Serious neck injury in rollovers - is roof crush a factor?

Studies carried out by the authors and others of actual rollover crashes indicate a significant relationship between roof crush and spinal injuries - in disagreement with conclusions reached in papers reporting on major rollover crash test programs using Hybrid III ATDs. A critical review of rollover crash test programs and use of Hybrid HI ATDs is presented. From this review, it is concluded that in rollover research the use of the standard Hybrid III ATD, which is not designed for the loads encountered in rollovers, may lead to erroneous conclusions regarding human occupant injury mechanisms in rollover crashes. Use of whole body injury as an outcome measure in statistical studies tends to attenuate any effect of roof crush on neck injury, which is also likely to be obscured by roof crush itself being used as an index of crash severity. There IS a need for improvements in both roof design and restraint system design for prevention of serious injury in rollovers.