System and method for sensing vehicle rollover

The present invention relates to occupant protection and, more particularly, to a system and method for sensing a vehicle rollover condition for helping protect a vehicle occupant. A rollover sensing system () includes a roll rate sensor () operative to sense a roll rate of rotation of a vehicle () and to provide a roll rate signal having an electrical characteristic indicative thereof. A controller () is connected to the roll rate sensor () and is operative to determine a roll angle of the vehicle () based on the roll rate signal. The controller () includes a threshold having a value functionally related to roll angle. The controller () determines the occurrence of a vehicle rollover condition in response to the sensed roll rate crossing the threshold.