Outdated crash tests put women at greater risk in car accidents.
When a college student from Maine got into a head-on crash while on vacation in Ireland, her injuries didn’t make much sense. Maria Weston Kuhn was sitting farther from the point of impact than her father and brother, yet ended up in surgery while they walked away mostly unharmed. Her seatbelt slipped out of place, causing internal damage that would take months to heal. Back home, she came across an article that helped her understand why: vehicle safety tests in the United States rely on crash dummies modeled after men, leaving women at higher risk for injury.
That discovery sparked something. Kuhn began speaking out about the problem and eventually started a nonprofit. She wanted the government to require safety tests that better represent how women’s bodies respond in car crashes. Though many assume safety features work equally well for everyone, the numbers tell a different story. Women are far more likely to be injured in front-end collisions. Still, safety tests are rarely conducted using models that resemble the average female driver.
The crash test dummy in wide use today was developed in the late 1970s. It was based on the size and shape of the typical man of that time. The female version used in some tests isn’t much more than a smaller version of the male dummy, with very few changes to reflect real differences in body structure. It’s often placed in the passenger seat or back, but not in the driver’s seat — even though more than half of all U.S. drivers are women.
Companies like Humanetics in Michigan have been working on more realistic female dummies for years. Their newer models include extra sensors and a design that mirrors the shape of the female body more accurately, including differences in the neck, pelvis, and legs. These newer dummies cost more, but researchers say they give better data, especially when trying to predict injuries in areas where women are more vulnerable so they’re not placed at higher risk.
Despite this, progress has been slow. Lawmakers have introduced bills to require better testing, and some car safety officials have shown interest, but nothing has been finalized. Some automakers worry the new dummies might suggest their safety features don’t work as well as they thought. They’ve pushed back, arguing that small changes to existing models would be faster and cheaper.
Other countries are moving ahead. Europe began using the updated male dummy a few years ago, and Japan and China have followed. The U.S. still hasn’t fully approved it. The female version is even farther behind, even though government researchers have already said they plan to move forward eventually.
Women who’ve lived through severe crashes are speaking up. One woman from Wisconsin had to be airlifted after a wreck that left her with broken bones. She believes the seatbelt may have saved her life but also may have worsened her injuries because it wasn’t designed for a smaller body, leaving her at higher risk.
Not everyone agrees on the best way forward. Some say more sensors in the dummies give better answers. Others say more sensors just create noise and may not actually help engineers design safer vehicles. Even major insurance researchers have found flaws in the new models, especially when it comes to chest injuries.
There’s also the cost. A high-tech female dummy with all the needed features can run close to a million dollars. But researchers argue that it’s a one-time expense that could help prevent thousands of injuries in the long run.
Meanwhile, about 40,000 people die in car crashes in the U.S. every year. Many more suffer injuries that could have been avoided. Advocates say it shouldn’t take this long to update testing systems. They believe carmakers will adapt if forced to. Engineers already have the tools — they just need the rules to catch up. Until that happens, many vehicles on the road may continue to leave women at a greater risk.
Sources:
Crash survivor pushes to modernize US car safety tests with a more accurate female dummy
Car safety tests are still using the same 47-year-old crash test dummy modeled after a man
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