describe two hypothetical scenarios in which the model could be applied to the real world investigation of occupant position in a rollover crash-related fatality. (Author/publisher)
Abstract