Vehicle Dynamic Simulation for Reconstruction of Rollover Crashes

Vehicle rollover crashes are the most severe in terms of occupant's fatalities and injuries. On average rollover crashes are responsible for more then 10,000 fatalities annually. Vehicle rollover is a very complex phenomenon. Simple static analysis and evidence analysis may not be sufficient to provide insight on the vehicle dynamic behavior during the pre-roll phase i.e. from the point of initiation of the crash to the beginning of the first airborne phase. 3D computer simulation provides one of the most comprehensive tools in accident analysis and reconstruction. The main objective of this research was to obtain accurate vehicle pre roll dynamics data in real life rollover crashes using commercially available vehicle dynamics and simulation programs.