You can learn a lot from a doll, especially if it is a presentation of the average woman. For years, test dummies used the male size, leaving women less protected in crashes.
This has been known since 2013, when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a report stating that women “are susceptible to injuries to the neck and abdomen” during a collision. Meanwhile he Insurance Institute for Highway Safety suggested something similar in a study.
One of the researchers is Astrid Linderdirector of road safety Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute. Linder told the BBC that his team is working to develop a doll that mimics accurately the average female body. This is the first female-based mannequin.
IIHS has been using female crash test dummies since 2003, for example, and some crash test sites use shrunken dummies that inaccurately represent women.
However, Linder said her doll’s development is more accurate, as it takes into account how female bodies move in a crash, given their different muscle strengths.
Automotive safety engineers have also been working on solutions for the past decade. In 2012, researchers published an article on neck injuries in crash tests using “a new female mannequin prototype”.
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“We have differences in the shape of the torso and the center of gravity and the contour of our hips and pelvisLinder told the BBC.
That said, having a better way to test the impact of crashes on the bodies of men and women it does not mean that the safety features of the vehicle will change quickly.
Some manufacturers are already using gender dummies in their crash tests, but Linder said he expects their use to become much more widespread.
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