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The development of a repeatable dynamic rollover test methodology with meaningful occupant protection performance objectives has been a longstanding and unmet challenge. Numerous studies have identified the random and chaotic nature of rollover crashes, and the difficulty associated with simulating these events in a laboratory setting. Previous work addressed vehicle level testing attempting to simulate an entire rollover event but it was determined that this test methodology could not be used for development of occupant protection restraint performance objectives due to the unpredictable behavior of the vehicle during the entire rollover event. More recent efforts have focused on subsystem tests that simulate distinct phases of a rollover event, up to and including the first roof-to-ground impact.

A study was conducted by General Motors (GM) to further expand upon the currently available research regarding the safety belt buckle environment during full scale vehicle crash tests. A previous study by GM [1] focused on the environment experienced by safety belt buckles in planar, non-rollover, vehicle crash conditions. This study expands upon that work by measuring buckle acceleration and webbing tension in a variety of full scale vehicle rollover crash tests. A variety of test vehicles, rollover crash types, seating positions, roll directions, test speeds, and safety belt systems were included in the study. Emphasis was placed on examination of the buckle response data during vehicle-to-ground impacts (roof, body, and wheel). This study reports on data recorded from 20 full scale rollover crash tests with 40 instrumented end release safety belt buckles.