"Survival is the Capacity to Outlive Mistakes." JPS
Anyone interested in transportation safety should be familiar with Col. John Paul Stapp, flight surgeon USAF
-"The Fastest Man on Earth"
-Got Americans to wear seatbelts
-Present at the birth of Murphy's Law
At the dawn of the jet age after WWII, the Air Force had a problem with pilots dying in airplane crashes (although the USAF lost more personnel from off duty auto accidents). Col Stapp, then at Wright-Patterson AFB, was assigned with others to work on the issue of keeping pilots alive after ejecting from jet aircraft. This endeavor involved restraints, ejection seats, and parachutes.
To test the limits of human survivability, he developed a rocket sled on a 3200 foot track. After much testing (at Edwards and later Holloman AFBs), on December 10, 1954, he rode the sled from zero to 639 miles/hour in five seconds; then 639 mph (Mach 0.9) to zero in 1.37 seconds. Afterwards, his biggest issue was vision problems secondary to the blood vessels in his eyes being stretched.
At least some things worked out. On 1/25/66 an SR-71 Blackbird flying over New Mexico at 78,800 feet going Mach 3.18 (2440 miles/hour) sustained a right engine explosion destroying the aircraft. Unconscious, the pilot was ejected automatically. he regained consciousness under his parachute and minutes later almost landed on an antelope. Months later he resumed flying.
After this effort, Stapp turned to automotive safety. He helped design three and five point seat belts. He was instrumental in helping convince a reluctant US Congress and manufacturers to enact seat belt laws.
Col. Stapp did 29 rocket sleds rides. He died at age 89 and had insisted on an autopsy. No hidden traumatic damage was found.