Why Women Are At Much More Risk in Cars

Car accidents kill thousands of people every year in the U.S. With 42,514 people killed and a further 2,382,711 injured (one injury every twelve seconds) over twelve months, increasing road safety is critical.

Yet, women are at a significant disadvantage as carmakers look to limit the number of road injuries and fatalities. As our analysis confirms, car accident data is only appropriate for men.

Why We Need Crash Test Dummies of All Shapes and Sizes

Though men account for 30,669 of 42,514 road crash fatalities, that doesn’t tell the whole story. As our analysis shows, women are three times more likely to sustain moderate injuries like broken bones and twice as likely to sustain a traumatic brain injury.

This is partly explained by crash test technology. Testing procedures, including crash test dummies, a huge part of crash testing since the 1970s, are in dire need of an update.

Although there are more licensed female than male drivers in the U.S., 119 million compared to 116 million men, the first female crash test dummy was introduced as late as 2003. The female crash test dummy is used less in only two of eight crash test scenarios.

The female crash test dummy does not consider female physiognomy since it’s a scaled-down version of its male equivalent. The female dummy is 4 feet 11 inches and weighs 108 pounds–hardly representative of the national average female car occupant.

But even the male crash test dummy doesn’t adequately represent male drivers, since it’s 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 171 pounds. Such a dummy can scarcely account for how a crash impact might affect someone taller and heavier. And it’s a simple fact that, on average, bodies have changed enormously since crash tests began.

How Different Body Sizes Affect Crash Injuries

Data suggests that male and female weight has increased dramatically over the past few decades. Since 1960, the average male weight has grown from 166.3 to 191 pounds. For women, the figure over the same period was from 140.2 to 164.3 pounds.

Our analysis places obese occupants at a 54–61% higher risk of injury compared to a median-weight occupant. Just as changes in body size and shape haven’t been factored into testing data, neither have people who are pregnant, extremely tall, elderly, or disabled.

That’s not to suggest that the data testing has recorded is of no use, but that improvements to take in all driver dimensions are vital. In particular, women need more appropriate tests and better technology.

Women’s bodies are very different from men’s – and one permutation of this differential is that women can more often suffer specific types of injury. Currently, a woman wearing a seatbelt is 73% more likely than a man to be seriously injured in a frontal car crash and 17% more likely to be killed.

The lack of appropriate attention paid to female body dimensions during crash testing has led to numerous other additional accident statistical anomalies. For example, a seatbelt is designed to compliment a man’s physique – which means it doesn’t fit as well over a woman’s pelvis or abdomen, meaning both areas are at risk. 

Whiplash is also much more likely to affect women. In some cases – such as from rear-end impact crashes – women are up to three times more likely to suffer serious whiplash.

This is primarily due to their having 10% more body fat and a comparative lack of muscle – a differential that’s also a key factor when we consider many other injuries, such as ankle fractures. More protrusive, less protected pelvic bones are also susceptible. Here’s a list of the top ten car crash injuries women suffer more than men.

• • Whiplash → 83%
  • Leg fractures and ligament tears → 79.7%

• Arm fractures, dislocations, strains, and nerve damage → 58.2%

• Neck bones, discs, and facet joints → 44.7%

• Abdomen (liver, spleen, kidneys, and intestines damage) → 38.5%

• • Chest (rib and sternum fractures, lung and heart damage) → 24.5%

• Head (skull fractures, hematomas, and hemorrhages) → 22.1%

• Pelvis fractures and pelvic floor dysfunction → 18%

• Broken, dislocated, strained, or sprained ankle → 12%
• Spine (lumbar and soft tissue injuries) → 5 %

What’s Needed Next to Protect Women Drivers

For decades, crash impact data has been deeply flawed. The evolution of body shapes and sizes has been ignored. And limited, male-centric crash test dummy technology needs an urgent revamp so we can protect women from the many serious injuries to which they’re currently highly susceptible. The variance in male and female body shape and size demands technology that more adequately protects both.

Our study data suggests that things are moving in the right direction. In 2024, Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer introduced a bill featuring a mandatory updated female crash dummy to modernize crash testing.

The bill could prevent countless injuries and save an estimated 1,300 lives per year. As part of their safety testing, automakers such as Volvo, Toyota, and Mercedes-Benz have incorporated virtual female models.

The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute has developed a female testing dummy that more accurately represents the average woman’s body. Of the following list of best-selling car brands, only Toyota uses a female crash test dummy – albeit a virtual example.

Best-Selling Car Brands

1. Toyota  – 2,332,606 (units sold)
2. Ford – 2,252,610
3. General Motors/Chevrolet – 2,696,364
4. Honda – 1,423,757
5. Hyundai – 1,692,000 

Until such measures and others of a similarly progressive and woman-centric ilk are fully incorporated, female drivers can take steps to maximize their safety.

These include buying a vehicle with top safety ratings and features, maintaining good posture while in the vehicle, adjusting the headrest and seat properly, not sitting too close to the dashboard and airbag, and always wearing a seat belt.

Top 10 most popular cars in America

1. Ford F-1 Series – 732,129 (units sold)
2. Chevrolet Silverado – 542,517
3. Tesla Model Y – 405,900
4. Toyota Rav- 4 – 475,193
5. Honda CR-V – 402,791
6. GMC Sierra – 340,946
7. Toyota Camry – 309,876
8. Ram 1500/2500/3500 – 373,120
9. Honda Civic – 242,005
10. Tesla Model 3 – 189,903

Here at DeMayo Law Offices, we prioritize people over profits, and we’re experts in car injuries. Contact us if you’ve had an accident or need advice: we’re always here to help.