Crash Test Dummies

Out of 11 crossovers tested, one model flunked every simulation.

After more than 40 years, researchers are designing new crash test dummies to reflect the fact that Americans are getting older and heavier.

Is the back seat the safest place for passengers? We may soon find out.

The DOT's new safety rules would add more crash tests, evaluate pedestrian safety in an accident, and check for the latest safety tech in vehicles. While still just a proposal, the updates could arrive for the 2019 model year.

The US Army has commissioned a tech company to develop a new type of crash-test dummy that will better measure the forces exerted on soldiers by IEDs.

America's well-publicized weight problem and aging population of baby boomers is collaborating to bring about a change in the humble crash test dummy, as automakers and safety regulators are attempting to build vehicles even better suited to our changing population.

America's well-publicized weight problem and aging population of baby boomers is collaborating to bring about a change in the humble crash test dummy, as automakers and safety regulators are attempting to build vehicles even better suited to our changing population.

We take it for granted that crash test dummies – save the ones we saw in the short-lived 1990s cartoon series or the Canadian one-hit wonder – are inanimate, unfeeling and altogether without conscience. But what if they suddenly came to life?

It would be glib to say that safety equipment has had a huge influence on automobiles in the past 20 years. The result of cars being massively more safe than they were not long ago has made them bigger, heavier, more expensive, more challenging to develop, harder to fix and harder for emergency responders to deal with. That's just what it takes to try and keep people safe when they'

Anyone can be an ordinary dummy, whereas being a good crash-test dummy takes work. A few things you probably didn't know: the official name for a crash-test dummy is "anthropomorphic test device" (ATD), General Motors "has a long history" designing ATDs, and the process is so specialized that there's even a Rear Impact Dummy Task Group.

Every parent does his or her best to keep their children safe. Car seats are a big part of that equation, and snapping our little cherubs into a five-point harness makes us feel like we've done our very best to care for our precious offspring. But are we really?

GM's H50-1 ATD in action – Click above for high-res image gallery

Click above to view high-res gallery of crash-tested Ford Taurus

Nine major automakers and two automotive suppliers have formed a group to look into and develop virtual crash tests that they say will be more realistic than violently smashing cars into immovable barriers.