Everyone, I'd like you to meet my friend Graham.

Now, don't be alarmed.

He isn't sick or injured or anything.

Actually quite the opposite.

He was designed by Melbourne, Australia's Transport Accident Commission when they decided

to find out what humans would look like if they evolved to survive car crashes.

You humans are actually really bad at driving safely.

People text, drive drunk, speed, and don't wear seat belts.

Compared to other similar, high income countries, the U.S. has the most deadly car crashes each

year, with 40,000 fatal accidents just in 2017.

When your vehicle is slammed into something else, whether it's another car, a tree,

or a barrier, a lot of things can happen to your body.

Thankfully, cars are built to absorb a good amount of the force from the collision in

areas called crumple zones, but they're clearly not perfect.

The energy of an accident still shakes the people inside, often severely injuring the occupants.

Where the car comes in contact with another object dictates where the brunt of the force

will be delivered and how the occupants of the car will be thrown about.

So, when a car crashes into something head first, people often slam into the steering

wheel or front panel and experience chest and lower limb injuries like broken ribs or crushed legs.

Whereas, getting hit from the side will launch you away from the impact and common injuries

include head, chest and lower extremity problems.

Rear-end crashes jolt you forward and are notorious for neck and back injuries like whiplash.

And finally, roll over accidents result in people being jostled about like they're being shaken in a snow globe.

These crashes are typically accompanied with head and chest injuries.

Obviously, things like where you're sitting, how fast the car was moving, and if you were

wearing a seatbelt all play a big part in whether you survive or not.

And the severity of these injuries is heavily dependent on seatbelt use.

When I get into a car, one of the first things I do is buckle my seat belt, just like 90% of Americans.

But for those 10% that think they're too cool for seat belts, they're twice as likely to die in a car crash.

And wearing your seatbelt incorrectly can also cause huge problems.

If it's too high and rests around your stomach, the belt could rip apart your inner organs in an accident!

It's also known that, during a traumatic event like a car crash, your brain can go

into fight or flight mode and focus on how to survive, versus storing memories.

This leads to people not remembering horrific car accidents and what happened after.

People can also suffer from PTSD and flashbacks of a crash for years after it occured.

But the good news is that you can very easily reduce your likelihood of being in an accident

and your chance of sustaining serious injuries.

Wear your seat belt.

Follow the speed limit.

And for Pete's sake, keep your eyes on the road.

Seriously, I don't want Pete getting injured.

What else do you want to know about the human body?

Let us know in the comment section below, or tell us, what should we talk about next?

Curious to know how self driving cars actually work?

Check out this video!

So it's possible that well made self driving cars could drastically decrease that number,

but also these cars could make driving possible again for people who couldn't drive otherwise,

like the visually impaired, or elderly.

As always, my name is Blocko, this has been life noggin, don't forget to keep on thinking.