I am Rusty Haight, The "Human Crash Test Dummy". AMA

one thing i've gotta ask: When car manufacturers peform crash tests with dummies, what position do they put them in?

I know when i'm a passenger in a car i rarely sit upright with my arms by my side (usually i lean on a door and sleep, cross my legs, that sort of thing). Are these alternative seating positions ever tested? Do they seriously impact my safety?

For the most part, the manufacturers conduct crash tests to pass government regulations. The dummy position has to be standard from test to test so there is actually a detailed procedure to placing a dummy in a seat. Since it is impossible for the manufacturer to know how "you" will be sitting, they use the nominal seating position for crash tests.

As far as your driving position: always wear your seat belt and wear it properly: low on your hips and properly across your chest. Not behind your back or under your arm. Take advantage of the safety features they build into your car: they’re there for a reason! Next, don’t sit “out of position.” Don’t put your feet up on the dash over the passenger airbag or out the window . Don’t sit on your feet so the seatbelt is out of position. Next, if you have kids, use appropriate child safety seats and boosters and put them in the back seats where the safety seat is mounted properly.

How weird is it driving home from work?

Sometimes I worry about flashbacks ... haha

I'm traveling down the road at 50mph in a 1972 AMC gremlin. Suddenly, I'm broadsided on my passenger side by a 1986 Buick sedan traveling 47 MPH. What happens now?

Haha, so specific. I have actually crashed a gremlin before. In your case, I would expect you to move towards the passenger side, probably sliding out of your shoulder belt.

Chance of death?

Very minimal. We do so much planning and calculations before hand that We kinda know that I will be ok. We have safety engineers and biomechanists who can figure this stuff out for me. Out of 900+ I havent died yet ...

How did you get into this line of work?

By accident... Just kidding, I was a police officer in San Diego and worked in the Accident Investigation Bureau and was offered a job in the private sector as an accident investigator. I took that job which lead to a teaching job - teaching accident investigation - which lead to research. Driving in crash tests is part of the research. It’s a lab. Like dissecting a frog in biology class or mixing chemicals in chemistry lab, conducting a crash test is a lab. Just on a larger scale. So, when I started teaching accident investigation and analysis, I argued that we needed a lab and a crash test is that lab in accident investigation. Because moving a lot of equipment around is costly and the classes are often taught on location at different police departments, we had to find a way to get a car into the crash and it fell on me to do it so I drove one car into another. That was in 1994 and today I have some 967 crashes behind me.

By accident

Well, that answers my follow-up question about whether you're new to reddit.

Actually I am new to reddit. I have just been browsing for a day or two. My sons are redditors and they said I should do an AMA. I guess I fit in here.

Welcome, your soul is now ours.

I have already provided my first born

Hey Rusty! So how has being the human crash test dummy helped you with the ladies? Also what's the fastest you've ever crashed a car?

Well, there was this 5th percentile female dummy that one time....no, not so much.

54 miles an hour into another car which resulted in a "change of velocity"of about -20 miles an hour for me. We often think of crash severity in terms of "how fast" someone is driving. In reality, crash severity is defined by what's called "Delta-V" or the change of velocity in a crash. Think of it this way, I can drive 54 miles an hour into another car and be slowed by 20 miles an hour or I could drive 54 miles an hour into a wall and be slowed by 54 miles an hour. The speed going in is the same, it's the effect of the crash that makes the one with the barrier more severe.

So, going 120 mph (53.65 m/s) into a car and slowing to 90 mph (40.23 m/s) would be the same as slamming into a brick wall at 30 mph (13.41 m/s) and coming to a stop?

Almost...the other factor is time. If the wall impact is, say, over 100ms but the car-to-car is over 250ms, the car-to-car is otherwise less severe. think of it this way,it's not the speed it's the SUDDEN stop at the end. The shorter the crash time (pulse) the worse the crash is. Severity is really the change of speed AND he change of time.

What's your daily driver? Favorite ride?

I have a Land Rover Discovery. I like the classic design and it’s big enough to pull my boat or camping trailer.

What injuries have you sustained?

Little bumps and bruises here and there but nothing major and nothing permanent. The idea is that if I’m teaching people how investigate a crash and understand how people may be hurt, I should be able to plan a crash in such a way as I don’t get hurt. Normally, I’m successful. Like I said, there have been some bumps and bruises. In crash analysis, if we’re working backwards in the real world where you have the AFTERmath of a crash, we’re doing what’s called reconstruction. When I plan a crash, I’m CONSTRUCTING the crash, planning it to minimize my risk BUT still get the most for the folks there to see it and learn from it.

Did you have a hard time looking or getting accepted for Death Insurance/Benefits?

No. I actually had a more difficult time getting insurance because I am a SCUBA diver. I guess the insurance people dont have a checkbox for crash test dummy haha.

How many bones have you broken, and which one was the most painful?

NONE. I have had some minor injuries but no broken bones.

What were they testing the crashes at, 5 mph? What was your worst injury then?

Haha maybe this is why Stan Lee called me a "Superhuman" haha. I think my average impact speed is about 40 mph. My fastest is about 55mph.

My worst injury was a knee impact with the dash. It hurt for a few days.

Hello Sir. How do you prevent serious injury?

Planning. We have safety engineers and biomechanists that can predict and prevent any injuries. We are able to calculate what is going to happen before the test and that way I am able to avoid injuries.

Do you ever get headache or other concussion like symptoms? After this many occurrences one would think...

I have three sons and a daughter. I have plenty of headaches. Seriously, I really haven't had as many headaches as just really sore muscles after a day of crashing.

A sort of whiplash?

Its like a football player after a big game usually. A little soreness but it goes away in a day or two. I usually do about 5 or 10 crashes in a day so sometimes its worse than others. On top of that, we have a day or so of prep before a day of crashes and there's a lot of moving things around (like cars) and hauling equipment so part of being sore is a function of that...in addition to the crashes. Generally, though, no "whiplash" and nothing residual or long term.

If you weren't in this line of work what would you be doing?

I would probably still be a cop.

What is the worst injury you have gotten from one of these crashes?

Little bumps and bruises here and there but nothing major and nothing permanent.

What kind of car do you drive and why?

I have a Land Rover Discovery. I like the classic design and it’s big enough to pull my boat or camping trailer. For safety, the bigger the better.

Opinion on hospital care and treatment?

Sure can you be a little more specific?

More like how have you been treated throughout your time and do you always follow doctors orders when they tell you to take it easy for 7 weeks cause you have broke a bone or do you just ignore it and do a stunt?

Well I have not had any hospital care. I havent had very many injuries. Sometimes, doctors and chiropractors want to look at me "for science" and check me out. I seem to be fine and have no issues. They usually tell me im crazy but it is my job.

Whats the most lavish car you have had to honor of being crashed inside of?

Probably a brand new Caddilac STS. It was so difficult for me to tear off the "How to care for your new leather seats" tag off before the test.

If your still answering (maybe tomorrow), Non-biased... what would you say the safest car to drive would be for 35-70mph crashes.

The biggest one you can afford. Seriously, bigger is usually better in terms of safety and surviving a crash. To put it in football terms, you don’t have 97 lb linemen... Another aspect of safety is their performance in crash tests, especially the offset head on frontal test like we see from IIHS and in Europe. I think we need more of that sort of testing in vehicle certification like they do in places like Europe and Australia. In general, if a car is a IIHS "top safety pick" it is usually a good choice.

Have you ever been to San Francisco's Haight & Ashbury, looked up at the street sign and see Haight and giggled?

Haha yes. I have been there and taken the obligatory photo with the street sign. Surprisingly, most people don't make the connection when I tell them its spelled like the street in SF.

What is your closest near death experience?

Other than when I was a cop, probably the time I did a crash test for an experimental vehicle and the seat belt failed during the crash. I ended up bumping my head a little.

this answer made me curious, What was your closest near death experience while being a cop?

Like every cop, I have had some interesting days. Nothing too crazy or notable. Sorry for the letdown haha.

Weren't you on Time Warp?

Yes! It was one of the best shows I have been on for sure. Loved the high speed footage.

Yours was my favorite episode! What was your initial reaction to seeing it on high speed?

Thanks, it was alot of fun to tape. I really remember seeing the puff of smoke from the seat belt pretensioner in the video. I normally never notice it happening in real time, but in the video it is really obvious that it fired. It was one of those times where there is so much going on in a short period of time and you miss the little things.

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No. My sons play playstation3. I used to play carmeggeddon on the PC haha.

What's the best way to prevent injury if you know you're about to get in a crash (I assume it'll depend on where you are in the car)?

Are all the crashes you do in cars, or do you have experience with other vehicles (not just trucks/SUVs, etc. but helicopters, airplanes, boats, trains, whatever)?

Thanks for the AMA!

Realistically, you probably won't know in time to do anything meaningful so it's better to start off (a) belted and (b) in a proper position. Time seems to slow down as you head into a crash but really, in the real world, you have so little time you have to count on being prepared in advance.

I have crashed tractor trailers, firetrucks, and RVs, but other than "surface vehicles" like that ... no, nothing else (yet ...)

Anything special planned for crash #1,000?

I'd like to hope so. I have some things in mind but I don't want to jinx it. On #100, I had balloons come of out the trunk...kinda lame now by comparison. On #500 we were kinda busy and I really didn't do much for that but #1000 is a big deal. I did a crash live on the Leno show in 02. It would be nice to do something like that for #1000 but I haven't got anything solid planned yet.

What's your favorite dinosaur?

Delta Velociraptor.

What does the human crash tester provide that cannot be measured or emulated on crash test dummies considering they were created from data from previous human testing?

Crash dummies have their purpose. Most of the time, there used in the more severe, higher-speed barrier crash tests - a type of crash that I'm not going to be driving in. The crash dummies are a human form with instrumentation inside to record the severity of those crashes on that type of body. They're not normally well-suited for the more moderate and lower speed crashes. There really better suited for the much more severe crashes where injury is likely. So the "normal" dummy and I have different applications. Not to say that I don't drive in relatively "fast crashes." I have driven in crashes as high as 54 miles an hour into another car. But that's not something I would do into a barrier (wall).

Interesting, thanks for the AMA

Ya you got it, thanks!

Hi Rusty! What originally got you into this profession?

Whats the scariest crash you've been in?

Thanks!

I was a San Diego Police officer in the Accident Investigation Bureau. Later I took a teaching job in which I performed crash tests as part of a lab experiment.

The scariest crash I have been in was when I was testing an "experimental car". The seatbelt malfunctioned and I bumped my head a little. Since we have so much planning, I know what to expect now.

Do you ever get the adrenalin rush right before the accident? Or has it just faded by time. Also, how has this affected you physically? Any mental issues/problems throughout the years? And lastly (sorry for the length of this comment) what was the one accident that you thought you were actually going to get hurt in/remember most?

No not usually. I sometimes have a little adrenalin rush just after some more severe tests. As far as I can tell, I have no serious health issues. No mental problems and no hospitalization. Honestly, I probably have more more health issues from flying 100,000 miles a year for business.

What is the most expensive car you have crashed? Did you feel a little sad Inside? What was your favorite car you crashed?

Probably a brand new Caddilac STS. It was so difficult for me to tear off the "How to care for your new leather seats" tag off before the test. I don't think I have a favorite. There are too many to consider.

what is the best thing to do when you are in a mini van, no seatbelts available and you know there's a crash imminent?

i panicked and used my feet to brace myself since i was so scared of being thrown out of the vehicle. (was traveling over 100 kmh at the time of impact, downhill, brake failure). result was broken spine. so i'm curious how should one react if you are in a situation like that.

Besides the fact that you SHOULD ALWAYS be belted, you really do not have enough time to react. At that point there isnt much you can do. If you didnt brace you would probably have another injury of similar severity. Know one could really know for sure.

my university vans do not come equipped with seatbelt (i live in thailand, you can forget about successfully suing them), so there really is no option to belt up. as for that particular incident, the brake cables snapped on the off ramp on the highway, and i was well aware of what was about to happen for a good 5 seconds or so, most of which i spent freaking out. looking back, it wasnt the smartest thing to do, so i was wondering if there is such a thing as a "crash position" for cars.

Wow that is a bad situation for sure. If I had enough time, the key is to anchor your body to the strongest parts. The pelvis, spreading the loads around the chest. Im not sure what you could use to do this however. I would also try to pad the hard objects that I think I would come into contact with. Might be a good idea to get in a "plane crash" or rolled up position.

This was one of the coolest !AmA's to read... Thank you for doing this!

Thanks! Drive safe!

1) What is something we could all do to make the roads safer?

1a)

2) Do you think that the speed limits should be raised?

2a)

3) If you could change a couple of traffic laws, what would they be?

3a)

4) Is there anything special you do to mentally prepare for a crash? Do you not have sex before a big performance like some athletes?

4a)

5) What do you do when you are not wrecking cars? Do you just sit around the office until they need a test dummy?

5a)

6) How much money do you make a year?

6a)

7) Can you please insert a funny or interesting cop story?

7a)

8) What are some things I can look for to determine the cause of an accident while I am rubber-necking?

8a)

9) I have stopped at a car accident to help out before. Once the fuzz showed up I split right away because I had warrants. Is there any chance a cop would run my license while being a good semaritan?

9a)

10) What percentage of police officers would participate in a wide scale gun confiscation?

10a

11) What is your offical title for work?

11a)

12) How much do you tip at a sit down restaurant?

12a)

13) What is the biggest perk of your job? Biggest downfall?

13a)

14) What long term career goals do you have?

14a)

15) Do you have a special bond with the non-living crash test dummies? What about human cannonballs?

15a)

If you just want to copy and past the questions, you can fill in the blanks at #a) for easier reading. Thank you.

Wow thats alot of questions ... My son did the same thing and got one answered during the presidential debates.

1) What is something we could all do to make the roads safer? 1a) Defensive driving is key. Also being educated in crash safety is important. Check out the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety for more information.

2) Do you think that the speed limits should be raised? 2a) In certain places higher speed limits work. In others it is more complicated.

3) If you could change a couple of traffic laws, what would they be? 3a) I would change the way we license drivers. Graduating licensing is a good idea. Additional skill tests are a good idea.

4) Is there anything special you do to mentally prepare for a crash? Do you not have sex before a big performance like some athletes? 4a) I double check all the calculations and the plan. I also make sure that all of our equipment is working properly.

5) What do you do when you are not wrecking cars? Do you just sit around the office until they need a test dummy? 5a) I am very busy actually. I do a lot of police training and crash research as well.

6) How much money do you make a year? 6a) Not nearly enough! Hahaha! I get paid to teach classes and, sometimes, a little more to conduct the crash tests. There’s no real good way to separate out the “cost” of the crash test from the cost of conducting the class.

7) Can you please insert a funny or interesting cop story? 7a) Its been a long time since I've been a cop.

8) What are some things I can look for to determine the cause of an accident while I am rubber-necking? 8a) Other rubber-neckers ... haha. It takes alot of work to reconstruct a crash. We look at the Human, Vehicle and Environment.

9) I have stopped at a car accident to help out before. Once the fuzz showed up I split right away because I had warrants. Is there any chance a cop would run my license while being a good semaritan? 9a) Not likely

10) What percentage of police officers would participate in a wide scale gun confiscation? 10a) This is not really my expertise.

11) What is your official title for work? 11a) Officially, I am the Director of the Collision Safety Institute

12) How much do you tip at a sit down restaurant? 12a) Usually 18 percent?

13) What is the biggest perk of your job? Biggest downfall? 13a) The biggest perk is the travel and the fact that no two work days are the same. The downside is having to be away from the family so much.

14) What long term career goals do you have? 14a) Surviving to my 1000th crash.

15) Do you have a special bond with the non-living crash test dummies? What about human cannonballs? 15a) Haha yes. We have a female dummy named Matilda that we used in a very important case in Australia#Vindication). I ended up testifying in front of the supreme court of Australia as an expert.

What does you family think of what you do?

I have three sons and a daughter. All of the boys have driven in or been in pretty minor crashes so they know what it’s about. One of my sons is working on his PhD in traffic safety and went to his first crash tests way back on his 6th birthday. Another one was a fireman/paramedic and did some research with me on the effect of occupants in an ambulance, now he is an ICU nurse. The last one was in some low severity crashes before he had his driver license. I think it gives them all an appreciation of what can happen in a crash. I think they’ve all been around what I do long enough and seen it so many times that they know I’m planning and taking whatever precautions I can. My daughter hasn’t been in one of the tests but has helped out when we’ve done them.

What type of cameras do you use in your crash tests?

We use a variety of high speed cameras (like you see on Mythbusters) and small POV cameras. We like the Contour GPS cameras because they record speed and position in addition to the video. We also use a VBOX (GPS data collector) with video capabilities.

Thanks for the AMA. What kind of padding or safety gear do you wear during your test?

No helmet but I do wear knee protectors and essentially a football mouthpiece and sometimes a pad on my belly and lower chest depending on the crash planed severity. Particularly when I have instrumentation on like an accelerometer, I try to drive in as normal a condition as I would going to the grocery store in my own car.

Would you rather fight 1 horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses?

Who fights a duck?