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Introducing the FemDum: A Crash Dummy That Reflects Women's Anatomy

  //automotive-transportation.news-articles.net/co .. a-crash-dummy-that-reflects-women-s-anatomy.html
  Published in Automotive and Transportation on Friday, November 21st 2025 at 18:30 GMT by breitbart.com

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New Crash Dummy Reflects Biological Differences Between Men and Women

In a landmark development that could reshape automotive safety testing, a new crash dummy has been unveiled that more accurately models the anatomy and biomechanics of the average adult woman. The breakthrough, announced in an article published on Breitbart’s Science section on November 21, 2025, comes after decades of criticism that most safety tests have been based on a single, largely male‑sized anthropometric test device (ATD). The new dummy, often referred to as the “FemDum” or the “Female Anthropometric Test Device (ATD‑F),” incorporates a range of sex‑specific physiological differences that can influence injury risk in vehicle collisions.

Why a New Dummy is Needed

The article begins by noting that women suffer from higher rates of serious injuries and fatalities in automobile crashes, even when accounting for differences in vehicle type or crash severity. Several studies, including one highlighted in the piece, point to biomechanical factors that set male and female bodies apart:

• Neck Strength & Flexibility: Women generally have a weaker neck musculature, which can lead to a higher likelihood of whiplash and spinal injuries in rear‑end collisions.
• Pelvic Anatomy: The female pelvis is wider and has a larger pelvic inlet, affecting the mechanics of the lower back and hip during a frontal impact.
• Body Fat Distribution: Fat distribution differs between sexes, influencing the way a body deforms under impact forces and the way airbag forces are transmitted.
• Bone Density & Structure: Women, particularly post‑menopausal women, often have lower bone density, making fractures more likely.

While the older ATDs—primarily the “Hybrid III” and “Mini‑Hybrid” models—have been designed to approximate the average adult male, critics argue that this one‑size‑fits‑all approach leads to an underestimation of risk for female occupants. The new dummy addresses these gaps by incorporating data from a large sample of adult women, thereby offering a more realistic representation of injury mechanisms in female occupants.

Development and Design of the New Dummy

The article traces the dummy’s origins back to a collaboration between the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), and a research team from the University of Michigan’s Center for Transportation Safety. According to the piece, the team spent five years gathering biometric data from over 2,000 female participants across a range of ages, heights, and weights. The data informed the design of the dummy’s:

• Skeletal framework: Adjusted to reflect the wider pelvis and different torsional stiffness of the female torso.
• Muscle and soft‑tissue layers: Simulated using silicone and polyurethane mixtures that mimic the different fat‑to‑muscle ratios observed in women.
• Neck assembly: Enhanced to replicate the lower neck strength and the higher flexion range typical of female occupants.
• Head and torso geometry: Modified to accommodate the smaller head circumference and different head‑to‑torso ratios.

An important feature of the new dummy is that it can be “tuned” to represent both the average adult woman and a range of body mass index (BMI) categories—from under‑weight to obese. This versatility allows researchers to study how body mass interacts with sex‑specific biomechanics.

The article also highlights a link to a technical white paper from the University of Michigan, which details the finite‑element modeling (FEM) that underpinned the dummy’s design. The white paper, accessible via a “Read more” link in the original article, elaborates on how the team used digital twins of both the male and female skeletons to predict injury metrics under a variety of crash scenarios.

Impact on Crash Testing

The new dummy has already been incorporated into a pilot study at the NHTSA’s Crash Test Laboratory. The article reports that side‑impact tests with the ATD‑F revealed higher acceleration forces on the pelvis and greater risk of hip‑fracture injuries than those observed in male dummies. In a frontal crash test, the dummy’s lower neck strength translated into a higher incidence of cervical spine injuries when airbags deployed.

One of the most striking findings was that when the same vehicle was tested with both the male and female dummies, the female dummy recorded a 12 % higher probability of thoracic spine fracture under identical impact conditions. These results suggest that automotive safety features—especially seat‑belt pretensioners, side‑air airbags, and crumple‑zone designs—may need to be calibrated differently to protect female occupants.

A link in the original article directs readers to a supplemental video showing the crash test footage. In the video, viewers can see the female dummy’s pelvis deforming more rapidly than the male dummy’s, a visual confirmation of the data reported in the text.

Implications for Automotive Design and Regulation

The introduction of the ATD‑F has already spurred discussion among automotive manufacturers, safety regulators, and advocacy groups. According to the article, several major carmakers—Ford, Toyota, and Hyundai—have expressed interest in incorporating the new dummy into their safety certification programs. Industry insiders say that redesigning seat‑belt anchorage points and airbag deployment profiles could be necessary to mitigate the higher injury risks identified.

From a regulatory standpoint, the article notes that NHTSA has indicated it may begin to require the use of the female dummy in its safety testing protocols within the next two years. Euro NCAP has similarly indicated that it will revise its rating criteria to include tests with both male and female dummies, ensuring a more comprehensive safety assessment.

The article also references a link to the “Women’s Vehicle Safety Initiative,” a nonprofit organization that has long campaigned for more inclusive testing. The initiative’s latest report, linked in the piece, calls for a mandatory inclusion of female dummies in all safety tests for new vehicle models.

Looking Ahead

The release of the ATD‑F is part of a broader movement to make automotive safety more inclusive. Beyond sex, researchers are now developing dummies that reflect age, body size, and even racial differences in bone density and joint stiffness. The article concludes with a forward‑looking interview with Dr. Lisa Martinez, lead engineer on the ATD‑F project, who emphasizes that “this is just the first step.” She suggests that future test protocols will need to layer multiple dummy profiles—male, female, adolescent, elderly—to truly capture the diversity of real‑world occupants.

Readers can explore the full technical specifications of the new dummy in a linked PDF document that accompanies the article. The document provides detailed biomechanical parameters, material compositions, and calibration procedures, allowing other researchers to replicate or build upon the work.

In Summary

The new crash dummy introduced in the Breitbart Science article marks a significant shift in automotive safety testing. By incorporating a comprehensive set of biological differences between men and women—particularly in neck strength, pelvic geometry, body fat distribution, and bone density—the dummy offers a more accurate simulation of injury risk for female occupants. Early test results have revealed higher probabilities of cervical and thoracic injuries when compared to traditional male dummies, prompting calls from manufacturers and regulators to adjust safety features accordingly. As automotive safety moves toward a more data‑driven, inclusive paradigm, the ATD‑F stands as a pioneering tool that could help reduce the disproportionate injury burden borne by women in traffic collisions.