In the 1950s when cars were becoming popular they had to use human cadavers to test the impact of crashes on them. These early tests allowed for very good data to be seen on the impact of injuries during different simulated car crashes. Cadavers were able to give researchers information about the effects of crashes on humans. They were able to see the response in the most crucial areas, head, chest, and neck. When researchers were using cadavers the average age of them were 72 years old. This was an issue as there was mostly younger people getting killed in car crashes. Access to younger cadavers was harder to come by. Even with cadavers being older they were still able to gather valuable information about different types of injuries caused by car crashes. At the time they were focused on head injuries and overall injuires to the body during a crash. But they shortly stopped using human cadavers because of the ethical issues surrounding it. During this time they had enough information to begin making the first model of test dummies that they use today.

Anthropometric test devices (ATD), also known as test dummies are used today in different simulations, mostly car crashes. The dummies today can, "Crash test dummies simulate a human response to impacts, accelerations, deflections, forces and moments of inertia generated during a crash"(Humanetics). All of the dummies contain hundred of sensors and transducers throughout them to provide life-saving information to safety engineers after tests are run. These dummies are so high-tech now that the sensors can measure the forces that break bones and cause soft tissue injuries.

They began to make different types of dummies to simulate different crashes. Today they make nine different types of test dummies. Which include: autonomous vehicles, frontal impact, side impact, rear impact, child, aerospace, military, pedestrian, vulnerable, and specialty ATDs. These are the dummies that you tend to see in car adversitments showing you how safe teh car is. Or how much research and testing has gone into the development of features in the car.

Among different universities conducting studies, there were also companies conducting similar studies on human cadavers to test their products. Some of these companies include General Motors, NASA, and Ford Motor Company, the Chrysler Corporation helped fund these tests.

Wayne State University (WSU) had a large part in developing the Head Injury Criterion, which is still used today by car companies. The bioengineering department at WSU used cadavers to study the amount of force needed in car crashes to cause head injuries. This was before the use of dummies was a thing as they used the information from the cadavers to make the dummies used today. Cadavers gave these organizations the most accurate information on the impact of crashes on the human body, making cars safer. Wayne State was hired by many corporations to run tests to help them make their cars safer. Even the National Football league uses the information that Wayne state found using cadavers to make their helmets safer for players.