(Newswire.net — November 2, 2014) Detroit, Mich. — One in three adult Americans suffers from obesity. Obesity is, according to WHO, the worlds greatest health epidemic ever. Therefore, it is not a surprise that crash test dummies in the US will be made heavier in order to obtain more accurate results.
The Michigan company Humanetics, which makes the dummies, is working on models that are about 270 pounds (120kg), rather than the current standard of 167 pounds (75kg).
Obese drivers or passengers are 78% more likely to die in a car crash than an average-sized occupant, said Humanetics CEO Chris O’Connor.
The purpose of the new dummies is to look at how airbags or seat belts, and other saftey systems fare in an impact involving a heavier individual.
Current safety standards that are used around the world are based on data from 1980’s, Mr O’Connor said. The new obese dummies will lead to a more statistically significant data which correlate with reality in the US.
“We don’t want obese drivers to be any more at risk than other drivers,” O’Connor told Sky News.
About 78.6 million (35%) of Americans are obese, according to the CDC. The obese crash test dummies will help safety equipment manufacturers to produce products that are more reliable. Heavy-weight dummies are expected to be ready by end of the year.
Historically, some researchers took it upon themselves to serve as crash test dummies. One of them, USAF Colonel John Paul Stapp, propelled himself over 1000 km/h on a rocket sled and stopped in 1.4 seconds. A professor at Wayne State University, Lawrence Patrick, endured some 400 rides on a rocket sled in order to test the effects of rapid deceleration on the human body.
Patrick and his students not only allowed themselves to be hit in the chest and the head, but let shaterd glass be sprayed into their faces to simulate a car crash.