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Oct 28, 2014.. To accommodate the increasing numbers of overweight drivers, car safety experts are developing an obese dummy.
The Incredible Crash Dummies is a line of action figures designed by Jim Byrne and Mike Riggs, styled after the eponymous crash test dummy popularized in a public service advertising campaign of the late 1980s, to educate people on the safety of wearing seat belts. The toys were first released by Tyco Toys in the early 1990s and discontinued in 1993. From 2004 on however, a new series of animated shorts involving the crash dummies was produced and the action figures subsequently revived under the Hot Wheels brand, another subdivision of Mattel. The Crash Dummies are anthropomorphic action figures modeled after the mannequins used in automobile collision simulations. Each one generally has two "impact buttons" on their torsos that, when pushed, will spring their limbs from their bodies. The toys mostly focused on a single body type, which featured two chest buttons- the top button caused the head and arms to separate, and the bottom button forced the legs to come off. Each arm and leg could also be separated further. This body type did have problems, however, in that the small metal clips inside the bodies which held the limbs on would sometimes break. Further, the tabs which held the limbs on the bodies were made from an unreliable plastic and, thus, were prone to breakage. Other bodies, however, focused on character-specific features and, while retaining the removable limbs (each would pull off at the midpoint), the button would activate some other feature (i.e. Daryl's spinning head, Spare Tire's "bug-out" eyes, ears, and tongue). A set of vehicles was also released which could then be used to simulate the car crashes as seen in the ads of the original crash test dummies. Among others, these vehicles include cars, jeeps, motorcycles and even aeroplanes. Each toy can be destroyed in a similar manner as the Crash Dummies themselves and can then later be reassembled. Vehicles come equipped with appropriate safety features such as helmets, airbags, and working seatbelts to promote saving lives through their use. The original line of Crash Dummy toys centered on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Vince and Larry "spokes-dummies" and other characters. The concept and initial play pattern for action figures and crash cars evolved through collaboration of Brian Dyak and Lawrence Scot Deutchman of the Entertainment Industries Council, Inc. as a key component of a national cause oriented marketing campaign designed by them and Leisure Concepts Ltd. Mr. Dyak and Mr. Deutchman hold the original inventor rights. However, licensing rights were given to Leisure Concepts and subsequently Tyco Toys shared in ownership. The campaign successfully went beyond the traditional television and radio public service announcements to give children and parents a hands on experience to learn the message "buckle up". Dummy suits used the characteristic solid colors and "caution" checkered stripes. The first generation was called "Vince & Larry, The Crash Dummies". Each toy was accompanied with a personalized biography card explaining the characteristics of each character. The first generation figures had the slogan "You Could Learn A Lot From A Dummy, Buckle Your Safety Belt!". After the first generation the slogan changed to "Don't You Be A Dummy. Buckle Your Safety Belt!". Later on as the characters developed, this line was added by the dummies saying, "And leave the crashing to us!" Deutchman developed the original style guide and Dyak led negotiations with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, eventually resulting in the flexibility to expand the line by discontinuing the relationship with the government. This catapulted the toy line into the popular culture as Leisure Concepts secured over fifty licensed properties on behalf of the campaign, including a Saturday morning television special. The bright primary color packaging with what would become the trademark neon orange accented designs were executed for Tyco by Howard Temner Design of New York, who contracted veteran toy and video game illustrator Marc Ericksen to do the myriad illustrations that would be featured throughout the production run of these popular toys. This team worked together with Tyco on all the following toy sets, from Vince and Larry, all the way through the Junk Bot series and their various iterations, eventually including their licensed uses for video game applications. Characters Vehicles Playsets Vince Crash Car with Dash Crash Test Center Larry Student Driver Car with Axel Crash & Bash Chair Daryl Crash Cycle Spare Tire Crash Chopper Skid the Kid Crash ATV with Flip Hubcat & Bumper Crash Lawn Mower with Wack Pitstop (Canadian Tire Only - Daryl Clone) Crash Go-Cart with J.R. The Incredible Crash Dummies saw a departure from the NHTSA dummies after three major networks banned the PSA commercials on airwaves in fear of promotion of Tyco's line of toys. This led to the end of the Vince and Larry action figures and namesake and the creation of a specific set of new heroes, Slick and Spin. Other characters carried over from the original series included Daryl, Spare Tire, and Hubcat & Bumper, the crash test cat and dog. However, all sets were re-branded with the new logos and characters. All artwork and images on the packages remained the same, with the names of Vince and Larry painted out in every photo. Each character came equipped with his own accessories and special ability to spring apart. Others had customized vehicles to drive around in. The Crash Dummies' profession is to educate children on the dangers of traffic and the hazards of driving without a seat belt. According to the backstory, they spend their time at the Crash Test Facility improving safety of automobiles by means of elaborate crash simulations. The backstory of Slick and Spin is identical to Vince & Larry's, as are their artwork with a palette swap. Axel (Green suit with glasses), Dash (Yellow suit with bulls eye on forehead), Wack (Red shirt with suspenders, blue pants and blue cap), Flip (Black and yellow suit), and J.R. (Red and gray suit) are only included with vehicles and could not be purchased separately, giving them a high rarity. By "The Incredible" era, the line had gained mainstream popularity in the USA and Europe, and quickly became a target for angry letters from parents. Many questioned the glorification of car crashes, while others protested the removal of Skid the Kid and Hubcat/Bumper from stores, which eventually happened. Characters Vehicles Playsets Slick Crash Car with Dash Crash Test Center Spin Student Driver Car with Axel Crash & Bash Chair Daryl Crash Chopper (black motorcycle) Spare Tire Crash Cycle (blue motorcycle) Skid the Kid (limited/recalled) Crash Lawn Mower with Wack Hubcat & Bumper (limited/recalled) Crash Go-Cart with J.R. Citgo Slick (mail-in offer expires Nov 1, 1992) Crash ATV with Flip Citgo Spin (mail-in offer expires Nov 1, 1992) The Junkbots were created as the primary antagonists to the Crash Dummies. They are four ruthless killing machines - the sinister leader Junkman and his henchmen Piston Head, Jack Hammer and Sideswipe - bent on destroying the Crash Dummies. Contrary to the original toys the Junkbots could not be blown apart (though parts were still removable), and they were mainly equipped with weapons intended to activate the triggers on the Crash Dummies' bodies. The junkbots were also supplied with their own set of vehicles, including a snow plower, a cannon and a chopper styled motorcycle. In this generation the Crash Dummies were released with bright colors, supposedly wearing "Pro-Tek" uniforms that made them stronger and faster. Three new dummies are originally released, Bull, who is presented as a friend to Spare Tire, and Dent & Chip, two brothers who always sport giant smiles and have gashes in their skulls, exposing pieces of brain. Each action figure comes with a weapon or tool to fight the Junkbots. In addition the Crash Go-Kart, Crash ATV, and Crash Lawn Mower were re-released with the same artwork on the packaging, but without including an action figure. The photographs on the boxes were re-shot using Pro-Tek action figures such as Daryl. Later in the year a fourth new dummy, Ted, was released wearing a black and green suit and coming with a VHS copy of the Incredible Crash Dummies computer animated cartoon. Dummy characters Dummy vehicles Slick in Pro-Tek Suit Crash Cab (yellow taxi) Spin in Pro-Tek Suit Slam Cycle (white motorcycle) Daryl in Pro-Tek Suit Crash N Dash Chopper (orange motorcycle) Spare Tire in Pro-Tek Suit Dirt Digger Bull in Pro-Tek Suit Flip-Over Truck Chip in Pro-Tek Suit Crash Plane Dent in Pro-Tek Suit Crash Lawn Mower without dummy Ted with Video Crash ATV without dummy Crash Go Kart without dummy Dummy Derby Car (black race car) Bash N Bomber Car (alternate red car) Junkbot characters Junkbot vehicles & playsets Junkman Junkyard Playset Piston Head Crash Cannon Jack Hammer Junkbot Wrecker Side Swipe 'Bot Hauler Purple & Gold Junkman with Video On the back of the packaging of the two figures released with the special Crash Dummies VHS, were pictures showing figures to be released in the next series of toys (in 1994). These were never publicly released in North America, though North American figures of Slick, Spin, Axel, and Dash with "The Incredible" on card do exist and are ultra rare, they either received a limited regional release, or are unsold factory stock, it is not fully known, but once in a blue moon North American carded figures from North America that were fully ready for retail do appear on eBay. Also complete and incomplete figures from factory stock sealed in plastic bags exist and are collectors pieces. It is unknown how many Darlene, the female dummy, prototypes were made, but they do exist, some finished and some unfinished, unpainted shells. She was intended as a female counterpart to Daryl, and featured breasts, a feminine head with a bow and ribbon, and a pink wrench. Though never released as a figure, she was featured in the board game under the name Darla. In the board game, she did not have a pro-tek suit, but rather a pink suit in the style of the first line of toys. A pro tek figure of the controversial Skid the Kid with a new stroller was also slated, made it to prototype stage, but it was never released anywhere, and is even rarer than the Darlene prototype. It can also be seen on the packaging of Ted and Gold Junkman action figures. South America and Europe, had a limited release of some of the items in the line. The line was to continue with the Pro-Tek series, re-introducing characters that had once been included with vehicles from the original line of toys, but their action buttons performed actions previously unseen in the first two lines of figures. In addition, a new line called Crash Dummies Racing was released in small quantities. Racing vehicles and accompanying characters in racing gear were announced but only some ever made it to stores, mostly outside of North America. The true release status of anything from 1994 is almost impossible to determine. Many more ideas had made it to final evaluation but were dropped when Tyco ceased production of the line. Slick, Splin, Dent, and Chip were all released in the Reacing series line. Three additional figures were set to be released but there is no evidence they were ever put into production. Rod, Gasket, and Axel were seen in very rare advertisements as well as on the back of the Racing series cards. The only known figures are prototypes and are very rare. New Pro-Tek characters (1994) Release status Racing characters (1994) Release status Racing vehicles (1994) Release status Slick in Pro-Tek Suit (new style) Limited Slick in Racing Suit Limited Jackknife Racer (White) Limited Spin in Pro-Tek Suit (new style) Limited Spin in Racing Suit Limited Jackknife Racer (Black) Limited Dash in Pro-Tek Suit Limited Dent in Racing Suit Limited Race Cart Limited Axel in Pro-Tek Suit Limited Chip in Racing Suit Limited Off-Road Racer Limited Darlene in Pro-Tek Suit Never released but has been seen Rod in Racing Suit Never released Stock Car (Blue) Limited Skid The Kid in Pro-Tek Suit Never Released Gasket in Racing Suit Never released Stock Car (White) Limited Axel in Racing Suit Never released Crash Plane (The Flying Dunce) Limited After purchasing Tyco Toys in 1998, Mattel revived the Crash Dummies line under the Hot Wheels toy brand. The release this time was similar to the original motif: living dummies crash-testing vehicles. The four Dummies were Crash, Crunch, Splice and Gyro. Unlike the first generation, each one suffered damage from crashes in a different way. Crash fell apart like the majority of the original figures, Crunch's head could be bashed into his body, Splice split in two whenever he was involved in a crash, Gyro's upper and lower halves spun in opposite directions. Two others followed the four, Poppa and Flex. Poppa's upper half came of the leg followed by his eyes popping out and Flex bent over backwards. In 1993, a half-hour television special called The Incredible Crash Dummies was produced. It was aired on Fox Kids on May 1, 1993. The animated short was entirely composed of computer generated imagery and centered on the adventures of Slick and Spin. A fellow Dummy named Ted has been chosen to use a new, indestructible torso module (Torso-9000), but his head is mixed up with an evil dummy's head, leading to the birth of Junkman. Slick and Spin try to free the kidnapped Dr. Zub from Junkman before the villain can extract the knowledge of how to mass-produce the torso. The special was later released on video and sold with the "Ted" action figure from the special as well as a second edition recolored Junkman. In 2004, a series of "Crash Dummies" animated shorts were commissioned for the FOX network and produced by 4Kids Entertainment. About a year later after it first aired, the graphics of the shorts were changed. The characters looked slightly darker, while the frame rate of the shorts were slightly slower. In this series, the dummies were named Crash, Splice, Crunch, and Gyro. In the fall of 2005, they were replaced by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shorts. A video game also called The Incredible Crash Dummies was developed by Gray Matter Inc. and published by LJN, Ltd. in 1993 for Super Nintendo and the NES. The game was ported to numerous systems including the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and the Commodore Amiga. It was awarded Strangest License of 1992 by Electronic Gaming Monthly. The game received generally negative reviews, with critics commenting that the controls are poor and the novelty factor quickly wears out. In the game, the player takes control of Slick in a storyline loosely tied in with the animated movie. The crash dummy is sent on a quest to recover the Torso 9000 and defeat the Junkman. The game adopts a traditional side-scrolling playing style in which each level must be finished from left to right and Junkman's minions defeated along the way. Whenever Slick suffers damage he loses a limb, until he has none left and loses a life. The loss of limbs does not otherwise affect gameplay. He can recover lost limbs by collecting screwdrivers. In total there are sixteen levels to complete divided into four areas, each of which must be completed under a specified amount of time. To defend himself, Slick comes equipped with spanners he can throw at his enemies, although their supply is limited. At the end of each area a boss character must be fought and, when successfully completed, a bonus stage can be entered. In the bonus stage the player drives a crash test vehicle and rakes up bonus points as the speed rises. Master System, Game Boy and Game Gear games of the same name were also created. Unlike the SNES and Genesis games however, these versions put the Dummies in a more traditional role. Every level gave Slick and Spin some variety of dangerous stunt to do, which they would in turn be graded on style. There were 5 levels: jumping off a building, driving a car through a course, skiing down a mountain, sorting bombs in a bomb factory and piloting a spaceship. Once the player had completed these levels, they would repeat numerous times, but with a different layout each time and generally increasing in difficulty, until the player has earned enough money to go on holiday. A series of comics involving the Crash Dummies in pro-tek suits was also produced by Harvey Comics in November 1993. A set of three magazine sized comics were released by Citgo in 1992 featuring the dummies in their original suits. Scattered throughout the comics are various puzzles and games to complete. The Incredible Crash Dummies Hit the Road to the Auto Race Track (Features Slick, Spin, Daryl, Spare Tire, Dash, Axel, Wack, J.R., Flip) The Incredible Crash Dummies Hit the Road to the Great Outdoors (Features Slick, Spin, Wack, J.R., Flip) The Incredible Crash Dummies Hit the Road to the Amusement Park (Features Slick, Spin, Daryl, Spare Tire, Skid the Kid, Hubcat) Each book is written and illustrated by Tony and Tony Tallarico. The final page of each book contains four coupons (expired November 1, 1992) Special Edition CITGO Crash Dummies Figures Mail-In Offer for $4.99 plus S&H Save $3.00 Mail-In Rebate on Incredible Crash Dummies Crash Test Center $1.00 Off Mail -In Rebate on Incredible Crash Dummies Crash 'N Bash Chair Free CITGO Oil Recycling Kit ($2.69 Value) Each book also features the 'Morgan Shepherd's Pledge For Life' Contest which required kids to mail in a certificate with their information and the signed statement "I pledge to wear my seat belt at all times while riding in an automobile." Contest featured 1,105 winners drawn at random. Grand Prize (5 Winners) (Expired October 1, 1993) Three night, four day Orlando vacation including accommodations at Buena Vista Palace in the Walt Disney World Village, rental car, Walt Disney World 4 day World Passes, & $500 in spending money First Prize (100 Winners) $500 in TYCO Toys including Incredible Crash Dummies, radio controlled cars, Little Mermaid & More Second Prize (1000 Winners) Crash Car with Dash action figure Crash Test Dummies, a Canadian rock band also named for their mannequins History of the Incredible Crash Dummies at X-Entertainment The Incredible Crash Dummies at MobyGames - Info on the Super Nintendo video game and all its ports. The Incredible Crash Dummies at the Internet Movie Database The Incredible Crash Dummies at TV.com
The Incredible Crash Dummies
The Incredible Crash Dummies is a line of action figures designed by Jim Byrne and Mike Riggs, styled after the eponymous crash test dummy popularized in a ..
Crash test dummy
A crash test dummy is a full-scale anthropomorphic test device (ATD) that simulates the dimensions, weight proportions and articulation of the human body, and ..
Oct 31, 2014.. A Michigan manufacturer is creating larger crash test dummies to reflect growing rates of obesity in the U.S..
A crash test dummy is a full-scale anthropomorphic test device (ATD) that simulates the dimensions, weight proportions and articulation of the human body, and is usually instrumented to record data about the dynamic behavior of the ATD in simulated vehicle impacts. This data can include variables such as velocity of impact, crushing force, bending, folding, or torque of the body, and deceleration rates during a collision for use in crash tests. The more advanced dummies are sophisticated machines designed to behave as a human body and with many sensors to record the forces of an impact; they may cost over US$400,000. For the purpose of U.S. regulation and Global Technical Regulations and for clear communication in safety and seating design, dummies carry specifically designated reference points, such as the H-point; these are also used, for example, in automotive design. Crash test dummies remain indispensable in the development of and ergonomics in all types of vehicles, from automobiles to aircraft. On August 31, 1869, Mary Ward became the first recorded victim of an automobile accident; the car involved was steam-powered (Karl Benz did not invent the gasoline-powered automobile until 1886). Ward, of Parsonstown, Ireland, was thrown out of a motor vehicle and killed. Thirty years later, on September 13, 1899, Henry Bliss became North America's first motor vehicle fatality when hit while stepping off a New York City trolley. Since then, over 20 million people worldwide have died due to motor vehicle accidents.[ The need for a means of analyzing and mitigating the effects of motor vehicle accidents on humans was felt soon after commercial production of automobiles began in the late 1890s, and by the 1930s, when the automobile became a common part of daily life and the number of motor vehicle deaths were rising. Death rates had surpassed 15.6 fatalities per 100 million vehicle-miles and were continuing to climb.[ In 1930 cars had dashboards of rigid metal, non-collapsible steering columns, and protruding knobs, buttons, and levers. Without seat belts, passengers in a frontal collision could be hurled against the interior of the automobile or through the windshield. The vehicle body itself was rigid, and impact forces were transmitted directly to the vehicle occupants. As late as the 1950s, car manufacturers were on public record as saying that vehicle accidents simply could not be made survivable because the forces in a crash were too great.[ Detroit's Wayne State University was the first to begin serious work on collecting data on the effects of high-speed collisions on the human body. In the late 1930s there was no reliable data on how the human body responds to the sudden, violent forces acting on it in an automobile accident. Furthermore, no effective tools existed to measure such responses. Biomechanics was a field barely in its infancy. It was therefore necessary to employ two types of test subjects in order to develop initial data sets. The first test subjects were human cadavers. They were used to obtain fundamental information about the human body's ability to withstand the crushing and tearing forces typically experienced in a high-speed accident. To such an end, steel ball bearings were dropped on skulls, and bodies were dumped down unused elevator shafts onto steel plates. Cadavers fitted with crude accelerometers were strapped into automobiles and subjected to head-on collisions and vehicle rollovers. Albert King's 1995 Journal of Trauma article, "Humanitarian Benefits of Cadaver Research on Injury Prevention", clearly states the value in human lives saved as a result of cadaver research. King's calculations indicate that as a result of design changes implemented up to 1987, cadaver research since saved 8,500 lives annually. He notes that for every cadaver used, each year 61 people survive due to wearing seat belts, 147 live due to air bags, and 68 survive windshield impact. However, work with cadavers presented almost as many problems as it resolved. Not only were there the moral and ethical issues related to working with the dead, but there were also research concerns. The majority of cadavers available were older white adults who had died non-violent deaths; they did not represent a demographic cross-section of accident victims. Deceased accident victims could not be employed because any data that might be collected from such experimental subjects would be compromised by the cadaver's previous injuries. Since no two cadavers are the same, and since any specific part of a cadaver could only be used once, it was extremely difficult to achieve reliable comparison data. In addition, child cadavers were not only difficult to obtain, but both legal and public opinion made them effectively unusable. Moreover, as crash testing became more routine, suitable cadavers became increasingly scarce. As a result, biometric data were limited in extent and skewed toward the older males. Some researchers took it upon themselves to serve as crash test dummies. Colonel John Paul Stapp USAF propelled himself over 1000 km/h on a rocket sled and stopped in 1.4 seconds. Lawrence Patrick, then a professor at Wayne State University, endured some 400 rides on a rocket sled in order to test the effects of rapid deceleration on the human body. He and his students allowed themselves to be smashed in the chest with heavy metal pendulums, impacted in the face by pneumatically driven rotary hammers, and sprayed with shattered glass to simulate window implosion. While admitting that it made him "a little sore", Patrick has said that the research he and his students conducted was seminal in developing mathematical models against which further research could be compared. But while data from live testing was valuable, human subjects could not withstand tests which went past a certain degree of physical injury. To gather information about the causes and prevention of injuries and fatalities would require a different kind of subject. By the mid-1950s, the bulk of the information cadaver testing could provide had been harvested. It was also necessary to collect data on accident survivability, research for which cadavers were woefully inadequate. In concert with the shortage of cadavers, this need forced researchers to seek other models. A description by Mary Roach of the Eighth Stapp Car Crash and Field Demonstration Conference shows the direction in which research had begun to move. "We saw chimpanzees riding rocket sleds, a bear on an impact swing...We observed a pig, anesthetized and placed in a sitting position on the swing in the harness, crashed into a deep-dish steering wheel at about 10 mph." One important research objective which could not be achieved with either cadavers or live humans was a means of reducing the injuries caused by impalement on the steering column. By 1964, over a million fatalities resulting from steering wheel impact had been recorded, a significant percentage of all fatalities; the introduction by General Motors in the early 1960s of the collapsible steering column cut the risk of steering-wheel death by fifty percent. The most commonly used animal subjects in cabin-collision studies were pigs, primarily because their internal structure is similar to a human's. Pigs can also be placed in a vehicle in a good approximation of a seated human. The ability to sit upright was an important requirement for test animals in order that another common fatal injury among human victims, decapitation, could be studied. Additionally, it was important for researchers to be able to determine to what extent cabin design needed to be modified to ensure optimal survival circumstances. For instance, a dashboard with too little padding or padding which was too stiff or too soft would not significantly reduce head injury over a dash with no padding at all. While knobs, levers, and buttons are essential in the operation of a vehicle, which design modifications would best ensure that these elements did not tear or puncture victims in a crash. Rear-view mirror impact is a significant occurrence in a frontal collision; how should a mirror be built so that it is both rigid enough to perform its task and yet of low injury risk if struck. While work with cadavers had aroused some opposition, primarily from religious institutions, it was grudgingly accepted because the dead, being dead, felt no pain, and the indignity of their situations was directly related to easing the pain of the living. Animal research, on the other hand, aroused much greater passion. Animal rights groups such as the ASPCA were vehement in their protest, and while researchers such as Patrick supported animal testing because of its ability to produce reliable, applicable data, there was nonetheless a strong ethical unease about this process. Although animal test data were still more easily obtained than cadaver data, the fact that animals were not people and the difficulty of employing adequate internal instrumentation limited their usefulness. Animal testing is no longer practiced by any of the major automobile makers; General Motors discontinued live testing in 1993 and other manufacturers followed suit shortly thereafter. The information gleaned from cadaver research and animal studies had already been put to some use in the construction of human simulacra as early as 1949, when "Sierra Sam" was created by Samuel W. Alderson at his Alderson Research Labs (ARL) and Sierra Engineering Co. to test aircraft ejection seats, aviation helmets and pilot restraint harnesses. This testing involved the use of high acceleration to 1000 km/h (600 mph) rocket sleds, beyond the capability of human volunteers to tolerate. In the early 1950s, Alderson and Grumman produced a dummy which was used to conduct crash tests in both motor vehicles and aircraft. Alderson went on to produce what it called the VIP-50 series, built specifically for General Motors and Ford, but which was also adopted by the National Bureau of Standards. Sierra followed up with a competitor dummy, a model it called "Sierra Stan," but GM, who had taken over the impetus in developing a reliable and durable dummy, found neither model satisfied its needs. GM engineers decided to combine the best features of the VIP series and Sierra Stan, and so in 1971 Hybrid I was born. Hybrid I was what is known as a "50th percentile male" dummy. That is to say, it modeled an average male in height, mass, and proportion. The original "Sierra Sam" was a 95th percentile male dummy (heavier and taller than 95% of human males). In cooperation with the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), GM shared this design, and a subsequent 5th percentile female dummy, with its competitors. Since then, considerable work has gone into creating more and more sophisticated dummies. Hybrid II was introduced in 1972, with improved shoulder, spine, and knee responses, and more rigorous documentation. Hybrid II became the first dummy to comply with the American Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) for testing of automotive lap and shoulder belts. In 1973, a 50th percentile male dummy was released, and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) undertook an agreement with General Motors to produce a model exceeding Hybrid II's performance in a number of specific areas. Though a great improvement over cadavers for standardized testing purposes, Hybrid I and Hybrid II were still very crude, and their use was limited to developing and testing seat belt designs. A dummy was needed which would allow researchers to explore injury-reduction strategies. It was this need that pushed GM researchers to develop the current Hybrid line, the Hybrid III family of crash test dummies. Hybrid III, the 50th percentile male dummy which made its first appearance in 1976, is the familiar crash test dummy, and he is now a family man. If he could stand upright, he would be 175 cm (5'9") tall and would have a mass of 77 kg (170 lb). He occupies the driver's seat in all the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) 65 km/h (40 mph) offset frontal crash tests. He is joined by a "big brother", the 95th percentile Hybrid III, at 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) and 100 kg (223 lb). Ms. Hybrid III is a 5th percentile female dummy, at a diminutive 152 cm (5 ft) tall and 50 kg (110 lb). The three Hybrid III child dummies represent a ten-year-old, 21 kg (47 lb) six-year-old, and a 15 kg (33 lb) three-year-old. The child models are very recent additions to the crash test dummy family; because so little hard data are available on the effects of accidents on children, and such data are very difficult to obtain, these models are based in large part on estimates and approximations. The primary benefit provided by the Hybrid III is improved neck response in forward flexion and head rotation that better simulates the human. Every Hybrid III undergoes calibration prior to a crash test. Its head is removed and is dropped from 40 centimetres to test calibrate the head instrumentation. Then the head and neck are reattached, set in motion, and stopped abruptly to check for proper neck flexure. Hybrids wear chamois leather skin; the knees are struck with a metal probe to check for proper puncture. Finally, the head and neck are attached to the body, which is attached to a test platform and struck violently in the chest by a heavy pendulum to ensure that the ribs bend and flex as they should. When the dummy has been determined to be ready for testing, and calibration marks are fastened to the side of the head to aid researchers when slow-motion films are reviewed later. The dummy is then placed inside the test vehicle, set to seating position and then marked on either the head and knees. Up to fifty-eight data channels located in all parts of the Hybrid III, from the head to the ankle, record between 30 000 and 35 000 data items in a typical 100–150 millisecond crash. Recorded in a temporary data repository in the dummy's chest, these data are downloaded to computer once the test is complete. Because the Hybrid is a standardized data collection device, any part of a particular Hybrid type is interchangeable with any other. Not only can one dummy be tested several times, but if a part should fail, it can be replaced with a new part. A fully instrumented dummy is worth about €150,000. Hybrid IIIs are designed to research the effects of frontal impacts, and are less useful in assessing the effects of other types of impact, such as side impacts, rear impacts, or rollovers. After head-on collisions, the most common severe injury accident is the side impact. The SID (Side Impact Dummy) family of test dummies is designed to measure rib, spine, and internal organ effects in side collisions. It also assesses spine and rib deceleration and compression of the chest cavity. SID is the US government testing standard, EuroSID is used in Europe to ensure compliance with safety standards, and SID II(s) represents a 5th-percentile female. BioSID is a more sophisticated version of SID and EuroSID,[but is not used in a regulatory capacity. The WorldSID is a project to develop a new generation of dummy under the International Organization for Standardization. BioRID is a dummy designed to assess the effects of a rear impact. Its primary purpose is to research whiplash, and to aid designers in developing effective head and neck restraints. BioRID is more sophisticated in its spinal construction than Hybrid; 24 vertebra simulators allow BioRID to assume a much more natural seating posture, and to demonstrate the neck movement and configuration seen in rear-end collisions. CRABI is a child dummy used to evaluate the effectiveness of child restraint devices including seat belts and air bags. There are three models of the CRABI, representing 18-month, 12-month, and 6-month-old children. THOR is an advanced 50th percentile male dummy. The successor of Hybrid III, THOR has a more human-like spine and pelvis, and its face contains a number of sensors which allow analysis of facial impacts to an accuracy currently unobtainable with other dummies. THOR's range of sensors is also greater in quantity and sensitivity than those of Hybrid III. THOR's original manufacturer, GESAC Inc., ceased production after the downfall of the auto industry. THOR was being further developed, and two other companies were working on similar dummies; NHTSA's ultimate goal for this government-funded project was the development of a single THOR dummy, but THOR dummy development stopped. FTSS, bought by Humanetics, and DentonATD both continued to produce the THOR LX and THOR FLX.[ In 2012 Sleepypod made Crash Test Dogs to test car safety restraints for pets. In the 1980s the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a division of the US Department of Transportation launched a series of public service announcements in magazines and on television featuring the antics of two talking crash dummies named Vince and Larry who modeled seat belt safety practices through their slapstick antics, with the slogan "You Could Learn a Lot from a Dummy". Since then crash dummy characters have continued to be used in seat belt safety campaigns, especially those aimed at children. In the early 1990s Tyco Toys created a line of action figures called The Incredible Crash Dummies based on the characters from the ads. They were intended to fall apart at the touch of a button on their stomachs. Vehicles which could be crashed into walls and broken were also produced. Dummies and vehicles were easily reassembled. They prompted a one-hour television special, The Adventures of the Incredible Crash Dummies. Unique for its time, the cartoon was produced entirely using 3D computer animation techniques. A comic book series and a video game, for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy, were produced. In 2004 a series of "Crash Dummies" animated shorts were commissioned for the FOX network. Related toys from Mattel's Hot Wheels brand were produced. The television series MythBusters employs a crash test dummy, "Buster", for dangerous experiments. In Discovery kids' children's educational series Crash Test Danny the title character is a living crash test dummy, played by Ben Langley, who gets crushed, blown up, and pulled apart in the name of science. A Crash Dummy appears in The Lego Movie. It is among the Master Builders that meet in Cloud Cuckoo Land within Middle Zealand. Car accident Crash test Crashworthiness Euro NCAP Safety car Mannequin "Anatomy of a Crash-Test Dummy", IEEE Spectrum, October 2007 History of Crash Dummies How the dead have helped the living I was a human crash test dummy The Female Crash Test Dummy She May Not Have a Brain, but She Could Save Your Life The "Sierra Sam" Story Meet 50th Percentile Hybrid III Biomechanics and the Cyberhuman It's Smart to be a Dummy Pregnant crash test dummy
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