Photographic Instrumentation for Collision Injury Research

Forty-four experimental automobile collisions were conducted. A study was made of the two impacts that are part of every collision: first, the contact between the two automobiles; and second, the contact between the occupants and the interiors of the automobiles. Special photographic methods permitted collection of precise quantitative data as well as important qualitative information about these crashes. Superposition of before and after photos of the underbody of each vehicle facilitated analysis of the deformation of each car's structure. Camera coverage from every important angle was used to supplement the extensive electronic instrumentation designed to record the tremendous forces involved in each collision. High-speed motion-picture cameras provided the primary data for special aspects of the 50-mph head-on crashes. Photographic close-ups of the rapid sequences of injury-producing events have provided new and otherwise unobtainable scientific insight into the mechanisms of injuries in these events.

Print ISSN

0361-4573

Published

1958-02

Content type

Original Research

DOI

10.5594/J06222