This International Women’s Day, Jemma Valvona, Senior Associate in our Serious Injury team reflects on another year passing without a mandatory requirement for automotive safety testing employing a crash test dummy specifically designed to represent the average female driver.
This concern becomes even more pronounced when acknowledging that although men are statistically more likely to be in a car crash, women face a disproportionately higher risk of injury. US studies reveal a 73% increased likelihood of injury for women in frontal road collisions, underscoring the urgency for comprehensive safety measures.
Within the EU, stringent testing protocols mandate cars to undergo five evaluations; a seatbelt test, two frontal-collision tests and two lateral-collision tests before being allowed onto the market. Notably, these regulations prescribe the use of a crash test dummy with average male proportions in the seatbelt test, one frontal-collision test, and both lateral-collision tests. The only requirement to use a crash test dummy representative of a woman is confined to the passenger seat.
It should also be noted that crash test dummies have been predominantly based on the average male physique. The most commonly employed dummy stands at 1.77m tall and weighs 76kg, with the most commonly used female counterpart merely a scaled-down version, resembling the size of a 12-year-old girl. This approach lacks consideration for crucial anatomical differences between average men and women, including lower bone density, distinct muscle masses, weaker neck muscles, differing pelvic structures and variations in vertebrae spacing. These differences mean that women respond differently in a car crash to men, and simply having a scaled down version of the average male body is not sufficient to ensure women are safe.
The use of these dummies mean that cars have been developed to a male specification, rather than a woman’s physique.
Encouragingly, strides have been made recently by Swedish researchers and engineers who have diligently developed a crash test dummy modelled entirely on the female body. The equipment is now available, we just need the regulatory frameworks to catch up.
Hopefully, the next step will be to look at how to make cars safer for pregnant women.
