On the real Crash Testing Grounds engineers and technical experts do just what it sounds like: they crash cars. New cars, old cars, expensive cars, sports cars, trucks, vans just about every kind of motor vehicle imaginable.They also experiment with different types of crashes: front-end, rear-end and side, plus incidents where cars and trucks roll over.

WHAT HAPPENS IN A CAR CRASH?

Have you ever wondered what happens inside a car when it crashes? The people at the Crash Test Lab do. They spend hour after hour measuring, testing and analyzing. They've found that in each car crash there are actually three collisions:

1. The Car's Collision
2. The Human Collision
3. The Human Body's Collision.

THE CAR COLLISION

During a crash, the car crashes to a stop. At 30 mph, a car hitting an object that is not moving will crumple in about two feet. As the car crushes, it absorbs some of the force of the collision.

THE HUMAN COLLISION

The second collision is the "human collision". At the moment of impact, passengers in the car are still traveling at the vehicles original speed. When the car comes to a complete stop the passengers continue to be hurled forward until they come in contact with some part of the automobile. For example, the steering wheel, the dashboard, the front window or back of the front seat. Humans in a crash can also cause serious injuries to other humans when they collide with each other. People in the front seat of a car are often hit by rear-seat passengers as they fly forward with incredible force.

THE INTERNAL COLLISION

In a crash, even after a human body comes to a complete stop, its internal organs are still moving. Suddenly, these internal organs slam into other organs or the skeletal system. This "internal collision" is what often causes serious injury or death.

Imagine what happens when someone's head collides with the windshield of a car. After the person stops moving the brain hits the inside of the skull. The result may be only a mild concussion or there could be permanent brain damage.

HOW TO PREVENT SERIOUS INJURIES IN A CRASH?

DID YOU KNOW?

Three out of four crashes happen within 25 miles of home, at speeds of 45 miles per hour or less.

About 40% of all fatal crashes occur on roads where the posted speed limit is 30 miles per hour or less.

Over the past decade 62,000 lives have been saved and over a million injuries prevented by seat belts.

Motor vehicle crashes cost American taxpayers over 100 billion dollars ever year.

In a 30 mph crash, a 15 pound child can generate an impact force greater than 300 pounds!

The Crash Test Lab is a neat place to learn about automobile safety!