The Impact of Crash Test Dummies in Automobile Safety

CRASH TEST DUMMIES Sources: autoevolution.com, wikipedia.org Insurance Institute For Highway Safety Computer Generated Crosh Simulation on the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze (Source:GM) AUGUST 31, 1869 Mary Ward becomes the first recorded victim of a steam-powered auto accident SEPTEMBER 13, 1899 Henry Bliss becomes America's first motor vehicle fatality when hit while stepping off a New York City trolley TESTING The need for a means of analyzing and mitigating the effects of accidents was felt soon after vehicle production began in the late 1890s. Since then, over 20 million people have died in passenger motor vehicle accidents. As late as the 1950s, car manufacturers were on public record as saying that accidents could not be made survivable because the forces in a crash were too great. PASSENGER CASUALTIES BY LOCATION OF IMPACT LOCATION OF CASUALTIES CADAVERS The first test subjects were human cadavers. Steel ball bearings were dropped on skulls, and bodies were dumped down unused elevator shafts onto steel plates. Cadavers were subjected to head-on collisions and vehicle rollovers. FRONT OF VEHICLE 52% 72% DRIVER'S SEAT OF CASUALTIES IN 2008 WERE DRIVERS; 71% OF THESE WERE MALES. A 1995 Journal of Trauma article notes that for every cadaver used, each year 61 people survive due to wearing seat belts, 147 live due to air bags, and 68 survive windshield impact. FRONT ROW PASSENGER ANIMALS SECOND ROW PASSENGER 28% One observer of animal testing noted: "We saw chimpanzees riding rocket sleds, a bear on an impact swing, and observed a pig, anesthetized and placed on the swing in the harness, crashed into a deep-dish steering wheel at about 10 mph. SIDE THIRD ROW PASSENGER AGE OF VICTIM OTHER 15% <13 13-19 20+ (MOSTLY ROLLOVERS) REAR 1 CRABI RECENT DEVELOPMENTS child test dummy used to measure the effectiveness of child restraint systems. SID (Side Impact Dummy) measures rib and internal organ shocks and compression of the chest cavity. It comes in 18, 12, and 6-month old versions. BioRID is a development that helps to more accurately assess whiplash trauma from a rear impact collision.Thanks to its 24 vertebra simulators, the BioRID has a greater ability to assume a more natural seating position. In turn, this has helped design more efficient head and neck restraints. THOR is an advanced 50th percentile male dummy. It features an improved spine and pelvis structure in order to better resemble a human and comes with an innovative array of face sensors meant to determine how objects impact a human face during a car crash. i-Dummies feature a new head, upper and lower neck, chest and pelvis. The namei" refers to integrated electronics, because this dummy model contains a data recorder the size of a cell phone, which allows the removal of 50 pounds of wires and allows the dummy to move around more freely. THUMS (Total Human Model for Safety) is an advanced crash test dummy from Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC). This average male dummy builds on the previous generation (which added a bone-like structure and brain) by adding detailed models of internal organs. TOP AUTOMOBILE SAFETY PICKS 2010 To determine crashworthiness – how well a vehicle protects its occupants in a crash – the Institute rates vehicles good, acceptable, marginal, or poor based on performance in high-speed front and side crash tests, a rollover test, plus evaluations of seat/head restraints for protection against neck injuries in rear impacts. In addition, the winning vehicles must offer electronic stability control. OCCUPANT DEATHS: SINGLE OR MULTIPLE VEHICLE CRASHES (%) 46 SMALL CAR MIDSIZE CAR LARGE CAR CARS AUDI A3 & A4 BUICK LACROSSE FORD TAURUS HYUNDAI GENESIS LINCOLN MKS MERCEDES E CLASS TOYOTA AVALON VOLVO S80 HONDA CIVIC CHEVROLET MALIBU CHRYSLER SEBRING DODGE AVENGER FORD FUSION HYUNDAI SONATA MERCEDES C CLASS SUBARU LEGACY & OUTBACK KIA FORTE & KIA SOUL NISSAN CUBE Su. SCION X ZA TOYOTA COROLLA VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 66 SUVS SMALL SUV MIDSIZE SUV MINIVAN TOYOTA SIENNA HONDA ELEMENT HYUNDAI TUCSON JEEP PATRIOT SUBARU FORESTER VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN AUDI Q5 CHEVROLET EQUINOX DODGE JOURNEY FORD FLEX GMC TERRAIN JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE KIA SORENTO LEXUS RY LINCOLN MKT TOYOTA HIGHLANDER & VENZA VOLVO XC60 & XC90 TRUCKS SINGLE VEHICLE MULTIPLE VEHICLE