Anthropometric Test Devices (ATDs) of different nominal percentile values have long been used as human surrogates
in automotive crash testing. The Hybrid III family, which is one of the widely used ATDs in frontal crash test, was
designed based on the anthropometry dimensions of US adults. Thus, this paper aims to assess the anthropometric
differences between Malaysian adults and Hybrid III dummies in terms of 5th percentile (small female), 50th
percentile (midsize male) and 95th percentile (large male). A series of anthropometric parameters of Malaysian
adults was obtained from a database of 1321 subjects with 708 males and 613 females. The results revealed that the
current midsize male population differs from the ATD’s statures and body weights by about 35 and 40 percentile
points, respectively. This demonstrates that the current ATDs are not truly representative of the current Malaysian
adults, which may potentially lead to different injury responses in road traffic crashes. Thus, car manufacturers may
as well consider this discrepancy issue in developing their future models especially with regards to safety.