DETERMINATION OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ROOF CRUSH ON HEAD AND NECK INJURY TO PASSENGER VEHICLE OCCUPANTS IN ROLLOVER CRASHES. IN: OCCUPANT AND VEHICLE RESPONSES IN ROLLOVERS

When compared to other accident modes, rollovers have a higher risk of injuries and fatalities and this risk increases dramatically for unbelted occupants. In this chapter, from a comprehensive text on occupant and vehicle responses in rollovers, the authors report on a comparative study between belted rollover occupants who did and did not receive head injuries from roof contact. The authors used the National Accident Sampling System (NASS) database to investigate whether headroom reduction increases the risk of head injury. The authors determine headroom for 155 belted occupants involved in rollover crashes. Results showed that headroom was reduced more in those crashes where the occupant had head injuries than in cases where there were no head injuries; thus, the risk of head injury increases with reduced headroom. The authors conclude that to improve rollover crashworthiness of vehicles, headroom reduction and the belt system should be evaluated simultaneously to upgrade occupant protection.