What happens when the head of a pedestrian slams into the
bonnet of a car at speeds of up to 70 kilometres per hour? The Road Accident
Research Unit at the University of Adelaide aims to find out. It has built a
device called a headform launcher which will fire dummy heads into a car bonnet.
The researchers will test the impact of different makes of cars on the heads of
pedestrians during accidents. The first trials of the system will involve a
current-model GMH Commodore and a Ford Falcon. According to the research unit,
little is known about what happens to the head on impact and how the brain is
damaged, even in minor accidents.
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