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Carleton University engineering students develop bicycle crash-test dummy

I had a chilling flashback when I saw video of an experimental bicycle crash dummy being tested by university students in Ottawa.

Rounding a blind corner on a bike path, I encountered a roller-blader on one side and his dog on the other, the leash in between. The ensuing collision sent me over my bike's handlebars for a face plant on the asphalt. My helmeted head made a watermelon sound as it hit.

The helmet certainly saved me, so it's fascinating to see a team of engineering students from Carleton University and mechanical technician students from Algonquin College come up with a crash-test dummy that could help develop even better head protection for cyclists.

The goal, the Ottawa Sun reports, is to give those working on injury prevention a tool similar to the kinds of sensor-equipped dummies used by the auto industry for decades.

After eight months of work developing their prototype, the students tested the dummy. They mounted it on a bike that was then sent hurtling down a specially constructed metal track at 25 kilometres an hour, the Ottawa Citizen reported.

"We've been trying to simulate whether you would get a concussion from an over-the-handlebars-type accident," Evan Hayes, a fourth-year student in mechanical engineering, told the Citizen.

The 21 students developed a dummy that offered more ways of measuring collision forces than the standard auto-industry models, which generally are limited to one kind of crash.

"The idea is that we should be able to throw this crash test dummy into whatever situation and get a reasonably accurate result, regardless of whether we know (in advance) what injuries we're going to have," said Hayes.

This particular dummy was engineered to test head impacts. Next year's class will extend its development to include other types of injuries.

The test looked measured the concussion potential of sudden deceleration from 25 kph. Another sensor also looked at the force of a a sudden snap backward of the head, which previous research suggests may be worsened if the helmet is equipped with a visor.