ROLLOVER CRASHES - REAL WORLD STUDIES, TESTS AND SAFETY SYSTEMS. IN: OCCUPANT AND VEHICLE RESPONSES IN ROLLOVERS

Existing and specially tuned safety features such as seat belts with pretensioners and side airbags are able to protect occupants in rollover crashes. The recent improvements in these areas have changed in focus from frontal to side protection. This chapter on rollover crashes is from a comprehensive textbook on occupant and vehicle responses in rollovers. The authors focus on real world studies, tests, and safety systems that are currently available or under development. The authors stress the full-scale rollover crash tests provide basic information about the function of sensors and algorithms to trigger the relevant protection devices. The chapter gives an overview of real world accident scenarios and then offers statistics based on literature reviews, federal statistics, and accident research. The authors conclude by reiterating the importance of simple seat belt use, noting that all rollover protection systems are more effective when combined with the use of safety belts.