According to a recent study, women are more likely to be injured in road accidents than men, despite wearing seat belts.
As we know, hitting the road is unfortunately not trivial and the risks are still very present despite the many driving assistance technologies developed by manufacturers and equipment suppliers. Admittedly, semi-autonomous driving systems should make it possible to reduce the risks, like the Autopilot which would make it possible to avoid at least 40 accidents per day, but the automobile is still dangerous. But not all drivers would be in the same boat.
Women are more at risk
Indeed, according to a study conducted by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), the American equivalent of our Road Safety, women are 73% more likely to be injured than men in a head-on collision. Even when all occupants are wearing their seat belts. Worse still, female drivers and passengers would be 17% more likely to die in a road accident. But then, how can this be explained?
In reality, and according to a study by the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety), several factors come into play to explain this difference. In effect, women would tend to drive in smaller cars, and therefore less resistant in the event of an impact compared to the larger vehicles favored by men.
According to Jason Hallman, in charge of the collaborative safety research center at Toyota Motor North America relayed by Automotive News, injuries to the chest, rib cage as well as those to the foot and ankle would be more serious for women. To reach this conclusion, the researchers analyzed numerous anatomical data, such as bone density and muscle structure.
Incomplete crash tests
But if female motorists are also more likely to be seriously injured or die, it is also because cars were not developed for them. In effect, crash tests are carried out with dummies based on the average height and build of men. The seats, airbags and other safety belts are therefore designed according to the results of these tests, which do not take into account all types of morphology.
According to Volvo, for example, women are more at risk of fatal whiplash than men.. Moreover, again according to the brand, the smaller a person, the closer they sit to the steering wheel and the more likely they are to suffer serious damage in the event of a frontal collision. However, women are on average between 6 and 18 centimeters shorter than men.
Improvements are already noticeable
As Automotive News explains, several members of the American Congress are asking the American Department in charge of transportation to oblige the use of ” Accurate and up-to-date female crash test dummy under NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program and Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard“.
On his side, Volvo launched the EVA (Equal Vehicle for All) initiative in 2019 to make its cars safer for everyone. To do this, the brand has been collecting data on all body types since 1970, whether men, women or children. These are now shared with all other manufacturers and have enabled the development of numerous security systems. Among them, seats designed to reduce the risk of whiplash or a belt to better protect pregnant women.
According to another NHTSA report from August, recent cars would significantly reduce the disparities between men and women. Women would thus be 2.9% more likely to die following a frontal collision in a car dating from 2015 to 2020 compared to 18% in a car dating from 1960 to 2009, compared to men.
With no less than three records in three categories, the Tesla Model Y is arguably the safest SUV on the market.
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