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Background: Motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) are the leading cause of death for ages 2-34 years. Rollover (RO) is defined as any vehicle rotation of ≥90° about any longitudinal or lateral axis occurring. The purpose of this study was to determine the cost effectiveness of RO mechanism as the sole triage criteria. Methods: Detailed patient injury, demographics, costs and crash information were obtained on patients ≻16 years and seen at an ACS COT-verified level I trauma center from 2007-2008. Analysis was performed using SPSS v 17. Results: 257 RO crash occupants were treated at this study center. The frequency of AIS ≤2 in these RO occupants was 74%. 62% (133/214) of patients triaged as partial TTA (PTTA) were discharged from the emergency department (ED), whereas all full TTA (FTTA) patients were admitted. 60% of all RO patients were reported to have utilized seat belts. Seat belt use decreased the risk of injury by four-fold (95% CI, 2.14-8.01).

Background: Frontal crashes are the most common motor vehicle crashes (MVC), however, near sided crashes produce more severe injuries. Side impact airbags (SIAB) were designed to mitigate and prevent severe injuries and are associated with up to 45% mortality reduction as reported (IIHS 2003). Objective: Limited data on deployment rates of SIAB in severe real world lateral crashes has been reported. The objective of this study is to determine deployment rates of SIAB in severe injury side impact collisions utilizing the Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) database. Methods: The US Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration CIREN database was queried for side impact MVCs during 1997 - 2009. There were 3,766 passenger vehicle crashes of which 515 vehicles had SIAB installed. Additionally, crash metrics, direction of force, delta V and SIAB sensor location were examined.