Before crash test dummies, human corpses were used in crash tests

Crash test dummies, everyone has seen videos of these poor things strapped to a test vehicle, then launched at speed to a wall, in the name of crash testing. In a weird way, these videos are pretty nice to watch huh, an inanimate object barrelling to a wall, hoping the test car is safe enough to keep them from harm. 

But, what if I told you that, before crash test dummies, human cadavers (yes, dead bodies) were, and still is being used to do crash testing? Yeah, didn't think you'd wanna see a video of that. 

Why use human cadavers?

Put it simply, cadavers are the most accurate way to simulate injuries to the human body. Using the data derived from testing cadavers, this forms the roadmap to creating crash test dummies that are as human-like as possible.

Using cadavers for testing allows the continuous growth and development of not only car safety features, but to also continuously improve and develop dummies for automakers to use in their own labs. Yes, technology for crash test dummies develop too, you know.

Where did the idea come from?

One of the pioneers in cadaver testing initiatives, Wayne State University's (WSU) bioengineering deparment began testing cadaver skulls back in 1939 to to measure how much force the human body could sustain (the skull can take 1.5 tons in 1 second). In the 1960s, WSU started using whole-body cadavers. 

This led to the development of the “Wayne State Tolerance Curve,” or the amount of force required to cause head injuries in a car crash, published by professors Herbert Lissner and Lawrence Patrick. 

Using this development, the Head Injury Criterion was then created, which is widely used in automobile companies today. Other testing methods include a collision test analysis to the knee or spine to determine how much force the human skeleton and body can withstand. 

Body parts are then examined by coroners, engineers, physicians and researchers after each collision or impact test to determine damage to the body.

The main goal of using human corpses is to test the strength of bones and blood vessels in the body to see the degree of damage in a car accident. This is important for limbs such as the ribs, skull and spine.

Biomechanic studies using cadavers has helped car makers to develop safer cars. Keep this in mind the next time you strap on your seat belt when getting into your car.

So, what's it like?

So what's it like testing cadavers? Albert King, one of the researchers in at WSU’s bioengineering lab, offers an insight. 

“We actually rarely test cadavers in an automobile,” he said. “We do tests on a crash sled to simulate frontal, side and rear impacts. We look for areas in the interior of the car that can potentially cause injury in a crash. In fact, we try to protect the occupant from head to toe.”

King emphasizes the care taken with all cadavers used in the lab, saying, “We are required to treat cadavers with respect, and each worker in the cadaver lab is required to sign a pledge to that effect.”

Usually, cadavers come from family donations for “medical education research.” Families are not informed as to the cadavers’ specific use, except in cases where the researchers themselves are required to explicitly inform family members.

Conclusion

A research by WSU in 1995 concluded that automotive safety research using cadavers could reduce the number of road accident deaths by 8,500 cases a year. This includes even children cadavers that led to more innovations in vehicle safety for children. 

So yes, while there are moral and ethical dilemmas in using cadavers for automotive testing, ultimately one can't deny that a lot of good has come out of it. Just think of the innovations that have been conceived and the lives saved.

These days, cadaver automobile research is drastically reduced to only a couple per year, as opposed to 1966 figures of one test every month. While the numbers have reduced, don't imagine it will stop altogether soon. After all, so much good has come out of this for automotive safety.