Are cars more dangerous for women?

According to a study from the University of Virginia, women have a 73% chance of being injured in a car accident compared to men. This is due to insufficiently diversified tests, but that is about to change.

Cars today are generally very safe, as we can see from the results of EuroNCAP tests. And for good reason, the vast majority of recent models are between 4 and 5 stars, and bad ratings are now the exception. However, it seems that we are not all equal in the face of accidents, even if cars are well rated, as revealed in a study conducted by researchers at the University of Virginia. And for good reason, it emerges that women have 73% more risk than a man of being injured in a frontal impact during a accident, even if they are wearing their seat belts. In addition, female drivers are generally thrown much further forward in a rear impact, due to their smaller build, causing more serious injuries.

So why are women more likely to be injured while driving? The reasons are quite simply biological, the latter being generally smaller, which forces them to sit closer to the wheel, with the consequences that one imagines in the event of a collision. However, crash- tests are well aware of the problem, but it is proving very difficult to solve, as Richard Schram, Technical Director of EuroNCAP points out. ” there is a difference between men and women; I am aware of this, and I know that it is difficult for them to accept. But it is not a simple problem to solve. The same can also be said of the elderly, because there is no real average either. ». Source.

Blame it on the crash tests?

If the physical specificities of women are of course the main element which explains the additional risks, it should also be noted that the cars are still far from being adapted to the female morphology. And that is also the fault of the crash tests, which only use mannequins based on men, skewing the results somewhat. However, this practice has a simple reason, explained by Richard Schram “ While men represent 49% of the European population but 76% of accidents, using male mannequins allowed testers to ensure that the assessments relate to the largest proportion of accident victims. Today, the mannequins used take the form of a man of 1.75 meters and 75 kg, figures which correspond to the current European average.