4 FEBRUARY 1959

Crash Seat

This story described how crashtest driver Ernie Clemmons went about his work, unscathed, having endured ‘more than 200 head-on collisions’. To ensure this, his employer – Protect-OMatic Corp – fitted a device to test cars that, at the moment of impact, tilted the seats backwards to a 30° angle, preventing the driver and passenger from being thrown forwards.