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The current study examined field data in order to document injury rates, injured body regions, and injury sources for persons seated in the second row of passenger vehicles. It was also intended to identify whether these varied with respect to age and restraint use in vehicles manufactured in recent years. Data from the 2007-2012 National Automotive Sampling System (NASS/CDS) was used to describe occupants seated in the second row of vehicles in frontal crashes. Injury plots, comparison of means and logistic regression analysis were used to seek factors associated with increased risk of injury. Restraint use reduced the risk of AIS ≥ 2 injury from approximately 1.8% to 5.8% overall. Seventy nine percent of the occupants in the weighted data set used either a lap and shoulder belt or child restraint system. The most frequently indicated injury source for persons with a MAIS ≥ 2 was “seat, back support”, across restraint conditions and for all but the youngest occupants.

Rollover crashes are responsible for a significant proportion of traffic fatalities each year, while they represent a relatively small proportion of all motor vehicle collisions. The purpose of this study was to focus on rollover events from an occupant's perspective to understand what type of industry test method, ATD, computer based model, and injury assessment measures are required to provide occupant protection during rollovers. Specific injuries most commonly experienced in rollovers along with the associated injury sources were obtained by review of 1998-2000 NASS-CDS records. These data suggest that models capable of predicting the likelihood of brain injuries, specifically subarachnoid and subdural hemorrhage, are desirable. Ideally, the model should also be capable of predicting the likelihood of rib fractures, lung contusions and shoulder (clavicular and scapular) fractures, and facet, pedicle, and vertebral body fractures in the cervical spine.