Abstract
Thorough knowledge of the characteristics of the human body and its behaviour under extreme loading conditions is essential in order to prevent the serious consequences of road and other accidents. This field of research is called injury or impact biomechanics. In order to study human body response different types of the human body substitutes can be distinguished. This presentation will concentrate on mechanical models (also called crash dummies) of the human body. An overview of the current status in this field will be presented. Dummies for different application fields will be discussed, including dummies for frontal impacts, side impacts and rear-end impacts (whiplash dummy). Areas of future development will be identified.