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U.S. studies show that women are 73% more likely to be injured and 17% more likely to die in a motor vehicle accident due to gender bias in crash testing practices, according to Verity Now, a coalition for getting crash testing standards amended to include everyone. Only crash test dummies modeled after the average male are currently required for car safety tests.
Astrid Linder, a Swedish engineer and the Research Director of Traffic Safety at the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, is trying to change this. She has developed the first ever crash test dummy modeled after the average female! She told CNN the reason this is necessary:
"Different types of injuries are more common for females than males. Females have more injuries to the spine and to the hips, which makes perfect sense because females have broader hips, wider pelvises, and they sit closer to the steering wheel to get to the steering wheel and to the pedals."
She hopes that the new "female" crash test dummy will lead to vehicle safety being tested for both males and females in the near future. After all, both men and women are driving motor vehicles, so they should be made safe for both sexes. Regulations need to be updated to make this possible!