Rollover crash neck injury replication and injury potential assessment

Catastrophic neck compression and flexion injuries with quadriplegia are foreseeable outcomes of rollover crashes. However, current static regulatory tests cannot directly predict real-world rollover neck injuries. In this study, a dynamic test was developed and integrated bending moment (IBM) criteria proposed that can replicate/predict rollover neck flexion injuries with the Hybrid III dummy, upper and lower neck load cells, and a lateral vehicle camera. Platen drop tests were performed, revealing realistic pre-trip occupant positioning and a relationship between upper and lower neck loading. Dynamic rollover tests of 5 cars (FMVSS roof strength to weight ratio (SWR) range = 2.3 to 5.1) showed reduced neck flexion injury potential with increasing SWR and minimum roof SWR threshold of about 3.5 consistent with other proposed rollover injury criteria. For the covering abstract see ITRD E144229.