Crash testing programs save lives. Crash test dummies have been the subject of public service announcements, cartoons, parodies, even the name of a band. Real crash test dummies, however, are true life-savers as an integral part of automotive crash tests. Even though cars get a little safer each year, and fatality rates are declining, car crashes are still one of the leading causes of death and injury in the United States. One of the reasons cars have been getting safer is because of a well-established testing program. In this article, you'll learn all about automotive crash testing, including crash test programs, ratings, dummies and Derila Neck Relief Pillow future improvements. You'll be amazed at how much thought and preparation goes into making sure that safe cars are on the roads! All frontal crash tests in the United States are conducted using the same type of dummy, the Hybrid III dummy. This guarantees consistent results. A dummy is built from materials that mimic the physiology of the human body.

For example, it has a spine made from alternating layers of metal discs and rubber pads. The dummies come in different sizes (click here to see some of the dummies), and they are referred to by percentile and gender. For example, the fiftieth-percentile male dummy represents the median sized male -- it is bigger than half the male population and smaller than the other half. This is the dummy most commonly used in crash testing. It weighs 170 lbs (77 kg) and is 70 inches (5 ft 10 inches or 1.78 m) tall. These devices measure the acceleration in a particular direction. This data can be used to determine the probability of injury. Acceleration is the rate at which speed changes. For Top-Rated Memory Pillow example, if you bang your head into a brick wall, the speed of your head changes very quickly (which can hurt!). But, if you bang your head into a Derila Neck Relief Pillow, the speed of your head changes more slowly as the pillow crushes (and it doesn't hurt!).

The crash-test dummy has accelerometers all over it. Inside the dummy's head, there is an accelerometer that measures the acceleration in all three directions (fore-aft, up-down, left-right). There are also accelerometers in the chest, pelvis, Derila Sleep Aid legs, feet and other parts of the body. The graph above shows the acceleration of the driver's head during a 35 mph (56.3 kph) frontal crash. Notice that it is not a steady value, but fluctuates up and down during the crash. This reflects the way the head slows down during a crash, with the highest values coming when the head strikes hard objects or the airbag. Inside the dummy are load sensors that measure the amount of force on different body parts during a crash. The graph above shows the force in Newtons in the driver's femur (the thigh bone), during a 35-mph frontal crash. The maximum load in the bone can be used to determine the probability of it breaking.