The transportation department has unveiled a first crash test dummy in the US modeled specifically on female anatomy, a move officials say is meant to close decades of safety gaps in vehicle testing.
Sean Duffy, the US transportation secretary, unveiled the THOR-05F, an advanced female design for a crash-test dummy with upgraded technical specifications. According to the transportation department, the dummy will be incorporated into federal vehicle crash testing once a final rule is published.
Although men make up the majority of annual car-crash victims, women are more likely to die in collisions of comparable severity. Women are also 73% more likely than men to sustain serious injuries in a crash, according to studies. In addition, they face a higher risk of specific trauma, including pelvis and liver injuries.
“And here we see the seatbelt sliding sideways to squash one boob and cut into the side of the female dummy’s neck because it’s not sufficiently adjustable. Meanwhile we notice that in order to be able to fully depress the brake pedal, the female dummy must position the seat so close to the steering column that the airbag will likely cause severe injury.”
They’ve been told these things by actual living women for decades but maybe they’ll find it harder to ignore the proof from the plastic dummy.
Yep. I’m a 5’5" woman with short legs and a long torso. In order to fully depress the clutch on my car, I have to have the seat nearly all the way forward. There are plenty of other signs that my car was built for a 6’ tall man, but that’s a biggie.
Even at 5’7 I have to have the seat too far forward to fully depress the clutch… I don’t even have short legs :'(