AN EXPERIMENTAL EXAMINATION OF J-TURN AND FISHHOOK MANEUVERS THAT MAY INDUCE ON-ROAD, UNTRIPPED, LIGHT VEHICLE ROLLOVER. IN: OCCUPANT AND VEHICLE RESPONSES IN ROLLOVERS

In this chapter, from a comprehensive text about occupant and vehicle responses in rollovers, the authors report on an experimental examination of J-turn and fishhook maneuvers that may induce on-road, untripped, light vehicle rollover. This chapter is the first of two papers on the research used to develop dynamic maneuver tests for rollover resistance ratings. This research was part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) rollover research program (2001). In this phase of research, five characterization maneuvers and eight rollover resistance maneuvers were evaluated and assigned a rating of Excellent, Good, Satisfactory, Bad, or Very Bad. This chapter offers an analysis of one characterization maneuver (the Slowly Increasing Steer maneuver) and four Rollover Resistance maneuvers (the NHTSA J-Turn, Fishhook 1a, Fishhook 1b, and Nissan fishhook). Results determined that each of these maneuvers has a rating of satisfactory or better in each of the maneuver evaluation factors (objectivity and repeatability, performability, discriminatory capability, and appearance of reality). The authors rated Fishhook 1b the best overall; however, since the NHTSA J-Turn is the most basic of potential maneuvers, they feel it serves as a useful complement to Fishhook 1b.