OPINION — Every American family deserves to feel safe when they get behind the wheel. Yet every day, mothers, daughters, wives and sisters face a higher risk of serious injury or death in a car crash, not because of how or what they drive but because of how cars are tested.
Despite years of data showing that women are 73% more likely to be seriously injured and 17% more likely to die in car crashes, federal safety standards have not been updated to reflect how women’s bodies actually experience collisions.
The government had the opportunity to make long-overdue adjustments but failed to act, leaving outdated, male-focused crash tests in place and perpetuating a preventable safety gap that affects millions of American families. This past November, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced an effort to advance the next-generation female crash test dummy, an important step toward making vehicles safer for American families, including women.
