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IIHS Crash Tests: Behind the Scenes

We bet most of our readers know what the men and women working for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety usually do for a living. But their line of work isn't as simple as most of us imagine it to be.
Toyota Prius crash tested by IIHS 1 photo
Photo: screenshot from YouTube
For the unknowing, we remind you that the Arlington, Virginia-based non-profit organization carries out research and produces safety ratings by crash testing popular vehicles sold in the United States.

Usually, IIHS's crash tests imply a number of static or moving obstacles, full-scale anthropomorphic test devices (also known as crash test dummies) and a bunch of video cameras specially designed to capture every last bit of damage suffered by the tested vehicle.

Even though the ingredients sound fairly simple, the process of capturing high-quality slow-motion footage is very complicated. Exploring what it takes to produce the footage needed to learn what happens in a crash test, IIHS's latest installment in the institute's educational video series aims to take viewers on a tour of the process.

Explaining how crash tests are recorded by high-speed cameras from a variety of angles both outside and onboard the vehicle, the video also gives the viewer valuable info on the custom-designed lightning system that prevents hard shadows and the studio where post-crash photos of the vehicle are taken. Check it out below.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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