ANALYSIS OF ROLLOVER RESTRAINT PERFORMANCE WITH AND WITHOUT SEAT BELT PRETENSIONER AT VEHICLE TRIP. IN: OCCUPANT AND VEHICLE RESPONSES IN ROLLOVERS

Abstract

In this chapter, from a comprehensive text about occupant and vehicle responses in rollovers, the authors report on eight rollover research tests that were conducted using the 2001 Nissan Pathfinder with a modified FMVSS 208 dolly rollover test method. In this study, the driver and right front dummy restraint performance was analyzed. The rollover tests were initiated with the vehicle horizontal, not at a roll angle. After the vehicle translated laterally for a short distance, a trip mechanism was introduced to overturn the vehicle. The study analyzed retractor, buckle, and latch plate performance, as well as overall seat belt performance. National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) data was also analyzed to quantify the characteristics of real world rollovers and demonstrated the benefits of restraint use. The authors conclude that although the rollover test method yielded unrepeatable vehicle dynamics, the testing demonstrated proper restraint performance in all of the tests. In the tests with pretensioner activation, belt movement reduction compared to the non-pretensioner tests was only approximately 25 mm for the near side occupant and 50 mm for the far side occupant; this does not result in any measurable reduction in occupant injury.