Car dummies change sex - 28th November 2022

A team of engineers from Sweden has designed a dummy based on female bodies. The dummy, used in crash tests, is to protect women drivers and passengers.

Most crash test dummies were developed in the US during the 1970s. The dummies were created to save lives in car crashes, but engineers based the weight and height on the average male. The Swedish team has created a dummy which represents female bodies.

Companies these days use a dummy for women that weighs 49 kilograms and has a height of 1.50 metres. Those measurements matched the smallest 5% of American women 50 years ago. Today, they're closer to the build of a typical 12 year old American girl.

Dr Astrid Linder is the director of traffic safety at the national institute in Linköping, Sweden. According to her, statistics show "females are at higher risk" in some kinds of accidents. For example, women are around three times more likely to get certain neck injuries.

The Swedish team's dummy has a weight of 62 kilograms, and a height of 1.62 metres. Sensors can then be placed on the model to measure the effect of a crash in tests. Sensors are put on the dummy's back and neck, for example.

Dr Linder hopes that the population as a whole will be safer in the future. Currently, car companies are required by law to test crashes using male dummies. However, the UN is now looking at rules on crash testing, so there are signs that things are about to change.