From Slate (9-1-10):
Corpses Used As Crash Test Dummies
Virtually every part of your vehicle that affects driver safety, from the steering column to the windshield, was tested by having a human corpse slammed against it, reports Wired. Computer modeling is used to design new safety features, company officials say, but when push comes to shove there's still no substitute for testing new equipment using a genuine human cadaver. "It's still very important," said a Ford safety specialist. "Even though we have very good math modeling of dummies, human modeling hasn't reached that state yet." The bodies are swaddled in stockings to protect their dignity, then used in exactly the same way as a conventional crash-test dummy; after a simulated crash, the cadavers are rushed away for X-rays and autopsies to check for organ damage. Some automakers deny using cadaver testing, but even those who are bashful about using human bodies fund independent research groups that conduct testing on their behalf. "It's always a good idea when you're developing something to do cadaver testing," the Ford safety official says.
Read original story in Wired.com | Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010
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This is wrong in so many ways!!! What if that dead person was their brother or something? Do the actual family members know about this? How do they get the permission to use them? I understand they want the real thing to know exactly what damage it will cause and stuff, but this is just weird. I would never want to be a test dummy. Not even if I am already dead. They would have to give me a huuuuge amount of money or something to actually do that and offer my body once I die.
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