Inside a Crash Test Dummy

They’re actually quite pricey:

Average dummy – $40 – 60,000
Dummy with data acquisition – $250,000
Side crash dummy – $660,000 (most expensive)

That’s why components are swapped out instead of the entire dummy.  Ribs break the most often, and are a $15,000 to replace.

Above is just the skeleton.

Below are kid dummies.

The aforementioned data acquisition and biofeedback devices. They track 40 data points in total.

It measures things like neck and brain injuries, head acceleration and velocity.

The one thing a dummy cannot simulate is how a human tenses up just before a crash.

Ideally you don’t do that, relaxed musles fare better upon impact; that’s why a drunk driver often sustains a crash better than a sober one.

Into the cabin he goes to be crashed.

The dummy is covered in grease paint to document what hit where.

This is his face hitting the steering wheel airbag.

Spotted at the IIHS during my recent trip with Subaru.