Crash Test Dummies May be Putting Women at Risk

Crash Test Dummies Putting Women at Risk

USA- Wrdw.com writes that women are at a greater risk of sustaining injuries or dying in crashes than are men. The reason could be that many safety features are designed to protect men in a collision, and not women.

There is some disagreement as to whether the problem is at least in part related to crash test dummy design. Crash test dummies are one of the main ways that car manufacturers test their vehicles. The way that these dummies react in a crash has a significant effect on the resulting design of automobiles. Everyone has seen the dummies in horrific crashes that show how the human body would react in a wreck. While all companies use these dummies, some people are shocked to learn that none of the models represent the average female body. While half of motorists are women, no dummies are being used that accurately model the average female frame.

Numbers indicate that a woman driver and passenger in the front of a vehicle would have about a seventeen percent higher risk of being killed in a crash as men would in the same incident. Another study indicated an even more shocking statistic. Women in the front of a car wearing their seatbelts are at a risk of injury that is about 73 percent higher than a man in the same seat.

Others disagree that the dummies are a main part of the problem. Instead of making newer and more representative crash test dummies, the way to save lives is to prevent people from making dangerous decisions like not using a seatbelt or driving while drunk. Some point to the fact that the United Kingdom experiences far fewer fatal crashes, but that the difference is not the country’s dummies, but the way that traffic is handled and the focus on safety rather than speed.