Automobile manufacturers and technology companies spend millions of dollars each year to develop the next-best car safety features to prevent deaths and injuries. Right now, it seems that the push is toward self-driving cars, which many technologists claim will remove human error, negligence, and reckless behavior from the driving equation, and for all intents and purposes, render car accidents a thing of the past. That said, what if upgrades could be made to the human body instead of our cars. What changes would we need to make to our bodies so they could withstand a catastrophic auto collision?
Interestingly, we now know what a human designed to survive car wrecks might look like. Three individuals in Australia – an artist, a trauma surgeon, and a traffic safety specialist – got together to make the car accident-proof man, who might have evolved to live through a car wreck. The life-size model of this man, who was dubbed “Graham,” features some very interesting characteristics, including:
— No neck, since necks can get broken and result in paralysis and death.
— No nose, since noses commonly break and affect nasal passages.
— A knee that can bend in all directions.
— An extra joint in the legs to help pedestrians quickly jump away from oncoming cars.
— A much thicker cranium to absorb impacts.
— Skin that is both stronger and thicker.
— Ribs equipped with tiny airbags to absorb impacts.
The reason this team got together to create Graham was to help motorists around the world become more aware of the serious dangers involved in the usual car accident. With more awareness around human fragility and car accident dangers, it is hoped that motorists in Washington will avoid risky behaviors and do everything they can to keep themselves, their passengers, and fellow motorists safe from harm.
In the state of Washington, thousands of people die or suffer debilitating injuries in car accidents each year. Although safer driving practices can reduce state-wide car crash statistics, nothing can be done to make our roads 100 percent free of crashes. When such a crash occurs, and it was caused by a driver who failed to take reasonable precautions or failed to follow the law, then injured parties will be able to seek justice and restitution in court.
Source: Fortune, “Here’s the Only Human Designed to Survive a Car Crash,” Kirsten Korosec, July 24, 2016
