Toyota simulation tries to keep you in one piece

Damian Koh | Apr 30, 2008

In high-speed crashes that is. Having made a fool of ourselves last Friday crashing at every turn in the SingTel F1 simulator race, it gave us great consolation that somebody else was also being a klutz behind the wheels.

According to Fareastgizmos, Toyota has developed a computer simulation dubbed Total Human Model Safety (THUMS), which recreates high-speed accidents in order to examine the impact it has on human physiology.

Driving a F1 car is unlike a conventional sedan. The seat is lower than usual and the driver is in a leaning back posture with legs stretched out at an angle to reach the pedals. For first-timers, this somewhat awkward position takes getting used to, and it doesn't help that your vision is limited to only what is immediately ahead. There are also other things to consider such as the G-force when traveling at speeds in excess of 300km and the immense stress on the driver's spine during rear-impact collisions.

Of course, no one in the right mind would wish for accidents to happen, thus the simulations to help prevent, or minimize, nasty scenarios. If all this talk sounds alien to you, that's because you are not an F1 driver. But you can still pretend to be one. Just sign up for the free F1 simulator ride making its rounds in Singapore right now.

Credit: Fareastgizmos

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