Abstract
Introduction: The annual fatalities from the road traffic accidents were relatively stable over the last decade. However over the same period there is noticeable shift in the effect of passenger vehicle rollover crashes on this total. This study looks into the injury characteristics in rollover car crashes utilizing the National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) database.
Aim: To describe the regional distribution of the injury pattern in the rollover crashes, and identify the main cause of death in fatal cases according to body region.
Methods: Retrospective analysis of the NASS database during the period of 1997–2002 was analysed. Only the car model from year 2002 was included in this study. The regional body distribution was classified as follows
Head and Neck
Thorax
Abdomen
Upper limbs
Lower limbs
The total number of occupants involved, age range of drivers, and detailed descriptions of the injuries sustained were described.
Results: There were total of 155 occupants involved in 88 roll over car crashes. The age range of the occupants was 7 months to 84 years. The drivers age range was 15 years – 84 years. There were 50 male drivers, and 38 female drivers. The body region most commonly involved was Head and neck followed by upper extremity. There were 33 fatalities and the main cause of fatality was injury to the brain, accounting for 54.5%.
The distributions of injuries were
Head and neck- 93 (60%)
Thorax- 37 (23.8%)
Abdomen-24 (15.4%)
Upper limbs- 73 (47%)
Lower limbs- 53 (34%)
Conclusion: Rollover crashes are becoming increasingly common due to increase demands of sport utility vehicles. There is a significant number of fatalities. Majority of the occupants sustained multiple injuries. However, the most common body region involved after roll over crashes was head and neck. The young male drivers are more vulnerable group. Improvement of the safety features in new vehicle design should take into account of this body region.
Theses abstracts were prepared by Professor Roger Lemaire. Correspondence should be addressed to EFORT Central Office, Freihofstrasse 22, CH-8700 Küsnacht, Switzerland.
