We have made a lot of advances in car accident safety over the last 30 years. Anti-lock brakes, airbags, seat belt requirements and a host of other safety features now standard on vehicles prevent a lot of deaths and serious injuries. That said, the human body is not set up to withstand the extreme conditions involved in a serious auto collision. However, what if the human body received a safety upgrade to help it survive a car accident? What features would our bodies have?
A small team in Australia — which included an artist, a trauma surgeon and a road safety engineer – recently got together to create an imaginary human being who has the fortifications required to survive an auto collision. They even created a full-size model of the strange looking creature. The model, named Graham, boasts:
— A noseless, flat and fatty face capable of absorbing impacts.
— No neck to eliminate the chance of it breaking.
— Stronger skin.
— An extra thick and massive skull.
— Ribs that have tiny airbags to help absorb impacts.
— Knees that bend in multiple directions.
— An additional leg joint that can jump away from cars if the individual is a pedestrian.
Graham was created to increase awareness regarding human vulnerability in traffic accident scenarios. Hopefully, with more awareness about our vulnerabilities, drivers in Virginia Beach will pay more attention to the road and maintain the safety of their vehicles in order to reduce the threat of car accidents. The World Health Organization claims that well over 1 million people die in car accidents annually. Considering this fact, the more awareness drivers have of car accident dangers and human vulnerability, the better.
At the end of the day, no Virginia Beach driver is perfect and accidents will happen no matter how careful we are. That said, when it is clear that an injury or death has happened as the direct result of another driver’s negligence, injured parties will have strong claims to seek financial restitution in court.
Source: Popular Science, “This is what humans would look like if we could withstand car wrecks,” Kate Baggaley, July 26, 2016