Effect of model year and vehicle type on rollover crashes and associated injuries to children.

Abstract

In child-involved crashes, there was a greater risk of rollover in pickups and SUVs than in passenger cars and minivans. Risk of injury to the corresponding child occupants in rollovers was significantly higher than for those in non-rollover crashes. There has been little change in overall rollover rates for passenger cars, pickup trucks, and minivans in the most recent model years (since 2002); however, there has been evidence of a declining rollover rate in SUVs during this same period. Even with this decline in SUV rollover risk, similarly aged passenger cars and minivans still exhibited a rollover risk approximately half that of their SUV counterparts.