Accident Reconstruction of Rollovers - A Methodology

There is little debate that reconstructing a rollover crash presents complex multi-dimensional challenges to the reconstructionist. Real world rollovers often cover large amounts of various terrains and typically involve multiple ground impacts. The possible vehicle orientations throughout the roll are almost unlimited. It is also clear that the complexities of these events have placed practical limitations on the abilities for both analytical and experimental models to accurately recreate specific real world rollover collisions.

The fundamentals of accident reconstruction do still apply, however, and much valuable and insightful test data is available. This paper will describe a practical methodology and protocol to assist reconstructionists in reconstructing both on-road and off-road rollover accidents. It will point to previously published rollover studies relevant to the reconstructionist; present a methodology and protocol for documenting and analyzing field data, most specifically accident vehicle damage; and, lastly, it will review various presentation techniques useful for explanation and validation of the reconstructionist ’s conclusions.