Meet The Genetically Altered Human, Designed To Withstand Car Accidents

Science has spent a lot of time developing cars that are safer for people to be inside of. Airbags, radar technology, crumple zones, cameras and other safety features try to avoid accidents, or lessen the impact to the occupants when there is an accident. But maybe the solution is to just forget the car, and build a better human?

That sounds like science fiction, and it is really just a thought experiment, but researchers overseas have been investigating what kind of evolution the human body would have to undergo, to be a human being that was resistant to injury in car accidents.

The Hypothetical Human

The computer generated human is shown at http://www.meetgraham.com.au/view-graham but here’s a short description of our modified, crash-proof human.

The Head and Face

He would have to have a much larger head, filled with fluid, in order to avoid the brain impacting the skull in an accident, as what happens now in many car accidents. The modified head is also cushioned with fat, which makes sense, as that’s how our internal organs are protected by our midsections.

Internally, the same way ligaments brace our musculature and skeleton, ligaments would also brace our brain inside the skull, to keep it from moving in an accident.

In order to protect the face, all facial features are virtually flat—there’s no nose that sticks out or ears and for further protection, the eyes are sunken in.

No Neck But More Ribs

Necks are vulnerable in any accident, so the ideal crash proof human has no neck. Researchers found that almost any variation of a neck created too many potential injuries in an accident. It was nearly impossible to create a hypothetical crash-proof neck. So instead of a neck, the ribs extend all the way to the base of the skull.

The ribs are filled with sacs, like mini-airbags, to absorb impact, and protect the rib cage and organs.

Pedestrian Safety

Humans aren’t just drivers, they’re pedestrians also. So the researchers surmised that the crash proof human would need much stronger legs, akin to a horse’s hoofs, that would allow a human to get out of the way of a moving car much quicker. These feet are “spring-loaded,” giving the added ability to jump out of the way of a car.

Also helping pedestrians are the modified knees; because many injuries result from the fact that knees bend only one way, the ideal crash-resistant human has knees that bend in multiple directions, with the use of extra ligaments in the knees.

Just a Thought Experiment

Of course, none of these modifications will happen anytime soon—or ever—and the researchers developed the project just to bring light to what happens to the human body in an accident, and the parts of the body that are the most vulnerable.

You aren’t crash-proof: If you are injured, call attorneys that can help. Call the West Palm Beach personal injury attorneys at Pike & Lustig today.

Sources:

cnbc.com/2016/07/22/what-a-crash-proof-human-looks-like.html

meetgraham.com.au/graham/legs-and-feet