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U.S. Introduces First Female Crash-Test Dummy to Bridge Vehicle Safety Gap

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  //automotive-transportation.news-articles.net/co .. ash-test-dummy-to-bridge-vehicle-safety-gap.html
  Published in Automotive and Transportation on Friday, November 21st 2025 at 7:49 GMT by Associated Press

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A New Female Crash‑Test Dummy Brings Women’s Safety Into the Spotlight

In a move that could reshape automotive safety standards for the next decade, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced the debut of a new female crash‑test dummy that more accurately represents the average woman’s body. The announcement, made on April 15, 2024, marks the culmination of a multi‑year effort to correct a longstanding imbalance in vehicle crash research, which has historically relied on a single, male‑based prototype.

The new dummy—dubbed the “FMVSS‑213 Female Test Dummy” (F‑TAD)—is built to the 50th percentile female body dimensions that the NHTSA’s Crash Test Dummy Development Initiative identified as the most representative of U.S. women. In practical terms, this means a torso that is shorter and less massive than the traditional 50th percentile male dummy, a pelvis that is wider and more flexible, and a head that is proportionally lighter and smaller. These anatomical changes are designed to provide more realistic data on how women’s bodies react to frontal impacts, which constitute the vast majority of automobile accidents.

Why Women Have Been Left Out

The article points out that until now, the standard male dummy—modeled after a 50th percentile male—has dominated all federal crash‑testing protocols, including the core FMVSS 213 standard that sets limits for frontal collision safety. While a handful of automotive manufacturers have experimented with female‑specific testing on a limited basis, the industry has not required it, and regulators have been slow to adopt it.

“Women’s injuries are distinct from men’s because of differences in body geometry, weight distribution, and tissue density,” explained Dr. Karen Lee, a biomechanics researcher at the University of Michigan cited in the article. “When you base your safety designs on a male prototype, you’re essentially ignoring a large portion of the population.” A linked study from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) showed that women have a higher incidence of fatal injuries in head‑on crashes, especially in the 16‑to‑25‑year‑old age group.

The NHTSA’s own data collection initiative, which began in 2021, revealed that women in the U.S. are 15% more likely to suffer a serious chest injury in a frontal impact than men of the same age. “The lack of female‑specific testing has translated into a real safety gap,” said NHTSA spokesperson Maya Patel. “This new dummy is a first step toward closing that gap.”

Design Features and Testing Protocols

The F‑TAD incorporates several new features that were absent from earlier female prototypes. First, the dummy’s pelvis is constructed from a composite material that mimics the flexibility of a real woman’s pelvis, allowing researchers to measure how pelvic bones absorb impact forces. Second, the dummy’s shoulder and arm sensors have been relocated to better capture the nuances of arm injuries, which are more common in women due to the narrower shoulder width. Third, the head restraint test (HRT) has been updated with a new sensor array that provides detailed data on neck strain—an area where women have shown higher rates of whiplash.

According to a link in the AP article to NHTSA’s technical briefing, the new dummy will be integrated into all federal frontal crash tests by 2026, replacing the male dummy in the standard FMVSS 213 test configuration. The agency is also preparing a parallel test that will simultaneously record data from both the male and female dummies in a single crash event. “That way, we can see how the two dummies respond to the same impact conditions and validate the new female dummy’s performance,” said Patel.

The development of the F‑TAD was a collaboration between the NHTSA, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and several major automakers, including Ford, General Motors, and Toyota. The article notes that the project was funded by a $12 million federal grant that also supported research into gender‑specific injury metrics.

Industry and Advocacy Response

Automotive safety advocates have greeted the new dummy with cautious optimism. The Women’s Alliance for Traffic Safety (WATS), a coalition that lobbied for gender‑inclusive testing standards, issued a statement saying the dummy “represents a long‑awaited shift toward equitable safety.” WATS has previously argued that crash‑test data should account for the full range of body types, including variations in height, weight, and body composition.

Industry voices were more muted. A spokesperson for a leading automotive safety systems company, quoted in the article, said the new dummy would require “substantial recalibration of current testing equipment and software.” However, the company also acknowledged that the new dummy could improve the accuracy of crash‑worthiness ratings, which could translate into better consumer confidence.

Next Steps and Global Impact

The AP article also highlights that the U.S. is not alone in re‑examining crash‑test dummies. In Europe, the European Union’s New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) has been testing female dummies in parallel for several years, and the European Commission has called for a global standard. The NHTSA’s adoption of the F‑TAD is expected to have ripple effects across the industry, influencing global safety testing protocols and potentially prompting updates to the European standards.

The article concludes by noting that while the new dummy is a significant advance, it is not a silver bullet. “Safety is a cumulative process,” said Dr. Lee. “You need better test models, better data, and better vehicle design. The new dummy is an essential piece of the puzzle, but the real test will be how manufacturers use that data to build safer cars.”

With the F‑TAD slated for widespread use in the next few years, the industry is poised to see a new generation of vehicles that are designed—and tested—to protect everyone on the road, not just the traditional “average” male occupant.