CRASH TEST DUMMY HISTORY
- On August 31, 1869, Mary Ward of Parsonstown, Ireland was thrown and killed from her steam-powered vehicle becoming the first recorded victim of an car accident.
- September 13, 1899, some 30 years later, Henry Bliss became North America's first motor vehicle fatality when he was hit while stepping off a NYC trolley.
- Since 1899, over 20 million people worldwide have died due to motor vehicle accidents.
- Wayne State University in Detroit was the first to begin collecting data on the effects of high-speed collisions on the human body.
- The first test subjects were human cadavers. They were used to obtain information about the human body's ability to withstand the crushing and tearing forces typically experienced in a high-speed accident.
- The current crash test dummy is a 5 foot-9, 170 lb dummy
- As Americans get heavier and taller they need for the dummy to grow with them is important to the safety of drivers.