Road safety for all? Not Yet

ANGELA CARBONI
Topic DevelopmentSafety and security

Unfortunately, even today the crash effects on vehicle occupants assessed through crash tests focus on a mainly male body. Hardly any female dummies are used for testing, and in general there are no truly inclusive types of dummies (different body types, different disabilities). In some tests female dummies are used only in the passenger seat. Disregarding these differences obviously the result is that women are more at risk of injury during collisions.

Something is moving (https://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/crash-test-manichini-diventano-donne-ABiAR9iB) ... but perhaps it would not be necessary to make it mandatory to test vehicles using dummies more representative of all users?

Could there be design solutions for crash test dummies that would be able to facilitate this change?

Barry, K. (2019). The Crash Test Bias: How Male-Focused Testing Puts Female Drivers at Rist.https://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/crash-test-bias-how-male-focused-testing-puts-female-drivers-at-risk/.

Ryan, A., Tainter, F., Fitzpatrick, C., Gazzillo, J., Riessman, R., Knodler, M. (2020). Inclusive roadway infrastructure design: The impact of sex on crash injury outcomes by roadway environment type, European Transport Conference, 2020.

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VANESSA VON WIEDNER

3 years ago

This current event from Germany might be interesting for you: Katharina Fegebank, Vize-mayor in Hamburg demands that  "female" dummies also be used. 

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PAUL MAGEE

3 years ago

@Andree; please advise. I believe you have previously looked into this area of research

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