Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Nov. 20 unveiled an advanced female crash test dummy that manufacturers can soon start producing for carmakers to test in their vehicles.
The female crash test dummy, dubbed the THOR-05F, is a new model that addresses the “ongoing trend of higher injury rates for women than men in certain car crash scenarios,” the U.S. Department of Transportation said in a news release. For years, crash testing relied on the Hybrid III 5th percentile dummy, developed more than three decades ago, which primarily used scaled male data to protect small female occupants.
“After years of delays, our team has worked hard over the last eight months to finalize the details for this new, state-of-the-art female crash test dummy,” Duffy said in the news release. “Under the leadership of President Trump, this Department will continue to put the safety of American families — including women — first.”
A group of bipartisan lawmakers in the U.S. Senate has pushed for equality in crash test dummies, hoping the change will ensure women’s safety when they enter a vehicle. Republican Sen. Deb Fischer and Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, along with Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Patty Murray, sponsored the “She Drives Act” to “update federal crashworthiness tests by requiring the use of advanced test dummies that better reflect the driving public,” CBS News reported in July.
“I’ve been pushing for years to update crash testing standards, which do not account for all of America’s drivers – particularly women,” Fischer, who introduced the bill, said on X. “It’s far past time to make these testing standards permanent, which will help save thousands of lives and make America’s roads safer for all drivers.”
The new crash test dummy’s shape and response in a crash are based on female bodies, allowing for a safer vehicle design and more informed regulations, the DOT said in the news release. The new crash test dummy will help better assess how seatbelts, airbags, and other vehicle parts impact small female occupants.
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The dummy is outfitted with more than 150 cutting-edge sensors and is more accurate than current dummies, according to the department, comparing it to the Hybrid III. The DOT noted these changes enable the dummy to collect three times more injury measurements than current dummies.
A 2019 study by researchers at the University of Virginia said women wearing seat belts are more likely to suffer injury than their male counterparts. The study found that belted women occupants in cars have 73% greater odds of being seriously injured in frontal car crashes compared to belted men.
The study pointed to “fundamental biomechanical factors” that contribute to the increased risk.
Jonathan Morrison, an administrator at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said this new crash test dummy is crucial to reducing traffic fatalities.
“Better understanding the unique ways in which women are impacted differently in crashes than men is essential to reducing traffic fatalities,” he said in the news release. “This is a long overdue step toward the full adoption of this new dummy for use in our safety ratings and Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.”
Contributing: Charles Ventura, USA TODAY

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