The 2-page handout

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A road safety organisation in Australia has created a mock-up of the perfect body needed to survive a car crash. Australia's Transport Accident Commission (TAC) has called its human-looking creation 'Graham'. TAC commissioned a sculpture of Graham and released a video to educate road users about road safety. Although Graham is humanesque, he is somewhat grotesque in parts and resembles a character from a horror movie. The BBC says: "He has a head shaped like a boulder, feet snarled like tree roots and a chest like a wrinkled battering ram." A spokesperson from TAC said Graham was designed to highlight how frail and vulnerable the human body is when involved in a vehicle collision on the roads.



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TAC commissioned celebrated artist Patricia Piccinini to create the artwork for Graham. She collaborated with a leading trauma surgeon and a road crash investigation expert to get the right look and build for Graham. She gave Graham a thick skull, a wider neck, an inflatable chest that acts like airbags, and hoof-like legs that allow Graham to jump out of dangerous situations. TAC chief executive Joe Calafiore commented on why his organisation commissioned Graham as an educational tool. He said: "Cars have evolved a lot faster than humans and Graham helps us understand why we need to improve every aspect of our roads system to protect ourselves from our own mistakes."

Sources:

  • http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-36863324
  • http://www.sciencealert.com/researchers-have-created-this-creepy-as-hell-spokesperson-to-promote-road-safety
  • http://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/motoring/meet-graham-the-graphic-warrior-whos-the-latest-weapon-against-road-deaths/news-story/b5ad267598b212dbc3551a8f9103ae21

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