Rating System for Rollover Resistance. an Assessm
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COVER FINAL-R26/5/029:47PMPagec1 TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE National Research Council 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW PAID WASHINGTON, DC Washington, DC 20418 PERMIT NO. 8970 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED ISBN 0-309-07249-2 An Assessment An NHTSA’s ating System for Rollover Resistance Rollover for System ating R TRB 265 REPORT SPECIAL THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES THE NATIONAL RESEARCH BOARD TRANSPORTATION The National Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration’s The NationalHighwayTraffic R R ollover Resistance ating Systemfor SPECIAL REPORT 265 SPECIAL REPORT An Assessment Transportation Research Board Special Report 265 Subscriber Category IVB safety and human performance Transportation Research Board publications are available by ordering individual pub- lications directly from the TRB Business Office, through the Internet at national acad- emies.org/trb, or by annual subscription through organizational or individual affiliation with TRB. Affiliates and library subscribers are eligible for substantial discounts. For further information, contact the Transportation Research Board Business Office, National Research Council, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20418 (telephone 202-334-3214; fax 202-334-2519; or e-mail [email protected]). Copyright 2002 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to the procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. This report was sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data National Research Council (U.S.). Committee for the Study of a Motor Vehicle Rollover Rating System. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s rating system for rollover resistance : an assessment / Committee for the Study of a Motor Vehicle Rollover Rating System. p. cm. — (Special report ; 265) “Transportation Research Board, National Research Council.” Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-309-07249-2 1. Motor vehicles—United States—Evaluation. 2. Motor vehicles—Stability. 3. United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration—Research. 4. Motor vehicles—Rollover protective structures. I. Title. II. Special report (National Research Council (U.S.). Transportation Research Board) ; 265. TL245.8 .N38 2002 629.2′31—dc21 2002067171 National Academy of Sciences National Academy of Engineering Institute of Medicine National Research Council The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. On the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a man- date that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the re- sponsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, on its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the gov- ernment, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both the Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board is a division of the National Research Council, which serves the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engi- neering. The Board’s mission is to promote innovation and progress in transportation by stimulating and conducting research, facilitating the dissemination of information, and encouraging the implementation of research results. The Board’s varied activities annually engage more than 4,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation re- searchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component ad- ministrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation. Committee for the Study of a Motor Vehicle Rollover Rating System Committee David N. Wormley, The Pennsylvania State University, Chair Karin M. Bauer, Midwest Research Institute, Kansas City, Missouri James E. Bernard, Iowa State University, Ames Ann Bostrom, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Susan A. Ferguson, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Arlington, Virginia B. John Garrick, NAE, Independent Consultant, Laguna Beach, California Paul A. Green, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, Ann Arbor David L. Harkey, University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, Chapel Hill J. Karl Hedrick, University of California at Berkeley David C. Holloway, University of Maryland, College Park L. Daniel Metz, Metz Engineering and Racing, Champaign, Illinois N. Eugene Savin, University of Iowa, Iowa City Kimberly M. Thompson, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts Transportation Research Board Staff Jill Wilson, Study Director Preface his study was conducted in response to a congressional mandate, con- Ttained in the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Ap- propriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106–346), which required the U.S. Department of Transportation to fund a study by the National Academy of Sciences on whether the static stability factor is a scientifically valid mea- surement that presents practical, useful information to the public, including a comparison of the static stability factor test versus a test with rollover metrics based on dynamic driving conditions that may induce rollover events.1 In response to a request from the National Highway Traffic Safety Ad- ministration (NHTSA), the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Research Council (NRC) formed a committee of 13 members under the leadership of David Wormley, Dean of the College of Engineer- ing at the Pennsylvania State University. Panel members have expertise in the following areas: mechanical engineering and vehicle dynamics; vehicle safety and testing; vehicle control systems; roadway and roadside design; statistics, econometrics, and data analysis; risk assessment and communi- cation; public policy; consumer information; and human factors and driver behavior. The committee met four times between April and October 2001. The first two meetings were devoted primarily to information gathering; details of invited presentations and participation in the open discussions are given in Appendix B. Additional information-gathering activities undertaken by committee members included visits to the Consumers Union Vehicle Test Facility in East Haddam, Connecticut, and site visits to Ford, General Motors, and DaimlerChrysler facilities in the Detroit area (see Appendix B). The third and fourth committee meetings were devoted to deliberative discus- sions and preparation of the committee’s final report. An interim report, issued in July 2001, presented the committee’s preliminary findings and identified outstanding issues to be addressed during the remainder of the study. To expedite the study process, the committee divided into three groups, each of which assumed primary responsibility for information gathering and 1 The full