Search Results

In this study, US and UK accident data were analyzed to identify parameters that may influence rollover propensity to analyze driver injury rate. The US data was obtained from the weighted National Automotive Sampling System (NASS-CDS), calendar years 1992 to 1996. The UK pre-roll data was obtained from the national STATS 19 database for 1996, while the injury information was collected from the Co-operative Crash Injury Study (CCIS) database. In the US and UK databases, rollovers accounted for about 10% of all crashes with known crash directions. In the US and UK databases, most rollovers occurred when the vehicle was either going straight ahead or turning. The propensity for a rollover was more than 3 times higher when going around a bend than a non-rollover. In the UK, 74% of rollovers occurred on clear days with no high winds and 14% on rainy days with no high winds. In the US, 83% of rollovers took place in non-adverse weather conditions and 10% with rain.

In this study, U.S. accident data was analyzed to determine interior contacts and injuries for front-seated occupants in rollovers. The injury distribution for belted and unbelted, non-ejected drivers and right front passengers (RFP) was assessed for single-event accidents where the leading side of the vehicle rollover was either on the driver or passenger door. Drivers in a roll-left and RFP in roll-right rollovers were defined as near-side occupants, while drivers in roll-right and RFP in roll-left rollovers were defined as far-side occupants. Serious injuries (AIS 3+) were most common to the head and thorax for both the near and far-side occupants. However, serious spinal injuries were more frequent for the far-side occupants, where the source was most often coded as roof, windshield and interior.

Objective: This study investigated the incidence of abdominal injuries in frontal crashes by occupant age and seating position. It determined the risk for abdominal injury (AIS 2+) by organ and injury source. Methods: 1997-2015 NASS-CDS was analyzed to estimate the occurrence of abdominal injuries in non-ejected, belted occupants involved in frontal crashes. Vehicles were included with 1997+ model year (MY). The annual incidence and rate for different types of abdominal injury were estimated with standard errors. The sources for abdominal injury were determined. Results: 77.8% of occupants were drivers, 16.7% were right-front passengers and 5.4% were rear passengers. Rear passengers accounted for 77.1% of 8-11 year old (yo) and 17.2% of 12-17 yo group. The risk for moderate abdominal injury (MAIS 2 + abdo) was 0.30% ± 0.053% in drivers, 0.32% ± 0.086% in right-front passengers and 0.38% ± 0.063% in rear occupants.

Rollovers are an important vehicle safety issue. Various technologies have been developed to help prevent rollovers from occurring, but the evaluation of rollover resistance typically involves vehicle-handling tests that are conducted on flat road surfaces with a uniform or split coefficient of friction. The purpose of this study is to determine the precipitating events leading to rollovers by analyzing real-world rollover crashes. This is a first step in identifying and developing vehicle tests that are representative of the principal driving scenarios leading to rollovers. The sequence of events leading to rollovers was determined from 63 in-depth investigated cases in the NASS-CDS database from 1995-1999. The sequence was evaluated by vehicle maneuvers, vehicle stability, surface type, road and shoulder transition condition, posted and estimated speeds, vehicle type and driver injury severity.

Since more occupants are using rear seats of vehicles, a better understanding of priorities for rear occupant protection is needed as future safety initiatives are considered. A two-part study was conducted on occupant injuries in rear seating positions. In Part I, adult and teenage occupants ≥13 years of age are investigated. In Part II, children aged 4-12 years old and toddlers and infants aged 0-3 are studied separately because of the use of infant and child seats and boosters involve different injury mechanisms and tolerances. The objectives of this study on adult and teenager, rear-seated occupants (≥13 years old) are to: 1) review accident data, 2) identify the distribution of rear occupants, and 3) analyze injury risks in various crash modes, including rollovers, frontal, side and rear impacts. Three databases were investigated: NASS-CDS, GES and FARS.

This study assesses vehicle and occupant responses in six vehicle-to-vehicle high-speed rear impact crash tests conducted at the Exponent Test and Engineering Center. The struck vehicle delta Vs ranged from 32 to 76 km/h and the vehicle centerline offsets varied from 5.7 to 114 cm. Five of the six tests were conducted with Hybrid III ATDs (Anthropometric Test Device) with two tests using the 50th male belted in the driver seat, one test with an unbelted 50th male in the driver seat, one test with a 95th male belted in the driver seat, and one with the 5th female lap belted in the left rear seat. All tests included vehicle instrumentation and three tests included ATD instrumentation. The ATD responses were analyzed and compared to corresponding IARVs (injury assessment reference values). Ground-based and onboard vehicle videos were synchronized with the vehicle kinematic data and biomechanical responses.

This study focused on occupant responses in very large pickup trucks in rollovers and was conducted in three phases. Phase 1 - Field data analysis: In a prior study [9], 1998 to 2020 FARS data were analyzed; Pickup truck drivers with fatality were 7.4 kg heavier and 4.6 cm taller than passenger car drivers. Most pickup truck drivers were males. Phase 1 extended the study by focusing on the drivers of very large pickup trucks. The size of 1999-2016 Ford F-250 and F-350 drivers involved in fatal crashes was analyzed by age and sex. More than 90% of drivers were males. The average male driver was 179.5 ± 7.5 cm tall and weighed 89.6 ± 18.4 kg. Phase 2 – Surrogate study: Twenty-nine male surrogates were selected to represent the average size of male drivers of F-250 and F-350s involved in fatal crashes. On average, the volunteers weighed 88.6 ± 5.2 kg and were 180.0 ± 3.2 cm tall with a 95.2 ± 2.2 cm seated height.