DRIVER INJURIES IN US SINGLE-EVENT ROLLOVERS. IN: OCCUPANT AND VEHICLE RESPONSES IN ROLLOVERS

This chapter, on driver injuries in U.S. single-event rollovers, is from a comprehensive textbook on occupant and vehicle responses in rollovers. The authors report on a study that investigated occupant injuries which may be sustained during a single-event crash with known roll mechanism. The data was obtained from the weighted National Automotive Sampling System/Crashworthiness Data System (NASS-CDS) for 1992 to 1996. The factors analyzed include the effect of number of rollover turns, roll direction, ejection, and seat belt usage on driver injury responses in single-event tripovers. The authors chose tripovers because they are responsible for over 50% of rollover crashes. Results showed that ejection was more frequent when the driver was unbelted (27% of 50,504 unbelted drivers were ejected) than belted (less than 1% of 150,426 belted drivers were ejected). Ejection resulted in higher rates of severe injuries. The authors also report on the types of injuries sustained by ejected and non-ejected drivers. For belted drivers who rolled left, injuries were most frequent in the head, lower extremity, thorax, and upper extremities; a roll to the right resulted in more spinal injuries. Unbelted drivers who rolled left sustained serious injuries to the head, lower extremity, thorax, and upper extremity, while those who rolled right had serious injuries to the spine, head, and thorax. The authors conclude that their results suggest a primary need to prevent ejection. In addition, a better understanding of the head, thorax, spine, and lower extremity injury mechanisms is essential for the development of future safety countermeasures.