“Graham” Model Shows How Human Body Could Evolve to Survive Car Crashes

In Australia, just as in the U.S., there is a serious problem with drunk driving.  “Down Under,” they have a governmental agency called TAC that polices the highways and also provides medical attention to car accident victims. This agency also launches many public safety campaigns to promote safe driving and prevent car accidents.

TAC has been known in the past for their interesting and creative public awareness campaigns, and they have just released a new model of sorts that has gone viral.  This is a model of what a human being would look like if it evolved to a form that would survive the typical deadly car accident.  This strange looking figure, is not winning any beauty contests, as noted in a feature from CNET, but it is designed to survive in the event of a major car accident.

Some of the features are a flat face that is designed to absorb impact.  The ribs also reach up to the skull to protect the brain, and it also has a giant head with more cushioning.  There are also additional joints on the shins that allow Graham’s legs to basically collapse to prevent them from breaking in a major car accident. These are only some of the features designers gave to Graham so that he would be able to survive an otherwise deadly car accident.

One of the questions being asked around the Internet is why they would design such a model, since it is very unlikely that a human would ever evolve to survive a car crash.  The point of it may be that it is not actually going to happen, but to show two things.  First, humans and animals evolved, according to most accepted scientific theories, in response to conditions that make it difficult to survive.  For example, the giraffe is believed to have evolved from a horse-like creature where the food was on higher branches.  This allowed them to survive where animals without a long neck would not in certain areas. The lack of food at a lower level was a real threat.

Likewise, the chance of dying in a car accident is also a serious threat.  However, unlike with food being on higher branches, the second point of this model is to show that these car accident-related deaths are completely avoidable.  As our Boston car accident lawyers can explain, while we typically use the term accident, they are really acts of negligence that do not have to happen.

The reality is that cars are going to “evolve” a lot faster than the human body is going to evolve, and while there are more safety features than ever before, the cars also travel faster than ever before. There is also a reality that people are often resistant to new safety features, as they are seen as restrictive.  Take the case of NASCAR, for example, where drivers were against five-point harness, head and neck safety devices (HANS) and SAFER barriers.  Many of those who were against these safety features were injured or even killed as a result of not having them, and now they are standard features, but only after not having them proved too costly.

If you are injured in an accident in Massachusetts, call Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free and confidential appointment — (617) 777-7777.

Additional Resources:

Meet Graham, the hideous creature built to survive car crashes, CNET, July 23, 2016, By News Desk

More Blog Entries:

Report: Fall River Teen Killed in Car Crash on Way to Prom, June 26, 2016, Boston Car Accident Injury Lawyer Blog