ROLLOVERS AND INJURY ON THE NCSS FILE

Based upon 378 rollover cases on the NCSS file and 2,769 fatal rollover accidents on the FARS file, the following parameters appear to be important in an understanding of injury causation during rollover: (1) Ejection coincides with more injury: However, the contact codes associated with the injuries suggest that occupants are being hurt in the car - i.e., prior to ejection - as well as being hurt outside of the vehicle after ejection. Partial ejection may be more dangerous than total ejection because of the possibility of being crushed between the car and the ground; (2) Roof crush seems related to injury level, perhaps as a measure of the severity of the accident; (3) Intrusion also seems to be a good indicator of the severity of the accident because it is useful in predicting injury; (4) Other variables for which more information is required include: ejection route, injury contact points, and restraint use (by type used); and (5) Variables which do not seem significantly related to injury in rollovers are age (because the occupants tend to be young-under 30), quarter turns and stopping distance (possibly because these are very difficult to estimate), and fire/explosion (the incidence rates are the same for rollovers and non-rollovers).