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As a result of the development of Event Data Recorders (EDR) and the recent FMVSS regulation 49 CFR 563, today’s automobiles provide a limited subset of electronic data measurements of a vehicle’s state before and during a crash. Prior to this data, the only information available about the vehicle movements before or during a collision had come from physical evidence (e.g. tire marks), witnesses, aftermarket camera systems on vehicles, and ground-based cameras that were monitoring vehicle traffic or used for security surveillance. Today’s vehicles equipped with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) have vehicle-based sensors that measure information about the environment around a vehicle including other vehicles, pedestrians, and fixed wayside objects.

Rollover research data is a valuable resource in the field of accident reconstruction and automotive safety. This data can provide the accident reconstructionist with information regarding number of rolls versus roll distance and vehicle average deceleration during the rollover event. One source of rollover research data readily available to the general public is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Crash Test Database which includes dolly rollover test data. This data includes testing performed using the FMVSS 208 dolly fixture and the NHTSA Rollover Test Device (RTD) used from 1985 to 1995. The purpose of this paper is to provide a more thorough analysis of the RTD rollover tests performed for NHTSA which includes a history of the RTD test series, detailed review and analysis of the available data and videos to provide a better understanding of the actual vehicle test dynamics.