What Lies Beneath

There’s More To Cr Ash-test dummies Than Meets The Eye.

- Andrew Lawrence

AUTOMOBILES HAVE BEEN involved in fatal incidents as far back as 1869, but it wasn’t until the 1930s that automakers began to pay serious attention to safety. This focus eventually gave rise to the crash-test dummy, the industry’s preferred instrument to measure the impact of a crash on the human body. Today’s model, the Hybrid III, was developed by General Motors in the 1970s and is the required dummy used in testing by NHTSA. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) also uses it for certain tests. While this model is 43 years old, there’s nothing old school about the tech. The modern Hybrid III can contain dozens more sensors than earlier versions did, and those sensors are lighter than before—though the dummy, like the average American, weighs more. Here’s what’s inside:

HEART OF THE MATTER