Citation

Paine M, Newland C. Proc. Australas. Road Safety Res. Policing Educ. Conf. 2009; 13.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, copyright holder varies, Publisher Monash University)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A fundamental principle of protecting vehicle occupants in crashes is to minimise the deformation of the passenger compartment. This principle should also apply to rollover crashes but the issue has been clouded by opposing arguments in litigation cases - mostly in the USA. The US government introduced a regulation for static roof strength in 1973 and recently reviewed the regulation. In its submission to the review, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found a correlation between static roof strength and risk of occupant injury in a rollover crash for compact sports utility vehicles (SUVs). Further research on passenger cars convinced IIHS that a consumer rating based on a static roof strength test was worthwhile, at least as an interim measure while a suitable dynamic test was developed. The IIHS method rates vehicles by strength-to-weight ratio as measured in the regulation test, with a value of four needed for a good rating. This paper sets out the results of a review of the IIHS rating method and its applicability to Australia.