Toyota Safety

When you think of crash-testing cars, you probably think of crash test dummies. They have been the subject of numerous parodies, commercials and public service announcements. But the dummies are much more than that. Crash test dummies allow car companies like Toyota to collect crash data that would be impossible to get from a human occupant. The declining rate of car crash fatalities can be directly linked to the use of crash test dummies, helping car manufacturers to improve safety features on their automobiles.

Crash test dummies are built to resemble humans, but instead of organs they have three essential parts: accelerometers, load sensors and motion sensors. Accelerometers measure the acceleration in a particular direction and can help determine the probability of injury. Crash test dummies have accelerometers placed all over their bodies, including the feet, legs and pelvis. Load sensors measure the amount of force on different parts of the crash test dummy’s body during the crash. The motion sensors are built into the chest of the dummy and measure how much the chest deflects during a crash. These three parts work together to provide auto manufacturers an idea of what would happen to a human being in a car crash. But what exactly happens during these crash tests?

There are many different types of crash tests, including the oblique right and front barrier tests as well as a rear-impact test. But here we’ll focus on two of the most commonly known crash tests: a 35-mph frontal impact and a 35-mph side impact. The frontal-impact test involves a car running head-on into a concrete barrier. This helps car companies like Toyota see what happens when a car moving 35 mph hits another car of the same size and weight head-on that is also going 35 mph. The second crash test is a little more complicated. The 35-mph side-impact crash involves a 3015-lb. object with a deformable bumper running into the side of the test vehicle. The sled’s tires are angled, and the automobile moves at 38.5 mph. The angle of the sled drops the actual mph the automobile is traveling to 35 mph. This test demonstrates the impact on a car crossing an intersection and getting T-boned by a car running a red light. But red isn’t the only color involved with crash testing.

Engineers break down the elements of an accident into its most granular parts. Crash test dummies have their faces, knees and parts of their heads painted with a different color. Post crash, the car is examined to see where paint from the dummies is left on the interior of the vehicle. This helps engineers determine which improvements they can make to help reduce injuries to the body parts most likely to be injured in a crash.

Auto manufacturers like Toyota are constantly working to innovate future safety features of cars. From airbags to seatbelts, the safety features of automobiles today will look different from the safety features of tomorrow’s vehicles.