Digital Motion X-ray technology was utilized to demonstrate the inner workings of a Crash Test Dummies neck. Steel cables, steel plates and polyurethane discs are seen when the dummies head and neck are moved into flexion and extension, demonstrating the forces of a whiplash injury.
Crash testing is an integral part of automotive design and engineering, consumer protection and even law enforcement. A number of organizations perform crash tests. Advocacy groups, like Consumer Reports and the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) perform safety and crash tests to protect consumers.
The U.S. government performs crash tests to make sure that cars sold in the United States meet minimum safety requirements. Car makers perform crash tests to test how well their cars work. All of these groups use crash tests to find safety issues and test solutions to make cars safer and reduce injuries and deaths from car accidents.
Over the decades, crash test dummies have become remarkable sources of information about the damage that can result from the extreme forces exerted on a body during a violent impact.