Side Crashes and the Head
During an IIHS crash safety evaluation from the side of the vehicle, one of the factors that are going to be considered is the head of the occupant. Engineers have taken the initiative to use grease paint as a supplement to head injury measures so that the paint can show them the impact of the crash on the head.
For the crashes where the dummy is hit in the head, there is usually a high measure of head injury. While this is not always the case in these tests, there are cases when the use of video that has been recorded on film at high speed and the grazing contact on the paint is very helpful in identifying of these cases.
One thing to consider is the difference in height of occupants in the real world. The likelihood of an occupant sustaining a head injury can be influenced by the height of the individual.